Half Marathon Trainers

Race Reports (Read 1729 times)

hog4life


    Great report Zel, tuff break on the course. It sounds like you run this one with everything you had. Congrats on a strong comeback after a rough summer.

      Zel, great report, don't fret over the mileage, celebrate it for what it is, you showed up, ran and finished in the position you did.  If you were planning on running other 5Ks and use this for a base, well then okay.  Enjoy the moment

       

      As for garmin, they can be off plus or minus.  mine showed I actually ran something like 13.33 miles on Sun.  A certified course is done with the shortest possible course, cutting corners tight etc.  Then they add in a fudge factor to make it longer so no one can actuaqlly run less than the course distance (I'll have to look it up).  In some caeses, just as you said, it may not understand corners, and I find especially return loops.

       

      Hog4 and Barbs, thanks, I'm still enjoying it.

      LPH

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

        I failed in my report to mention the overall Race.

         

        Overall, I thought it was very well run and organized.  The staff did a great job with the set-up of the venue.  Lots of volunteers along the course, numerous bands spread out. I think there was something like 6 water stops and their web site told you where they were and what they would have.  It was a great wide open road to start on and the course was well marked and directed throughout.  The police and staff did an amazing job on controlling traffic, considering we were on some major local roads.

         

        Parking was a little iffy. They had us parking at the Misquamicut State Beach, but half of the parking was already taken up by the carnival that was there.  In addition, the Carnival took up the closest end of the parking in relation to start line, registration etc.  If you ended up down at the far end, you easily had half a mile to go.  Which brings up a beef I had with them.  They did not inform people on the website that they would need identification with them to pick up their package or to register.  I was fortunate, that I brought mine with me.  Many were scrambling back to their cars to get it.  They did say if you had someone else picking it up for you, that they would need a copy of your ID and signed form.

         

        As with any race, the line to the porta pottys were long.  I was fortunate to get mine out of the way early (no line) and not need it again.

         

        Misquamicut State Beach is located on a road that there is basically two ways in and it does not handle traffic well.  They had stated that they were shutting down the road at 7AM, but cars were still filing in beyond 7:30, and most of us were trying to  position ourselves on the road for our start.

         

        Their website stated that they were only allowing 1800 entrants and displayed a SOLD OUT several days in advance.  1613 finished the race, so not sure what happened to the others, either they got there late or just didn't show.

         

        Sections of the course were beautiful, you could look at the ocean, but there were only a few views like that, but enjoyable just the same.  Spectators and homeowners were wonderful and supportive and spread throughout the course.

         

        Finish line was simple, I love these new chips attached to the bib, no number to tear off, no chip to return etc.  I collected my medal, a bottle of water and was out of the chute in less than 30 seconds and out of the way.  Not much room to get around once you got out of the chute, but that was just crowd control.

         

        Afterwards, they had massage therapist there, free New England Clam Chowder (wasn't very good) as well as bananas and the usual snacks etc.  They also had a beer and wine tent set up, with a free beer for runners and I think a free wine tasting, however, if you didn't have an ID, they wouldn't let you in.  Come on, okay I can get that if you look a little bit on the very young side, but at my age, I certainly don't look like I'm younger than 21.  So I had to pass (I no longer had my ID) and so weren't most others, as who wanted to walk all the way back down to the car and back yet again for that.  They had some shops etc set-up, tee shirts and assorted running gear and lots of excitement and band still playing.

         

        To get your offical time you walked up to the tent where they had laptops set up, gave theperson your bib number and in a second, there you were with up to date information and finish time.   It was so simple, that there was really no line to get in and get it.

         

        Their website was live with results as well, just plug in a name or bib number and the information came up.  You could also click on "Video" and it was tied to the name or bib number and within seconds you could see the person (or yourself) crossing the finish line.

         

        As part of the festival there was a car show and so after the race, they were pulling in and you were able to see them and ohh and ahh over them.  Not sure what time the Carnival was reopening for the day.  We brought our beach chairs and went out and sat on the beach for awhile and then headed home.

         

        Would I recommend this race to anyone, absolutely, but my instructions would be to get there "REAL" early

         

        Larry

        LPH

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

        Zelanie


          Larry- Congratulations on your race! Those are some fantastic splits- last mile, fast mile!  I am so happy that it went well for you!

          hog4life


            Sept 28th 5k

            Just some notes, mostly for myself, but so others can comment if they want to. I did this run as a spur of the moment after working a 12 hour shift the previous night. My employer is a big sponsor here and normally has some running slots available due to the size of their donation. Somehow, that got screwed up, but ole well. The proceeds go to the community for rebuilding/remodeling homes to the needy people that can’t afford it, and that are on fixed incomes.

