Half Marathon Trainers

Race Reports (Read 1729 times)

    I thought it might be a great idea to start a thread just for race reports so that they don't end up lost in the monthly threads. 

     

    So with that being said, I hope Teresa's will be the first one here.

     

    Larry

    LPH

    "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

    Teresadfp


    One day at a time

      Oh, great, way to pressure me! 


      Former runner

        Here's a link to my race report from a half I ran last week.

         

        http://www.runningahead.com/forums/topic/bf9feb8783464abbb9d8e0e26e345326

        Ross

          Oh, great, way to pressure me! 

           

          I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pressure you.  However, didn't matter, you've been beat to the punch.

           

          Good luck and go get them....

           

          LPH

          LPH

          "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

            Okay Teresa, hate to beat you to the punch, but here is my 5K race report

             

            Weather was overcast, but 70s and although a little humid, the temperature made it fantastic racing weather. 

             

            I felt nervous, but otherwise ready to go. 

             

            Race time was 11AM, got there around 10 and the wife registered me while I did my warm-ups etc. 

             

            Participation was down this year, not sure if it was the weather forecast of rain or that it's a week before the Hartford Marathon.  I won't know the final count until it's posted.

             

            First mile, was all flat and I was off to a 6:40 start.  I thought this was a little fast.

             

            About a qtr mile into mile 2, you make a sharp left and begin a pretty long upgrade, but not very steep.  I was running with a pack of 3-4 other guys at that point and took the lead just before the corner and kept cranking it. Left the 4 of them very quickly and from this point in the race, no body passed me.

             

            Mile 2 time was 6:56 so I know in my head, that I've got a great race going and hoping to hold on to break my 21:26 PR.

             

            Just after mile 2, I reached the last little hill, pushed it up and down the back side and then had to slow to make a really sharp downhill left hand turn (about 145 degrees) and with the wet pavement, backed my pace of for a second and then using the remaining hill, opened up my stride and prayed I could run the last mile or so without dying.

             

            About the end of mile 3 (no marker) you turn into the parking lot for the last .1.  As I'm getting near the finish line, I look up to see 20:37 on the clock and my son screaming at me that I've got a chance to break 21 minutes.  I took a deep breathe and gave it everything I had and crossed the finish line in 20:53 (not official unitl I see it posted).  My last 1.1 mile was around a 7:11 (6:32 pace)

             

            My goal was to beat 21:26, but told my wife that I could have a shot at 21:00 and I did.  Not only that, but I also finished 3rd place in my age group and won my first every medal which I'm really proud of.

             

            I tired to post a new picture on my profile, but my dial up service kept choking on the size, so I'll try it from work tomorrow. 

             

            So ladies and gentlemen, and friends, I have set PRs on back to back weekends.  Last week was a 1:40:08 HM (2:52 off my PR) and now 30 something seconds off my 5K time. 

             

            Been a great time and to have my youngest son (25) there to cheer me on was special because he's the real runner in the family who inspired me to run.

             

            Larry

             

            PS - Offical time has been posted as 20:51

            LPH

            "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"


            jules2

              Well done IPH, a nice steady Winter of training and who knows what you can reduce the times to next year.

              Old age is when you move from illegal to prescribed drugs.

                Well done IPH, a nice steady Winter of training and who knows what you can reduce the times to next year.

                 

                Well like my son said to me yesterday, now the key is to put together a season of being injury free and if I figure out how to do that, let him know and we'll write a book together.

                 

                Larry

                LPH

                "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                Teresadfp


                One day at a time

                  OK, here's my race report, such as it is!

                   

                  I nervously tracked the weather the last few days of the race.  The forecast varied, with showers supposedly ending an hour before race time.  When I woke up Sunday morning, though, the rain in NH was stopping around 6 am.  Whoo hoo!

                   

                  I drove down to Portland (yes, down, lol) to pick up my running partner, Martha, who had volunteered for the race.  She wasn't up to running it since her training was limited this year due to a hip injury.  On the way through Portland, we saw that traffic for the Maine HM and Marathon was backed up onto the highway, just 25 minutes before the start time of the races (7:45).  I was glad we weren't in the middle of the mess!

                   

                  We got down to Hampton around 8:30 as planned.  Martha found THE closest parking place to the registration area.  We wandered over and quickly found John A. from RA.  We discovered that we're both from Texas!  I was wearing my black short-sleeved tech top with a UT Longhorn symbol, along with a Texas necklace and burnt orange shorts.  Registration was well-organized, so it didn't take long to get my bib, D-Chip (disposable timing chip), and long-sleeved, light blue tech shirt (really nice!).  John said he didn't sign up for the shirt, because he has so many, already.

                   

                  It was still an hour before the race, so Martha and I just took a long walk next to the ocean.  The sun kept teasing us - sometimes totally obscured by clouds, sometimes shining through weakly.  I couldn't decide whether to wear sunglasses!

