Masters Running

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Mercer Island Half Marathon, IRC & a PR finally! (Read 383 times)


MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803

    Fantastic enki - I didn’t know you were a hill-lover too. I do all of ‘em too but, even though Whidbey and Kirkland have more elevation, I have to agree with soundi that this year’s surprise climb nearing the end at mile 10 after all those endless Monte Carlo 180 degree canting curves from miles 3 - 7 makes the MIH one of the best, right up there with the Madison/Interlaken hills in the Seattle Marathon. If you add Whidbey to your training this spring, you’ll be a blur on the flats in Eugene. I must have just missed you as I was surprised to see Uli at the start and had to wonder about elites running a course with such extreme canting. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “it helps to do a lot of trail runs!” (He won the North Face Endurance 50 mile championship race in December 2007 and has taken the national 50 mile championships at White River up-and-down mountains in the shadow of Mt. Rainier every time he enters). See you in Eugene (or at St. Pat’s next weekend).

    "Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)

    Mariposai


      Way to ROCK the race course girl!!!!!!! Congratulations on your PR. I enjoyed reading how well you executed your race plans. You are ready for a great Marathon Debut in Eugene in May. WTG girl!!!!!!! Great fashion report!!!

      "Champions are everywhereall you need is to train them properly..." ~Arthur Lydiard

      arf


      MM #405

        Enke..awesome RR, you are so funny Big grin Congrats on the PR and running such a smart race. You GO Girl! arf
          Thanks for all your kind words! I really enjoy writing these reports as much as running the race. After some thought, and looking at the splits, I likely had a faster race in me, but that wasn't the point of this run. The point was to be conservative and not blow it. seemomgo, the Garmin dependency - I find I really really need it for at least the first three miles. There was a point during the race when my pace "locked in" at 9:50 and I wasn't needing to adjust up or down. I think it happened after 4 or 5 miles. btb, OMG, you are right! Embarrassed Soundrunner, b**ch or not, I liked this course. The smoothness of the asphalt was nice, unlike a lot of the concrete in Seattle. You looked great yerself after the race! Huskydon, glad to hear from you again. Franc59, I didn't realize you were so fast!! rochrunner, yes, a sub-2 hour half is one of my long term goals. It might take me a few more years, maybe many more, but I can begin to taste it. arf, I have to be funny, because I'm sure not fast!

          "During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."

            Great jog Enke! So what if you wore dorky fanny pack, it helped you do so well. Go rock that Eugene Marathon!
              Magnificient race, Enke! That is how you run a 1/2 marathon-to the letter-easy in the first 1/2 to 2/3 then slowly push it to your LT. It is relaxing and fun. It's also energizing passing people at the end when you feel stronger than them...congratulations! It must be fun to be 5 for 5 in hitting race goals. Wink Now...about those relay racers...


              Marathon Maniac #957

                Yayyyy!!!!!! Excellent PR - great planning and execution! Now maybe you could tell me exactly how you do that SnotFling maneuver....and I agree, under the bike seat is gross...... Dead

                Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

                  congratulations!! you ran an amazing well-planned race and had tons of fun doing it!! nice job!!

                  denise

                    OK......I THINK you beat your friend so that goal got accomplished too. The fashion report without a picture is not fair. "lady in black". Great race......great report. Congratulations on the PR
                    Vista
                      Great job on your "smart" race and PR. You did just what you planned. Congratulations. TomS
                      evanflein


                        Ms. Enkephalin!! Wonderful race, lady! I agree with the Garmin dependency... you should have seen me at the Christmas Marathon when I forgot mine at home...argh... And the fanny pack... dorky maybe, but so essential, IMHO! Congratulations on a great race, good job on those canted roads... they can be ankle busters! Hey, like Doug I think you've got a sub-2 hour HM in you... and sooner than you think! Have a great time at Eugene... I'm really wishing I could be there!
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