            I got there plenty early and was able to help my running club set up the timing mats, chute, tents, etc.  I did a short warm up of 1.75 miles with some strides at the end. I lined up near the front as I usually do in the smaller races here. My intent was to run all out, to see how the PF has left me after a struggle with my miles all summer. As we started, the 18-20 minutes folks started pulling away quickly, with me and another small pack following behind. There were some folks scattered loosely between that front group, and my group. I reached mile 1 at 7:20, and to be honest, it kind of started playing a mental game. I was already accepting that I was going to fade. I really need to work on this part of my racing. There was one older guy that caught up to me just after the one mile mark, and we run together until about 2.7 miles, then he started pulling away from me. My splits were 7:20, 7:45, 7:59, 7:00. I finished the race in 24:03, that was good for 4/7 AG, and 21/89 OA. Here are a couple of my thoughts after the race;

            I definitely did not run all out, because within a minute or two of finishing, I was mad at myself for not leaving it all on the course. In fact, I run another 6.3 miles later that night. And these miles felt just like any other 6 miles. If I want to get into the low 23’s, or even sub 23(23:36 PR), which I know I’m capable of, I’ll need to focus on a specific 5k race and to some specific speed work to make it happen.  I pulled all the 5k races out of my log; put them here for easy reference for the future. The two runs in bold are significant in the fact that 8/11 was pre cancer surgery, and 10/20 was post cancer surgery.

             

            9/28/2013

            Run

            Wilson   Morgan Park

            Race

            3.1 mi

            24:03

            7:46

             

            4/20/2013

            Run

            Hospice   5k

            Race

            3.1 mi

            24:07

            7:47

             

            3/30/2013

            Run

            Rumpshaker

            Race

            3.1 mi

            26:46

            8:39

             

            3/16/2013

            Run

            Run   For Life 5k, Hartselle

            Race

            3.1 mi

            23:51

            7:39

             

            11/22/2012

            Run

            Turkey   Trot

            Race

            3.1 mi

            25:22

            8:11

             

            10/20/2012

            Run

            Liz Hurley 5k

            Race

            3.1 mi

            25:00

            8:04

             

            8/11/2012

            Run

            Brook Hill 5k

            Race

            3.1 mi

            23:36

            7:37

             

            7/21/2012

            Run

            Mt   Dew Trail

            Race

            3.1 mi

            25:25

            8:12

             

            6/16/2012

            Run

            Phil   Campbell

            Race

            3.1 mi

            24:06

            7:44

             

            5/19/2012

            Run

            PCRA

            Race

            3.1 mi

            24:05

            7:44

             

            3/25/2012

            Run

            Dispatch   Dash

            Race

            3.1 mi

            24:10

            7:48

             

            2/25/2012

            Run

            Decatur   Library 5k

            Race

            3.1 mi

            23:48

            7:40

             
            Zelanie


              Mitch- I think you ran great with that speedy first mile and considering that you've been working all night.  I can't quite get the hang of the 5K either.  I tell myself it's because I'm more of a distance runner. Wink

              Zelanie


                Corvallis Fall Festival 10K RR

                 

                Summary: Official time 53:03, a 5:29 PR over the same course last year.  Missed my goal by quite a bit, but felt like I ran a solid race.  I was 69/169 OA, and 6/30 in the 30-39 AG.

                 

                Today I ran the Corvallis Fall Festival 10K.  It’s actually only my second 10K, and my first one was this same race last year, when I was very happy to come in under an hour.  This year, I was hoping to beat last year’s time by a minute per mile, because how many times in your life do you get that sort of opportunity, right?

                 

                I was off for the spring and most of the summer with a knee injury, and have only been back to quality work for the past 6 weeks or so.  My main training focus is a half marathon in November, so I didn’t really cut back this week other than to shorten my LR a bit and run it on Friday.

                 

                Prerace: It is so stormy here that they canceled today’s Fall Festival except for the race.  We have been getting heavy rains and strong winds all weekend.  Luckily, it wasn’t that bad this morning.  It was raining but not pouring, and the wind was fairly calm.  Temps were in the mid-50s.  I ran my 2 mile warmup in a hoodie, raincoat, and gloves, but I made myself ditch all 3 in my car before the start.