                   

                  We ran a little bit, and then stood in a very long line for the public bathrooms.  The facilities were large enough that we got through pretty quickly.  Then we followed the crowds towards the start line.  I was looking for the 11-minute pacer, because I thought it would be fun to start with them.  But all the pacers were just in the middle of the crowd, so I couldn't find him/her.  I also couldn't figure out where the actual start line was.  The telephone pole with the huge START sign on it obviously WASN'T, because many runners were way in front of it! 

                   

                  When the gun went off, I started at a steady pace.  Never did figure out where the official start line was, so I just hit my Garmin after 15 seconds or so.  The crowd moved me right along, and I felt good.  My frist mile went by in 10:29, way too fast!  But it was so weird - it didn't FEEL fast at all.

                   

                  I managed to stick to my 1 mile run / 1 minute walk routine for about 2 1/2 miles, lol.  The first water station was at that point, so I walked while I drank.  For the next few miles, I ran 1/2 mile and walked a minute.  After turning away from the oceanside sidwalk, we headed through a nice neighborhood.  There were a few people out cheering, but not too many.  There were a couple of more aid stations, and then around 7.5 miles, some neighborhood girls had a table with ice water on it!  I hadn't intended to stop again, but I couldn't resist since they were so nice.  The neighborhoods got nicer and nicer, until we were going by mansions with tennis courts! 

                   

                  I played leapfrog with the same group of about 10 people most of the way.  We didn't talk much, but at one point a woman announced we were at the halfway point.  Ack!  I was getting tired.  An older man (70 or so) shuffled by me.  I didn't know it was possible to shuffle that quickly! 

                   

                  When we reached the ocean, a little past mile 8, we were directed onto a NARROW strip of asphalt.  It was kind of a pain, because in my running segments I would normally have passed the slower runners, but I couldn't.  About this point, I was tired enough that I started going 1+ minute run / 1 minute walk.  I kept up that ratio for the duration of the race.  A few people passed me during this stretch along the ocean, but I think I passed even more runners.  It was great to see the finish line far off in the distance!  I ran more than a minute at the end.  I passed the 13-mile marker, and the last 0.1 mile seemed to last forever!  As I approached the finish line, I could hear Martha cheering for me, and telling me to smile for the camera.  She handed me my finisher's medal when I stopped.  That was nice!  My time was 2:35, about 5 minutes slower than I'd hoped for, but that's OK.  My training got a little derailed in August due to a busy schedule and out-of-state visitors (hmm, we always get a lot of those in Maine during the summer for some reason).

                   

                  I talked to John A. for a minute, then needed to sit down because I was feeling faint.  I didn't see any benches, and didn't think I could make it all the way to the ground.  So I went over to the medical tent and rested on a cot for a minute.  I think they appreciated having a "patient," because everyone seemed to finish the race pretty strongly.  Martha said she was surprised at how well everyone did.

                   

                  In a little while, after Martha was done handing out medals, I changed clothes and we headed over to the beer tent.  We had waited too long, because all the beer was gone!!  We got pieces from the very last pizza, and some hot soup.  They also had Klondike bars. 

                   

                  Martha and I had a good lunch at Stonewall Kitchen in York, and I got home around 3:45, in time to take DD to her piano lesson at 4:30.  To celebrate, DH and I went to see "The Informant," a very entertaining movie.  We ended the evening by going to Denny's!  We're big spenders.

                   

                  I really enjoyed this race, and would like to run it again.  I have to figure out a way to run more miles.  I have the time, it's just motivation I seem to lack.  Increasing from a consistent 4 days a week to 5 would help a lot, I think.

                   

                   

                   

                    Hands on House - 1/2 - my 1st

                    First off, thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.

                    Secondly, this "half marathon" was only 12.57 miles according to the Garmin.

                    I can't fault the race organizers since they were forced to make 2 last minute course

                    changes due to road construction which in one case missed a deadline and in the

                    2nd case started 4 days before the race without any prior warning.

                     

                    The day of the race was extremely humid (95% humidity at start time) and ended up

                    being much warmer than expected (start ~63 end ~75).  That being said (no excuse) I didn't properly hydrate

                    and ended up paying for it in the last few miles. My time goal for the race was to run ~8:23 pace to break 1:50:00.

                    My main goal was to enjoy the experience of my first half marathon.  To this end I decided to run without headphones so I would be able to take in all that was happening around me, not to mention the beautiful

                    Lancaster County scenery. Also, I seem to be able to pace myself a little better without the music.

                     

                    Mile 1,2 (8:19, 8:14) The start was rather disorganized, perhaps due in part to the last minute course changes

                    and was delayed about 15 minutes. But once we got started it felt great. Everyone and their mother was

                    passing me at this point but I forced myself, with help from the Garmin, to maintain pace. I

                    figured I'd catch some of them later on, and I actually caught more than I expected.

                     

                    Mile 3,4 (8:19, 8:22) Another mistake was leaving 1 of 2 gel packs at the hotel. So instead of taking 1

                    before the race and another around mile 7 I took the one I had here.  Still feeling pretty good and still

                    getting passed.

                     

                    Mile 5,6 (8:48, 8:14) The Hill - There was an elevation gain of over 200' in about 1.25 miles. 

