Half Marathon Trainers

Race Reports (Read 1729 times)

    Looooved the picture, Redleaf.  Congratulations!  (Ohhhhh, and you're from Canada.  I think I just figured out why you are redleaf.  Took me a while -- I'm slow!Smile)

     

    And I feel the same way about 5ks.  5k was the standard racing different for girls'/women's cross country when I was in high school and college and when I discovered longer distances, I was ecstatic.  Ran the 10k in college track.  My thought process: "What?!? I can run without killing myself and people are still super impressed because of the distance?  Sign me up!!!!"  (Unfortunately 10K on a track is a bit depressing.)  But now so many years later, I'm ecstatic to have discovered the half marathon -- the perfect distance.

    Current PRs:  Half-marathon: 2:04:46 (Nov. 2013) /10k: 55:01 (Oct. 2013)/ 5K: 25:40 (Dec. 2013)

     

    Upcoming races:  5k Jan. 25, 2013

                                  Half marathon Feb. 23, 2014

    Zelanie


      Race report- EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon (cross-posted)

       

      Executive Summary- Second Half Marathon.  Chip time 1:55:02, 58 second PR, 38 second negative split, 7/25 AG, 200/496 OA, 76/291 Female

       

      Background: I ran my first half marathon this past April, but finished with a knee injury and had to take about two months off.  After a round of PT, I worked on building my base back up to get ready for this race.  I didn’t follow any specific plan this time.  Instead, I first worked on getting back to 30 MPW comfortably with all easy runs.  Once I could do that, I kept my mileage the same, but added a long run and eventually once-a-week speedwork (either a track workout or tempo).  Then, once I felt comfortable at a certain mileage level, I bumped it up.  I averaged just under 40 MPW for the 10 weeks leading up to the race, and peaked at 45.  I just did a one-week taper for this race, although I did cut my LR last week. For LRs, I ran 15 once, 14 once, and a handful of 13s.

       

      I wasn’t really sure what to aim for as far as goals, but I did have a couple of good 10Ks about 6 weeks back, and in training the 8:30s had been feeling better and better recently. So I decided that a “good” day would be sub-1:55, and a “great” day would be sub-1:52. I knew I could run the distance, but had no idea how prepared I was to hold my pace for the distance.

       

      PreRace- The past few days have been cold in Oregon!  But it was sunny and clear, with very little wind.  I decided to rent a hoody and knit cap from Goodwill for this race, but under that I just went with a short sleeve top, sparkle skirt, and calf sleeves.  I also wore my favorite pair of Kinvaras.  They arrived at my house the day of the Boston Marathon, plus I was injured and wasn’t running, so for a while they just sat sadly in the closet.  I only started wearing them recently, but I swear that every run I’ve worn them for has been a good one.

       

      The race was my first down in Eugene, Track Town USA, of course!  It is a benefit for their local low-income heating assistance program.  I got to the race site with plenty of time and did a 2-mile warmup along the course with 4 sets of strides.  It was still in the mid-20’s at that point, but clear and sunny.  I wore hand warmers in my gloves!  The entire course was along paved trails by the Willamette River, and was really lovely.  On my warmup, I saw that there were ice patches along the trail.  It wasn’t too slippery, but definitely required a little bit of attention and careful footing.

       

      Start- I had been looking for JDrumm, who was also running the race, but hadn’t spotted him yet.  Then I got to the starting line, and realized that I had lined up next to him!  Perfect!  So we got to catch up a bit while we waited for the race to start.  We wished each other luck, and then were off.

       

      It was very, very crowded at the start since you go from a parking lot to a bike path.  And maybe I started too far back.  I realized that I had to focus on getting clear because going with traffic at that spot was not going to get me to race pace.  It was about a half mile before I had any control at all over how fast I was running, and a mile before I was really in the clear.

       

      I ditched the hat a 0.2 miles, and the jacket at the first mile marker.