                 

                I ran a 5K a couple of weeks ago and didn’t have a great race, so today’s plan was to ease into my pace and then try to pick it up.  I was thinking I’d run my first 2 miles at 8:30, then try to get down to 8:20 for the next 2, then see what I had left.

                 

                Today’s race had a 5K and a 10K, and for whatever reason they start the 5K first.  It was chip timed, but they only had a mat at the finish, not the start.

                 

                Start: I felt like I was lining up too far forward, but the next row behind me was a herd of people in matching shirts and some kids, so I didn’t want to move back.  It turns out I was too far back and had to just go with the flow for a while.  Then we hit the back of the 5Kers.  Luckily it was pretty wide by the point.  I knew I was really slow compared to my goal, but tried to just relax and ease into my race pace.

                 

                Mile 1- 8:37.  I was starting to even out.  My hands were super cold and I wished that I had gloves.  I got passed by a couple, and the girl was in her sports bra, so I told myself to suck it up.

                 

                Mile 2- 8:27.  About perfect.  We split off from the 5K somewhere around here, and it suddenly got a lot quieter.  The course is a loop, and the turnaround is before the halfway point.  This part was an out and back, so I got to see the leaders coming back through.  Two guys from my running club were dueling, but weren’t so close to each other at this point.  They finished the race within 7 seconds of each other, though!

                 

                At the turnaround, there were three of us together: me, the girl I was passing, and the girl in the lilac shirt who was passing both of us.  Too many people all trying to go around a cone!  I decided that I needed to keep Lilac in sight.

                 

                Mile 3- 8:36

                Mile 4- 8:19.  I swear they were both run at the same effort.

                 

                I was having a hard time pushing myself, but on the other hand I felt like I was running really well.  Everything felt good, I just did not feel like running any faster, hehe.  I was breathing well, thanking the volunteers, and at least feeling confident instead of ragged.  Somewhere around here I crossed a road and somebody called my name from a car.  I couldn’t see who it was, though.

                 

                We were on the road in one part, and there was an intersection with a pretty deep puddle on both sides, and a single-person-width dry spot in the middle.  It would have been great, except that there was a car that went through right at that moment, splashing me and taking the only dry spot.  I yelled, “Fuck cars” to the volunteers and flipped off the driver.  Then I realized that people might think I was serious instead of joking, so I started to laugh.  Then I realized that my laugh sounded kinda scary, and they were probably all wondering what was wrong with me.  Oh well.  Hollering a bit did give me a boost, though.  It was easier to run for a little bit.  I really hardly ever swear IRL, honest!

                 

                Mile 5- 8:33

                 

                Somewhere in here I realized that my hands were no longer cold.  I was glad I hadn’t brought my gloves after all!  I still had Lilac in sight, plus the girl in the Orchid shirt that she had passed.  I realized that I must not be running hard enough if I still knew words like Orchid and Lilac, but I didn’t care.

                 

                I had been closing in on a guy for a couple of miles now, and finally drew even with him.  But he was holding on and kept pace with me.  I looked over, but he wouldn’t make eye contact.  He picked it up, but I didn’t think I was ready to really push to the end, so I let him go.

                 

                I remembered that in my 5K, I had been outkicked by the only two people who were nearby.  Was I going to lose to this guy, too?  Maybe I’m not much of a competitor, really.  Or maybe we’re both pulling each other to go a little bit faster.  One woman did pass me in here.  She was only the second to pass me after the first mile.

                 

                Mile 6- 8:36

                 

                I passed my husband’s cousin (she wasn’t in the race), and we headed back through campus and towards the finish.  Time to step it up.  Fast and smooth, and my legs responded.  It felt good to run fast.  When the finish line was in sight, I started my kick for real, and it was solid.   I breezed past that guy (chicked!) and was closing on Orchid and Lilac at the line.  They finished 13 and 15 seconds ahead of me.

                 

                Last 0.24- 7:41

                 

                Final time via Garmin: 52:57.  Official time 53:03 (no starting mat)

                 

                I felt pretty good after the race.  I congratulated the guy from the finish, and we both agreed we had run faster because of the other.   I got a post-race stretch and some good advice from the PT tent that was set up there.  He thinks that what I’ve been thinking is a tight piriformis is really mostly my obturator.  I’ve never even heard of that muscle before!  He says I should stretch more, and he is probably right.