                    Fortunately I had studied the course a couple months before the race and found the biggest hill

                    in my area (~150') and trained on it. For me this was a huge hill and I knew I would lose time on it.

                    I held things together pretty well and as planned, kept it under 9:00. 

                    Incidentally, this is where a lot of people blew up and I began passing more people

                    than were passing me.  What I somehow missed in planning for this race was how steep the downhill was at

                    the end of mile 6.  I, along with those running near me, all let out a gasp or an "oh boy" as we hit a

                    curvy, extremely steep, wet section where it was all I could do to slow myself down enough not to

                    wipe out. Suddenly I'm using all my energy to slow down instead of to run fast (rather frustrating and

                    killing my quads).

                     

                    Mile 7,8,9,10 (8:08, 8:21, 8:23, 8:13) Here's where I knew for sure there was something up with the

                    mile markers as Garmin had me at 6.47 miles at the 7 mile marker.  Miles 7 and 8 were the only section of

                    the course with shade I was feeling pretty good. But in miles 9 and 10, back out in the sun, the rolling hills

                    started to take their toll.

                     

                    Mile 11,12 (8:24, 8:36) Perhaps the worst 2 miles of my life. I was really in agony, my innards hurt.

                    Just, one little hill after another with a net gain of about 70'. Each hill was a mountain of pain. 

                    But I knew from my splits that I just needed to hang on and I would beat my goal time. 

                     

                    Mile 13 (4:18 .57miles 7:34/m) The last half mile was downhill and with the finish line in site I was able to

                    kick a bit and catch a few more people. DW and the in-laws were there to cheer me across the line!

                    Chip Time: 1:44:41 (no starting mat)

                    Garmin Time: 1:44:35 (~1:48:59 for 13.1)

                    Overall: 150/606 Gender: 111/324

                     

                    Observations:

                    1) Hydrate better next time you big dope!

                    2) Not sure what pace I could have held for another .5, but I'm pretty sure I would have beaten my goal.

                    3) I could not have properly paced myself without the Garmin. Perhaps as I gain more experience I will be able

                    to rely more on "feel".

                    3) Within 2 hours of the race I caught myself talking and planning for "next time".

                      Great race reports. Could feel the pain and agony as well as those moments of joy which after all is what brings us all back. 

                       

                      So Teresa, is there anything you would do different the next time?

                       

                      I wouldn't say it was very organized if you couldn't tell where the start line was and if it was the pole and they let people line up in front of it, that is the pits for those who really want to run a legitimate race. 

                       

                      Larry

                      LPH

                      "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                      Teresadfp


                      One day at a time

                        Larry, for the most part, I think I'm just not built to run very fast.  I was ALWAYS slow, even as a kid.  But I think I CAN improve.  I  need to put more miles in.  I also need to run up hills more often - I'm thinking once every week I'll do hill work.  There's a great hill on the next street over that will work well.  The other thing I will try is running more consecutive miles without walk breaks.  At the race, I stopped way too often when I hadn't planned to.


                        Prince of Fatness

                          Wow, it appears that racing season is in full swing.  Nice racing everyone.

                          Not at it at all. 

                          Teresadfp


                          One day at a time

                            Thanks, MrPH!  Oh, I thought of one more thing - it probably wasn't the wisest to go for two 8-mile runs the week before (not the week OF the race, but the previous one). 

                             

                            I went for a 3.3-mile recovery run this morning.  Very slow, but it felt pretty good.  My inside thigh muscles are a little sore, but that's it.

                              Congratulations to all three of you, and i really do enjoy getting all the details. Great races, well done!

                               

                              I expect i will be contributing a report to the list after my race on the 18th.

                              PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                                                  10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

                               

                                Larry, for the most part, I think I'm just not built to run very fast.  I was ALWAYS slow, even as a kid.  But I think I CAN improve.  I  need to put more miles in.  I also need to run up hills more often - I'm thinking once every week I'll do hill work.  There's a great hill on the next street over that will work well.  The other thing I will try is running more consecutive miles without walk breaks.  At the race, I stopped way too often when I hadn't planned to.

                                 

                                Someplace recently, (in the last month or so) I read an article about hill training, may even had been Runners World!

                                 

                                Anyway, one of the things it reccomended for Hill work, was to treat it as Interval Running.  I don't remember the specifics, but it said something like pick a hill you want to practice on.  Pick a time to run (say 60 seconds), not  the time it'll take to run up the whole hill.  Then run up the hill for the allotted time, mark the spot. then wak or jog down the hill, (I think it said rest for a minute or 2) then repeat.  I'm sure it recommended a number of reps to perform, but I don't recall, but then again I would reccomend that the person does what they're comfortable with. 

                                 

                                Eventually, you'll find yourself running further and further past your mark in the same time period. 

                                 

                                I know I'm not a 100% of what the article said, but if you want, I'll go back through Runners World and see if that's where I got it from.  I kind of stored the concept in my head to use for steep long hill training.  I'm running pretty strong right now, but I kow that any real long steep hills would kill me. 

                                 

                                Larry

                                LPH

                                "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"