Monday, November 20, 2006

Another PR knocked over

Well, I planned the race, I raced the plan.  The Garmin said 2:12:15, but the official Chip time was 2:14:12. 

In this race, the plan was to pace 10 minute miles the entire way, and for the most part, that’s what I did.  I looked at this race as 6 miles out and 6 miles back, with a little “extra” tacked on at the end.  In terms of time, my goal was simply to be at the 12 mile mark in 2 hours, and I was largely on pace.  I had a long mile at mile 10, as there was some hilly stuff there, and I probably didn’t push hard enough to keep the pace I wanted.  So did I meet my goal?  “No” in that I missed my goal time, but “yes” in that I raced using the strategy I intended, which worked.  I also destroyed my Half Mary PR by over 8 minutes.

My observations:

• I ran the entire distance (which hasn't been the case in my other half marys), and felt more comfortable than ever, which I believe to be a sign of my overall fitness.
• The plan was to simply run at a 10 minute pace, and not try any race-day-heroics, which is the result of some actual experience running this distance. I'm proud of that newly acquired experience and it paid off.
• Somehow, I didn't have that mile 10 fatigue that makes me want to crawl off the course. I was strong the entire distance, which makes me wonder if I could've/should've pushed harder.
• I believe my diet for the entire week prior to the race was directly related to my ability to run strong. Pasta, bagels good carbs and some good proteins were a part of my weekly intake.
• I hydrated on my terms by carrying a hydration belt. After watching the bottlenecks that are created in the water stops, I'm convinced I'll never hydrate at a water stop again.
• Clif Shots seem to work for me every 3 miles.
• I run my own race when I'm running by myself. My father-in-law met up with me at mile 9, but at that point I had largely run exactly the race I had planned. Focus was the key with minimal distractions.

I also thought it was great to start the race with the marathoners. We took a right at mile 10, and they kept going straight. I watched the folks coming into mile 26, many of whom I ran with at the beginning of the course. It was truly inspirational to watch those coming into mile 26 around 12:30 PM, putting them at a 4:30 marathon. They represented the approximate time it would have taken me to run the marathon if I continued to pace as I had in the half. Many of them were folks I made small talk with at the start. They looked a lot different at mile 26. My hat goes off to them.

I'm posting my splits below. As you can see, it was, overall, pretty close to even splits throughout. I probably should have pushed for a couple more 9 1/2 minute miles. That would have sealed the deal in terms of meeting my goal. I was fearful, however, of running out of gas, which didn't happen. Next time, I'll follow my instincts.

On a sour note, my age group is the fastest in the world, and I finished 115th out of 138 in the 35-39 age bracket. The first 100 finishers ran a sub 2 hour race. I need to stop making such comparisons, however, and I curse my Capricorn blood for being aware of such things.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to train, and yes, I think I may try the marathon next year, just to see if I can do it.

2006 is over, but 2007 fast approaches.

See you out on the road.