Notes
Race was absolutely awesome- one of those days you dream about, one of those days when everything just comes together, and one of those days when you're just thrilled and ride the high for days to come. Oh, and I won the women's race so got to chalk up another "W" to my running career, so that doesn't suck.
Ran 1:26:30, which is technically a half marathon PR for me, in a workout and a training race, in prep for California International 6 weeks from now. I felt SO in control for the first 10 miles, I consciously was slowing myself down, and I got to chew on and really work the last 3 miles of a distance race in a way I'v never been poised to do at that point in a race before. People, I'm getting fit. And its fun.
Credit to Anders for the workout/race plan, and for giving me the confidence to go out and try it. Admittedly, after a year away from competitive training and racing, and on legs that some days still feel fragile, its hard to imagine that I might be getting towards as distance fit as I've ever been, and in a place to race 13.1 miles and also use races as training tools. But he helped convince me of exactly that, and it ended up working out better than I imagined it could.
The race plan was to ease into the race just a little bit, try to run comfortably at what is hopefully my marathon pace (~6:50) for the first 10 miles, and then try to really race the last 3 miles with whatever I had left.
Marathon pace felt easy, and I was well under that for the middle 7-8 miles of the race. (note to self, come marathon time I need to be more disciplined about actually sticking to that pace when it feels so comfortable for a race effort. Remember Maggie, marathon pace SHOULD and MUST feel comfortable for the first 15 miles or so, or else you're screwed)
My first mile included a HUGE climb, and was a 7:08. My second mile included a HUGE downhill, and was 6:33, hah.
Perhaps the most uneven first 2 miles of any race I've ever run. But it felt comfortable, and I knew going into the the race that that was going to be the case for the first 2 miles. The middle miles were pretty much all in the 6:40's, with a couple high 6:30's thrown in there. The splits seemed very consistent for the fact that the whole course was rolling topography. In mile 8 we came back over the same huge climb from mile one, and that split was 6:52- oddly the only mile after my first one that was actually at true marathon pace, hah.
And perhaps the most exciting part for me was when I got to mile 9-10 and had 3-4 to go, I was actually able to turn over another gear and push to the finish. This was the part of the plan I was most nervous about because I wasn't confident that after 10 miles at marathon pace I would be able to do this. Running 10 miles comfortably at 6:50 and then getting faster didn't sound like something my body was necessarily capable of right now. However, Anders was right about his challenge to me, and it worked. My last 4 miles were 6:28, 6:25, 6:20, 6:20. And by the end I was really digging, but it felt good :)
Overall take aways:
~It only felt like I was going to the well during the last mile or so, and that seems promising.
~It feels really good to know that I felt so in control running in the mid 6:40's. That hasn't happened in a long time, and that gives me some much-needed confidence.
~It feels very strange to know that THAT race is technically my half marathon PR, when it was essentially a workout. I think that tells me two things: first, even though it feels very strange after so much time away from true training, yes, I'm getting back to some really REAL fitness, and I need to start being confident in that and remembering that. And second, its is also very apparent to me that I've never raced a truly healthy half. Three years ago out easy I was really fit but didn't run the last 3 weeks before the race because of injury. And the last two years at Grandma's I've taken somebody else's bib last minute and not been truly trained or healthy.
~ I need to return to the half marathon at some point in the future when I'm trained and gunning for a half and not doing it as a workout- because I have a PR to smash. And I know I can do it if I'm ready, given how yesterday went and what my intention was during the race.
~I practiced taking a bottle from Anders and drinking from it 4x throughout the race, and it went really well. So note to self, the new Martens product we have works way better and is way easier to get down than gels and blocks, and I can probably just stick to bottles during long races and be just fine.
~I HIGHLY recommend Martens to anybody who is looking for a product: Its a power than you mix into bottles. The science behind it is sort of new, and its awesome. At a neutral pH, the substance is liquid, but when the liquid hits your stomach acid, it turns to a gel i.e. there's zero sloshing around whatsoever, and it doesn't upset your stomach at all. Yesterday was the first time post- any long race that I've had zero stomach problems, and I also didn't get any side aches mid race. The bottles also contain about 3x as many calories as gatorade, so you can drink a much lower volume of liquid and still get the calories you need. The make-up is mostly complex carbs, so you don't get awful upset stomach because of so much simple sugar. You also don't have to worry about trying to suck down gels or blocks, which can be really hard when you're working so hard. The liquid is essentially flavor-less, but tastes just a little bit sweet- that's the best way I can describe it. Bottom line: buy Martens. It's a little bit more expensive than other products- but totally worth it.
~My Vapor Fly 4%s felt absolute awesome :) i'm generally pretty skeptical of all NIKE brand products and running gimmicks, but I gotta say, NIKE did something right with these shoes. They rock. Thanks for the birthday present last May, Anders. Glad I finally got to use them. They're only good for about 80 miles. 13 down, about 67 to go. And you better believe that 26 of those are going to come the first week of December in California.
~I need to do more reflecting on why this training block seems to have set me up so well for racing purposes. Probably mostly just luck on the day and all things falling into place together- running is like that, and with all the analysis in the world I'll probably never figure out why yesterday went so well, because some days you get lucky and things just work and sometimes they don't. However, I've made some very specific training choices lately: type of workouts, different mentality, dietary choices, etc, and something seems to be working. So need to think/reflect a bit more about that.