                 

                Final thoughts: I feel good about this race, though clearly I had a lot left at the finish.  I don’t know whether it’s sandbagging so much as I haven’t really developed the mental ability to push myself into sub-LT territory and hold it there.  I kind of feel like I ran this race like a mini-HM instead of a 10K.  Then again, I think I like the HM distance better, or will, anyway, since I’ve only run two races longer than a 10K.  Maybe as I get more experience I will be able to push myself a little bit more without worrying too much that I’m going to melt down or something.  I did like the more relaxed start, though.  Two weeks ago, I tried to hit my goal pace right from the gun, and that maybe didn’t set me up to run my best.

                 

                I’ve got almost two more months until my HM.  I don’t know if I will race again before then.  There is a hillier 10K in two weeks.  I’m considering running that at HM pace/effort as a training run, but haven’t made up my mind just yet.

                  Great race reports from both of you.  Glad you shared with  us, both the good and the bad, isn't that why we all come here?

                   

                  Hog4, so what words of wisdom would you give people out of this?  Maybe that you went out too fast (like so many of us do) and then faded! Overall considering everything going on with work and your health, I think it's a "VICTORY" for you that you should be celebrating. (I'm typically very guilty of going out too fast and dying in races in my early years, but trying to learn from my exprience.

                   

                  Zel, Congratulations on the PR for the same race and very good steady times.  I'd say very good and steady pacing pacing and hopefully you can master that for your HM.

                  LPH

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

                  redleaf


                    (sigh; I had this huge long report done and then I hit a key and it all went away. I may cry).

                     

                    Exec summary: undertrained (as you all know) lots of group stops (I ran with a bunch of friends) for porta potties and photo ops. And based on the official time posted I still managed to get a 49 second PR! Official time = 2:46:38.6

                     

                     

                    Long version:

                    A friend of ours was getting married and there was this half-marathon the morning of and the bride thought it'd be fun to run (yes, you read that right) so a bunch of us all signed up to run it. Race was in Grand Haven MI. Very scenic. Lake views, trees everywhere. People on the front lawn. We got lots of attention as our friend was running in her bachelorette veil that we had made for her earlier this year. Several choruses of "Going to the chapel" were sung on course.

                     

                    Here's the link to the garmin download of the race. I have no idea where those first few intervals came from - they're faster than my 5k race pace and likely contributed to my left calf feeling like it was gonna explode from my leg.

                     

                    A bunch of us ran together. The bride had long ago decided she was going to run with me again. She got me through St Louis with another friend so that was really nice of her. I'm by far the slowest of the bunch so I think it was very sweet of them to stay back with me. I'm sure it was close to PWs for them! One of our group was having stomach issues so we made a lot of stops at the porta potties. It was a small race so there was only ever one porta potty at the aid station and because 2 or 3 of our group would use the facilities each time - well, that was a lot of time.

                     

                    Then there was the aforementioned calf issue. With about 2 miles to go (3.2 km as I would remind them the KM distance anytime they mentioned the miles) it started to seize. Usually, I just cave when something like that happens - if something seems to not be working all of a sudden I just cave. I REALLY have to work on that. But this time, here I was with the bride who had helped me so much in St Louis, with another friend having loads of GI troubles but who stuck it out, with Barbs595 who didn't like the 10:1s I was doing but did them anyway. No way was I caving this time. By the time we were in the last 500-600 metres I was trying my best to not physically crumple or scream with every step. I (apparently not too nicely) asked Barbs595 to move over, thinking if I lengthened my stride that would help, (it did for a little) but I was hurting. We all grabbed hands though and the five of us all crossed the line together. About 49 seconds faster than my previous best.

                     

                    One of the group gave me a bit of magnesium something or other to have in my water. I also grabbed a beer and had another chomp. I ordinarily eat very very low carb as my husband and I are trying to lose weight but I increase carbs the day before a big race and will drink gatorade and have sport beans during the race. This race I had chomps because I forgot my beans. I found what felt like a knot in my calf and worked on it sitting in the grass post-race. Also soaked it and, uhm, had more beer.

                     

                    Now my calf just feels tired and sore. Sigh. No idea what happened there but definitely don't want to have it happen again. I'll take the 49 seconds considering how undertrained I was. That of course was due only to my own self-doubt and self-sabotage. Really gotta work on that.

