Notes
The second race of the 2009 season took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin on May 2, 2009. Conditions at the start line were excellent with temperatures at the start of 46 degrees and a light 8mph wind from the WSW. Temps increased to 55 at 9am with winds at 13mph from the West. The course was pancake flat with elevation gains of approximately 150 feet throughout the entire course; ideal conditions for a fast time.
Training had gone very well leading up to the race. I was on a 16 week cycle that included one hard workout per week with one week clear every fourth week and, most importantly, I hit every hard workout. The key workout during this cycle was the tempo run that began at 4 miles and extended to 6 miles in week nine in what was designed to represent race pace for the half. The total miles for the 16 weeks leading up to the race is below. As you can see, not only were total miles way up but the intensity was also much higher given the consistency of the hard workouts. High weekly mileage for the build-up was 44 miles and I topped 40 seven of the 16 weeks.
Hospital Hill = 448 miles
Chicago Distance Classic = 473 miles
Kenosha Half-Marathon = 566 miles
All this was great news, however, the final long run the week before the race was a 12 mile death march that left me questioning my fitness level so I had that to contend with.
The morning of the race I awoke at 4:44am and had a breakfast of a banana and a Clif Bar. I was anxious just like any other race morning mostly concerned with things outside the race like getting to the starting line, taking care of bathroom business, and worried about clothing. I left the house about 5:20am and had a great text from Dean saying “half-marathon day beotchhhhh” that was very helpful. Made my way uneventfully down to Kenosha, had a very fortuitous meet-up with Dean and Gareth and we then proceeded to the starting line. One more stop at the port-o-john line with 30 minutes to spare…what could do wrong? Really not much except the horn sounded while we were still in the port-o so we missed the festivities of the start but that normally only adds to the nervousness so no worries at all. So with a hastily said “good luck” to both G$ and Dean the race was on and I was weaving through the 11mm crowd as I crossed the start line.
I will say it was great having Dean, Gareth, Maas, and Mel at the starting line. They all added greatly to the experience.
The plan (and I had a cheat card in my pocket with splits) was 8mm for the first two, 7:45 for the next two, and then 7:30 all day which would lead me to a 1:39:45. The first mile loops around the little downtown peninsula which ended up being a nice addition. I came through mile one in 8:10 so an almost perfect pace and by this time I was clear of most slower traffic. I concentrated on hitting the 2nd mile just at the same pace and figured the best thing to do was to simply stay with the crowd and not pass anyone. I felt good, felt relaxed, it felt like a maintainable pace and I was confident I was being smart and sticking to the plan.
2nd mile – 7:29
Well crap. So now what? And this is where I think the tempo runs really paid off. The plan now changed to simply maintaining this pace for as long as I could and hopefully I’d have enough. Nothing like worrying about a plan for 16 weeks and have it evaporate in 15 minutes.
3rd mile – 7:33
4th mile – 7:36 and a total time of 30:48. From my cheat code I knew I had banked almost 45 seconds. However, from here on out the plan was 7:30 per mile so anything above that would eat away at the banked time.
5th mile – 7:24
6th mile – 7:31. Saw Jack at a water stop around this point. Jack, who was supposed to actually run, decided it’d be better to volunteer on the course but not tell me for the shock factor. Nice.
7th mile – 7:35. Somewhere in here the course loops back on itself so you can see the other runners. I was expecting to see a much larger cushion between myself, Gareth and Dean because I felt like I’d been pushing the pace harder than I probably should have been but they felt like they were right on top of me.
8th mile – 7:34
9th mile – 7:29
10th mile – 7:30 and a total time of 1:15:51. I still had around 40 seconds of banked time but this is a tough stretch. Too far from the finish to be motivated and too far from the start to feel fresh. My legs were starting to give way.
11th mile – 7:53. Worst mile. The course comes off the Lake and we head back into downtown during this stretch. Two freaking miles to go and at the 11 mile water stop I grabbed some water to throw on myself and another to guzzle something down but I didn’t stop to do either. My pad is now approximately 20 seconds and my brain cannot calculate what I need for mile splits but for the first time I’m worried. I remember focusing not on speed but on turning my legs over….up/down…..up/down…..up/down…..forward….always forward…..
12th mile – 6:58. Thank goodness. Fastest mile of the day and it came just at the right time. As the finish line grew closer I saw Maas again and he said simply “finish strong” and I must have repeated that 50 times during the last 0.5 mile. Finish strong….finish strong….finish strong…..
13th mile – 7:19
0.1 mile – 0:43
Final time: 1:38:44
Overall: 80 out of 1207
Sex: 71 out of 512
M35-39: 11 out of 92
Without question my best race in the past two years both in terms of preparation and execution. It felt very good crossing the finish line in under 100 minutes.
I’m running a few times this week and next week begins an 11 week cycle for a 5K. I had a debate with Dean coming back from packet pickup that a 5K hurts more than a half-marathon and I still agree with that though I’m not as convinced as I once was. I haven’t run since the race and my legs are still noticeably sore.
Anyway, this is all part of the journey. I was recently sent something that stated “Ain’t about how fast I get there, Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, It’s the climb.” Very well said. Unfortunately the climb never ends.
Pictures to come. EMBRACE THE CHEESE!!!