Tuesday, April 5

Two Half Marathon Race Reports:

New Bedford, MA - 3/20/2011


"A Dead Whale or a Stove Boat"
This was my second time running New Bedford.  Last year I ran it with Sierra and set a PR by a 5:27 margin.  I had high hopes for this year as well and guess what......

I did awesome! I always seem to run well on a full moon.... weird I know but true so far. Boston is on a full moon too ..... just sayin....

Gun time temp was at 34* with a light E breeze at about 10mph. The day warmed to low 40's by the finish. The sky was a brilliant blue and no clouds. Race conditions were perfect. I raced more or less along the Endurance Nation HM pacing guidelines but I do pay a lot of attention to HR after the first few miles to make sure I don't burn too many matches and blow up. Basically I try to follow the pacing, but use HR as a governor.

So, in the end I was exceedingly happy with execution. The data tool has me a 7:30 for HM - a little too optimistic maybe.... but was able to finish in 1:40:53 @ 7:42. A PR by 3:34! My third half mary PR in a row - beginning with this very race last spring.

Stats: 719/2372 overall; 587/1366 men; 93/255 age group

Newmarket NH - 4/3/2011

I’ve run this 3 times before so I knew the course fairly well. No big hills, but a few of the hills that are there are steep. Miles 3 to 6 are on a dirt road, and with the 8” of snow Friday, I was concerned about muddy splash holes. Turned out much better than expected. No snow, no mud and only a few wet areas. Gun time temp about 41*, clear sky and NW wind at 10 to 15 mph. I was wearing sunglasses, shorts, EN tri vest, arm warmers and gloves at the start. The arm warmer lasted 3 miles, the gloves were on for first 4 and last 3.

Initially I thought lingering fatigue from Sunday’s 22 miles plus Wednesday’s 10 mile tempo would take the sharpness from my legs and I would be smart to hold back a bit… Na, it is a race, I had to go big. For the start, I lined up just behind the 7:30 Pacer – my EN HM pace. The plan was to hang on to the pace group thru to the end. That would give me my PR with a minute or 2 to spare. Not quite EN style pacing but…. as long as I could see the pacer, manage my HR and not overachieve early I believed I could pull it off. Heck, it’s only a half….. and a training run at that.

My HR was down for the early miles even though I jumped straight into 7:30 pace with a pace group. During the first few miles there were 20 or more runners in the pack. That diminished to only 6 or so by mile 8. By mile 9 I lost a few yards from the pacer and never could bridge back up. I ended up running 20 yards back the rest of the race, not gaining, and not loosing ground to the pacer. After mile 2, HR was stable between 168 and 172 for all but about 4 minutes on hills. Pace was fairly even other than 1 mile at 7:08 (gradual downhill at mile 11) all other miles were between 7:17 and 7:37. Finished strong with 4 of the original pace group.

Carried 20 oz water and 3 Gu. Took Gu at miles 4 and 9, augmented my water at 2 aid stations, and finished with less than 3 oz in my bottle. Perfect nutrition, hydration and run kit. Weather was impeccable. Overall outstanding race.

Chip time 1:38:46 @ 7:32; rTSS 159.3 (NGP @ 7:22) - 4th consecutive ½ marathon PR, this time by a 2:07 margin.

Stats:  104/1174 overall; 91/524 men; 8/67 age group - Best finish ever!

Boston, better look out 'cause I'm coming..... With 2 decisive PR's and feeling at 100%, I believe I have the fitness and courage to go big and PR at the worlds' most coveted race event.

2 comments:

Half Marathon said...

A half marathon will help to physically prepare the body for the 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles) that makes up a marathon. Running a half marathon is both physically and mentally demanding. For those who have never run this distance before, it is imperative to train correctly.

Katee said...

I can't wait to read about your experience at Boston!