       

      Mile 1- 8:54

       

      We crossed the Willamette for the first time and went into the park.  I felt pretty good, and was easing into my race pace.  We passed the 5K turnaround, but since the 5K started 15 minutes later, they weren’t there yet.

       

      Mile 2- 8:42

       

      So far, so good.  There was a group of three chatty girls near me, talking about the housing market, and home renovations, etc.  Everyone else was quiet or had headphones on.  There was a guy who had my same calf sleeves plus Saucony shoes that looked like Kinvaras.  I decided to try to keep him in sight.  Right before the third mile marker, we got to a turnaround point that was also the first water station.  Danger!  I was happy to be through before it was too crowded.

       

      Mile 3- 8:50

       

      I saw JDrumm on the out and back section, he looked good.  Then I happily pulled away from the chatty girls, but my equipment twin guy had pulled ahead of me and was out of sight.

       

      Mile 4- 8:41

       

      I took my first gel.  I know I don’t need them, but at least they are a confidence boost.

       

      Mile 5- 8:49

       

      Somewhere in here we ran into 5Kers and 10Kers.  The path was wide enough that it seemed to work.

       

      Mile 6- 8:43

       

      Still feels pretty easy, too easy even, but I don’t have enough experience to know whether to push or not.  They had a mat for the halfway split, which was nice.  I realize that I’m behind pace for sub-1:55 and had better step it up.  But I’m honestly scared that I will crash and burn, and know I feel good at my current pace.  I caught sight of equipment twin guy again, and focused on catching him.

       

      Mile 7- 8:46

       

      I pull almost even with equipment twin guy.  Close enough that I can see that he also has the same kind of Balega socks that I am wearing.  His shoes look like they have many more miles on them.  He also looks like he’s a bit behind pace himself, since every now and then he glances at his watch, speeds up, and then gradually slows down.  I can’t quite pass him.

       

      Mile 8- 8:35

       

      I take my second gel, and instantly get a strange cramp in the bottom left of my abdomen, almost down in my hip.  I don’t know whether it’s the water or the gel or just random, but I back off my pace just a bit.  I pass a woman who is calling her doctor on the phone.  I hope that she’s doing OK, but not sure how much mid-race help she is going to get via telephone.

       

      I slowed down enough that the chatty girls have caught and even passed me.  At least they aren’t quite as chatty anymore.

       

      Mile 9- 9:05

       

      I realized that this is exactly what I did in my first half.  Maintaining the same effort as I was during the first half is going to get me slower and slower paces from here on out.  I realize that I have a choice- I can let that happen, or fight it.  So I fight.  I gave a little surge just as we’re crossing the second footbridge to go back to the other side of the river.  My surge takes me past the chatty girls, and I find that I am back on pace and seem to be able to hold it.  Equipment twin guy looks like he’s speeding up, though.

       

      Mile 10- 8:44

       

      Just a 5K left, but it is a fight between my brain and my legs.  I’m still on pace for sub-1:55, but barely.

       

      Mile 11- 8:48

      Mile 12- 8:44

       

      Now my hip decides that it has had enough for the day.  And it is pretty serious about things.  Not injured, it would just rather slow down right now thank you very much.  I know there’s not much left, but it still feels like an eternity.

       

      Mile 13- 9:01

       

      I see the 13 mile flag and just go for it.  And according to Garmin, I have an awesome kick.  Where was that 25 second ago?  I don’t know.

       

      Last 0.12- 6:50 pace.  But it sure doesn’t look like that in the video that DD took of my finish!  I wonder if the truth is somewhere in between the numbers of my last two paces.

       

      Final thoughts: I crossed the mat in 1:55:3X gun time, and was happy to see 1:55:02 chip time.   Three measly seconds off my goal!  Still, I think I ran about as well as I could have today, judging by how those last 3 felt.  No regrets!

      My husband and DD met me at the finish, and we got to say hi to JDrumm and meet his wife.  We went to the after party at a nearby restaurant, but it was not all that exciting, so we went out for waffles instead.