                     

                    Oh and one last tidbit of info: I'm 11.5 kilos lighter than the end of April which was my last PR race. (about 25 pounds)

                    First or last...it's the same finish line

                    HF #4362

                    Zelanie


                      Redleaf- Congrats on the PR!  I'm sorry that you had such terrible cramping at the end, but congratulations on pushing through it and getting to the finish!  What a memorable race day for the bride!

                      hog4life


                        Red, congrats on the PR! It sounds like you all had a good time aside from a few minor things. I need to plan a race like that.

                         

                        Larry, words of wisdom? Hmm, first, there's a note to myself in the fact that I seem to be quite consistant with my times(24:04). If I were to go back and look at the splits for each race, I'm almost certain that my first miles are too fast. The biggest piece of advice is to run hard all the way, it's supposed to hurt on a 5k. Another word would be don't expect your best performance on sub par conditions leading up to a race. Unfortunately, this scenario happens to me on a regular basis. I would guess that 30-35% of them races were after working nights. And thirdly, if you want a big improvement on your 5k time, you should do some 5k specific training.

                        I have another 5k on the 19th, and this will be after working day shift unless my work schedule changes between now and then. So I will have another attempt to get into the mid/low 23's. its a huge race so there will be lots of rabbits for me to chase. I have a 15k on the 12th, then my HM on the 26th.

                          Sounds like great races everyone.

                           

                          Just for the record Red I did not get insulted I was like"alright she is going to kick it in and leave us in her dust". It was awesome and I think one of the best times I have ever had. so happy we were able to help her get a PR. She deserved it.

                          Run, Walk, Crawl, just Finish.

                          HF # 1189

                            I needed a little chuckle this afternoon, so thanks everyone.

                             

                            Red, great report and full picture of the running with the bride and potty stops.  "MY LORD"!  but it sounds like fun and what running should be about rather than being so focused on time, performacne etc.  Oh! That's right, I'm an Engineer I can't not think about that stuff.

                             

                            Hog4.  See you have lots of wisdom of your own, now you have to listen to some of it.

                            LPH

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

                            hog4life


                              Monte Sano 15K, October 12th, 2013

                               

                              Short;

                              Time: 1:20:27

                              Pace: 8:38

                              AG: 13/43

                              OA: 120/429

                               

                              Longer;

                              I did this race two years ago in 2011, with a time of 1:40:13, for a 10:46 pace. I was just coming off a calf injury, and probably shouldn’t have run it. I ended up walking quite a bit, and was a little disappointed because I wasn’t smarter about it. At any rate, I’ve wanted to better my time ever since then. This is a beautiful course with a lot of rolling hills, lots of shade, through some very nice residential areas, well organized, great weather.  Last year, I was just coming off my colon cancer surgery, so fall racing was out of the question, or at least the longer distances were. So that brings us to this year. I’ve been dealing with PF all summer with reduced mileage; I am just getting my mileage back up over the past month or two, but haven’t done much speed work.  I basically wanted to run this at a tempo effort, maybe between 8:50-9:10mm. I had a couple goal times of 1:27 and 1:22. I wanted to start out kind of slow and ease the pace up if everything was feeling okay. After working a 60 hour week on night shift, and then driving straight to the race, I wasn’t expecting much. I kept trying to pull my pace back, but each time we were going downhill, it just felt too easy and was hitting in the low 8’s and high 7’s. I just kept plodding along and targeting people in front of me to pick off. I can’t recall how many I passed, but it was a bunch.

                               

                              Splits are as follows;

                               

                              Mile 1 – 8:54

                              Mile 2 – 8:38

                              Mile 3 – 8:26

                              Mile 4 – 8:40

                              Mile 5 – 8:33

                              Mile 6 – 8:41

                              Mile 7 – 8:34

                              Mile 8 – 8:47

                              Mile 9 – 8:21

                              .3 – 7:39(Garmin shows a best pace of 4:37)!

                               

                              I need to stop all this racing and focus on my Dec marathon, but I’m having too much fun. Got a total of 12.15 miles for the day. I got to meet up and FE with 3 people today, had a good run, so it was a good day. There were 5 state records set in different divisions today. The 1st place time was 49:35, and second place was 53:52. Damn what a gap!

                               

                              Thanks for reading

                              Mitch

                                Sounds like you had a great race. Don't know how you do it after working such crazy night hours. You rock!

                                Run, Walk, Crawl, just Finish.

                                HF # 1189