The 1st annual LVTC Holiday Half Marathon takes place on December 21, 2013. Here’s a little race plan and preview.
The Course
Although
the course is an out-and-back originating at Equestrian Park in
Henderson, it’s certainly no walk in the park, even if you completely
bonk at mile 10 and roll down the hill to the finish line. I mapped it
out on MapMyRun.com so I could get the elevation profile, which was
unnecessary since I used to ride my bike there three or four times per
week.
Throw
in the fact that I work less than five minutes away, running the course
was no problem. It starts at Equestrian Park and goes up hill for 2.2
miles. Not a crazy up hill, but steady and relatively steep. It then
heads down for 4.35 miles, at which point one must turn around or risk
running up the Three Sisters, which could lead to extreme pain.
The course begins at 2083 feet, goes up to 2310 at about 2.2 miles, shoots down to 1717 at the turnaround and then goes back.
The Plan and the Goal
There
are some steep hills—up and down. My uphill pace needs to be 8:30. My
downhill pace needs to be 7:30 to reach my goal time of 1:45. I actually
think I can do it faster.
I
did a practice run a couple Saturdays before the race, attempting to
mimic the last 6.55 miles. I did a three mile jog downhill and then
started a 4.35-mile climb, followed by a 2.2-mile descent, finishing in
52:15. If I could run the last half of the race in 52: 15, I’d shatter
the 1:45 mark.
However,
I ran part of the course twice, and the hills on the actual course are
steeper than the hills on my practice course. I did a 6.5-mile run on
the course last Friday, giving a decent effort over what would be miles
10, 11, 12. I ran a pretty steep mile 10 in 8:17. It was a steady,
straight steep. Mile 11, on the other hand, was much more difficult. I
ran it in 8:53. Mile 12 was fun. I did it in 7:00 flat.
The
grade was 3% on the two uphill miles, although the second one seemed a
lot steeper. There is a stretch, the first 1.5 miles after the
turnaround, that’s steeper.
I’m
going to shoot for an 8:45 pace on the 4-mile uphill stretch at the
turnaround and a 7:15 4-mile stretch on the same downhill.
The Training
I
have done 51 long runs this year (10 miles or more). I’ve done 24 long
runs since September 1. I did nine in November and three in the first 10
days of December. The half marathon distance, therefore, is not at all intimidating.
For that reason, I’m focused on finishing fast.
I
usually go out conservatively and cruise to the finish line, passing
hundreds the last half. I negative split my last half marathon and my
last marathon. I enjoyed those two races, setting prs in both. I’m not going
out conservatively this time. I’m starting fast and finishing fast. If I
crash and burn, I crash and burn. I need to really see what I’m capable
of doing.
Final Thoughts
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