       

      Overall, it was a good race.  I’m back to about where I was in the spring, but I think that I have a more solid base under me now.  Today was a 58 second PR (and, according to the results, I also negative split today’s race by 38 seconds).  I am registered for next year’s Corvallis Half Marathon in April, but don’t really have any firm plans until then.  Until today, I was just focused on being able to finish a half uninjured.  I am pretty sure that I accomplished that, but the next few days will tell.

       

      As far as training goes, I think that I had the speed and endurance that I needed for my race today.  I did not have the stamina, which honestly I suspected going in.  I did more pure track workouts than tempos, and I didn’t do any longer tempo runs.  I sort of ran out of time in my training to get to them.  I have been looking at some plans that include faster miles in the long run, and think that something like that would really help me get to the next level as far as racing goes.

       

      Thanks for reading this far- it was a long one!  Hope that you enjoyed it, or at least skipped the boring parts. Wink

       

      Photos: I will edit with official photos once they are in.  My DD also took a video of the finish that she posted on Facebook, but because it's "hers" and not "mine" I don't think that her settings will let me share it.  I think if you are my friend on Facebook you should be able to see it.

       

      At the finish.  Working hard.  And heel striking.

       

      This is what your face is supposed to look like at the finish, right?  I think I have scared that guy over on the sidelines.

       

      After I'd had a chance to walk it off a bit.

       

      And finally- here is the waffle that I had. Cool

      hog4life


        Mel, that was a great RR and a fantastic effort. The splits look very good too.

          Great race report, Zelanie, and great time!  Wow.  And great pictures -- of you and the yummy waffle.

           

          So interesting to hear the background and your training program too.  I am totally impressed that you built yourself back up after injury.  Sounds lie a great day!

          Current PRs:  Half-marathon: 2:04:46 (Nov. 2013) /10k: 55:01 (Oct. 2013)/ 5K: 25:40 (Dec. 2013)

           

          Upcoming races:  5k Jan. 25, 2013

                                        Half marathon Feb. 23, 2014

          redleaf


            Woohoo! Way to go Z!

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

            HF #4362

              Great race and great report!

              I  like the description of your training plan and the analysis, and I would guess you are right that some long tempo runs would give you that

              edge of physical and mental toughness at the end of the race.

               

              Not too sure about your choice of food after the race, though!

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

                                                  10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

               

              redleaf


                Tannenbaum 10k Toronto ON

                 

                Although my plan was to run about 2 hours on Saturday and then run today as a precursor to New Years, between getting ready for my mom's party and picking up the race stuff and my husband having to leave for choir, all I managed yesterday was a little over 5.5km (3ish miles). Better than letting myself talk myself out of running entirely Smile

                 

                I got up at about 6 am this morning (race start was a very civilized 9 am) thanks to some stomach issues. Coffee and several trips to the bathroom and I was feeling a bit better. I left the house with my house guest around 8 am to pick up another friend and then head down to the race.

                 

                Got there by 8:30 (I love Sunday morning driving) and warmed up a bit. We ran into another RA friend and her friend in the parking lot. I found the RD and his wife and got my good luck hugs. I headed to about 3/4 of the way back of the 700 runners. Two of my friends started with me but they soon left me behind. I spent most of the race arbitrarily picking people and trying to match their pace for a while.

                 

                Did my usual 10:1s. I was hoping to beat my 1:12:21 but I didn't know by how much. Based on how I've been doing all year, I figured I'd shave some seconds off. I am the queen of the 17 second PR improvement after all.

                 

                After the 8k marker, I got tired. I distracted myself by doing some math. The way it was working out I'd have my last walk break well after the 9 km marker. I knew I couldn't push through it completely with the cramps I was having so instead, I cut that 10 minute run-section short and walked for a minute at the 9 marker after I promised myself I'd go as hard as I could for as long as I could after that.

                 

                I wish I could have seen the finish chute for longer. I find that a very good lure at the end but this course had lots of bobs and weaves and I'd see it for a bit and then lose it. Right close to the end I could hear my friends cheering and I threw caution to the wind and I sprinted for the last bunch of metres to the end. Not that far mind you which is good 'cause I almost coughed up a lung as a result!

                 

                First 5 run cycles were all under 7 minutes / km (I THINK that's about 11:15 min/mile) which for me is fast - my 5k pr is a 6:38 min/km. The second last one crept up over 7 minutes. Then I took the last walk break and managed 6:24/km  (about 10:30/mile?) for the last 6 minute stretch.

                 

                Anyway, final chip time = 1:09:58 - I cracked 1:10!! for a PR of 2:23 or something like that. I'm 30 pounds lighter than when I did the 10k in April that was my PR till today. Now if only I'd run more consistently.... ah well, I'm definitely pleased for now.

                 

                And now I have to run tomorrow for that mile a day thing I agreed to do with some friends if for no other reason than I bugged two people on their fb walls about it today!

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

                HF #4362

                hog4life


                  red, congrats on the PR, that's waaaaaay more than 17 seconds! And congrats on the weight loss too.

                    Awesome job Red!  You smashed that old PR.

                    Run, Walk, Crawl, just Finish.

                    HF # 1189

                      Wow, great PR Redleaf!!!!!Smile

                      Current PRs:  Half-marathon: 2:04:46 (Nov. 2013) /10k: 55:01 (Oct. 2013)/ 5K: 25:40 (Dec. 2013)

                       

                      Upcoming races:  5k Jan. 25, 2013

                                                    Half marathon Feb. 23, 2014

                        Oooh, so I'm all excited to write my first race report!  Yesterday afternoon, I ran the Santa Shuffle 5K in Manchester, NH. 

                         

                        Summary:  Finish time: 25:40  / Pace per mile: 8:16 / Overall standing:  374/2442 / Division (F 40-49) 32/419

                         

                        Goal and background:   So way back in the paleolithic era, the 5K used to be my race.  I loved it, excelled at it, and it never seemed hard to me. I took my fitness and sub-20 5ks for granted.  After college, I kind of drifted away from running, though I always preserved at least some degree of fitness.  In 2010 and 2011 (in my late 30s), I did a little running again, but was horrified to find that it was a painful struggle for me to run a 5K. I felt like I was going to die even at times slower than 30:00!  I knew that I would be slower than in my heyday, but I wasn't mentally prepared to be struggling quite so much!  Since I had such a strong prior identity as a runner (even though I didn't keep it up!), it took some time for me to make peace with the fact that if I wanted to run again, I would really have to work at it from the ground up --  with humility and baby steps.  Discovering the half-marathon distance this fall has helped me get my mojo back, but the 5k distance still has retained some baggage for me.

                         

                        Anyway, since I have a fantasy goal of being able to do a half-marathon at an 8:30 pace in 2014, I thought I would aim to run this 5k at an 8:30 pace to see how it would feel.

                         

                        Pre-race:  I have been very busy and wired about work related things over the past few days so I  have only been getting six hours of sleep a night, rather than my usual 8.  I spent much of Saturday morning getting lots of work correspondence at the door, then had a small bowl of pasta and tomato sauce for lunch at 12, with a banana for dessert.  Arrived in Manchester at 2:15, an hour before the race and found Friend's Husband, who had decided the day before to run the race too. Yay!!! I usually go to races by myself so it was great fun to have someone to hang out with!  I was issued my felt Santa suit --  pants, a red top with white lining, a black belt, a hat, and a white beard.  The pants were enormous, and the belt broke so I ditched them, and just ran with the red top hanging open (and my bib on the front of my jacket underneath), the hat, my black tights, and the beard, which made a good face warmer.  Friend's Husband and I did a one mile jog and stretched together, and then lined up in our different corrals.

                         

                        Starting Line:  Some of my favorite moments in the race were hanging out at the starting line.  Everyone was dressed in Santa suits, Christmas songs were blasting from speakers, and the atmosphere was generally merry.  At one point, they had us dance for 30 seconds.  Then we had the National Anthem, and the mayor sent us on our way with  a "Get read, set, ho ho ho!"

                         

                        Race:  

                        The course was completely flat and paved, a mile down the main drag in downtown Manchester, then a loop around some side streets, and then back down the main drag in the opposite direction.

                        Mile 1:  I felt fine but I really struggled to settle in to the right pace. I don't have a Garmin, so I hold my iPhone in my left hand and rely on the Map My Run application to give me my pace. For some reason, whenever I looked at it, it would fluctuate wildly from a 7:00 to 9:30 pace, so I was kind of stressing about whether I was going too fast or too slow. When I hit the mile marker, my first split was 8:15 according to my watch when I passed the mile marker.

                        Mile 2:  At the beginning of Mile 2, I told myself to stop stressing about my pace. I decided to relax and slow down.  I also began to run the pace by feel rather than worrying about what my phone was telling me.  I think my second split was around the desired 8:30 pace.

                        Mile 3:  I decided to speed up a little bit, but then at 2.25 miles, I began feeling a little rough and nervous about holding on.  It was just then that I saw Friend standing in the middle of the road.  I screamed her name and waved, and she saw me, screamed and waved back, and that gave me the boost I needed.  I picked it up a bit.  I was working hard but feeling pretty good.

                        Finish:  Since the race was advertised as a "3 mile run," I calculated that I needed to finish in 25:30 to meet my 8:30 per mile goal.  I started to get depressed around 2.75 miles, because I know the road  very well and I knew where the finish was, and I knew there was no way I could get to the finish by 25:30.  How could I have miscalculated so badly, I berated myself??? But then . . . I passed the 3 mile marker! I then realized that it was actually a 5K after all, not a flat 3 mile run. I wasn't going to finish at 25:30 because it was a longer race than I thought, and I was probably still on pace.  Whew!  I was so excited, I picked it up quite happily for the last .1 and finished in 25:40 -- an 8:16 pace.  Thrilled!

                         

                        Aftermath:  After finishing, I doubled back to watch the other runners in hopes of seeing Friend's Husband finish, while texting Friend as to my location.  I was just texting her to say that I thought I'd missed him when he swooped in and attacked me as he was running along.  Afterwards, we went bar hopping and watched part of the Christmas parade.  The runners over 21 all received tickets for a free beer accepted at a number of local establishments -- so a lot of bars and restaurants were packed with runners in Santa gear.  Normally, I would never go out to a bar all grungy and wearing running tights but it was great fun!  Best of all, I had a great time, and I don't care anymore about whatever times my young self might have run. I'm thrilled to be a 25:40 5K runner, and excited to try to chip away at that time in the future.

                        Current PRs:  Half-marathon: 2:04:46 (Nov. 2013) /10k: 55:01 (Oct. 2013)/ 5K: 25:40 (Dec. 2013)

                         

                        Upcoming races:  5k Jan. 25, 2013

                                                      Half marathon Feb. 23, 2014

                          Great job!  Sounds so fun.

                          Run, Walk, Crawl, just Finish.

                          HF # 1189

                          redleaf


                            Congrats Pandora that sounds like such fun!

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

                            HF #4362

                            hog4life


                              Pandora, phenomenal race. I get so excited when I read reports like this, especially when they are comebacks like yours. There is nothing shabby about your time, be proud.

                                Aw, thanks.  Knowing I would get to right a RR here was terrific motivation.  Just for fun, here is a picture I took at the starting line.  I can't figure out how to  get the picture right side up.

                                 

                                Current PRs:  Half-marathon: 2:04:46 (Nov. 2013) /10k: 55:01 (Oct. 2013)/ 5K: 25:40 (Dec. 2013)

                                 

                                Upcoming races:  5k Jan. 25, 2013

                                                              Half marathon Feb. 23, 2014