LVTC Half Marathon Recap

Let's not mess around. I set a new pr of 1:46:58.

The Three Sisters

The goal was actually 1:45, but at mile 5 when I realized the next 1.55 miles consisted of the Three Sisters, I changed my goal to setting a new pr, previously 1:49:17. For those of you not familiar with the Three Sisters, they're really steep and really long, at least they seem long. The three set of rolling hills last about 1.25 miles. They're too steep to run down, so it was basically a 2.5 mile stretch (out and back course) where running was very slow.  I averaged between 9:30 and 9:50 on this stretch. I don't have the exact times because my GPS didn't start working until mile 7.

If the course would have been like I thought it was, I would have easily broke 1:45. If it had been a flat course, I could have broke 1:42. I might just do my own half marathon time trial in February, but I'm not really sure what that would prove.

The Sisters on the way out.

Here's a good shot of the Middle Sister. The Last Sister's steeper.

The Race

The first two miles were uphill, which meant the last two miles were downhill. I'm not sure what I ran the first two miles in, but the last two miles I ran in 14:15. That's pretty speedy for the last two miles of a half marathon (for me at least). I then enjoyed three miles of down hill. That was nice. By mile 4--there were some hard to spot mile markers along the course--I was well under an 8:00-mile pace. Then came the aforementioned Three Sisters. I finished the first half in 51:15, about a minute slower than I had planned.

Then came the turnaround. And the Three Sisters.

I still felt strong, but there's only so fast you can run up three gigantic hills. I stopped and walked momentarily on each of them. Following the Three Sisters came a steady 3-mile uphill slog. I was disciplined and focused. I had run this portion of the course before and knew what I could do. The 1:45 mark was out of the question with four miles to go, but I knew I could shatter my previous pr, also set on a hilly course last November, but nothing like this one. The final two miles were tough but fun.

I was happy to be done!

 My Fitness

Despite sputtering a bit a couple weeks before the race, I was in the best shape of my life, having completed 51 runs of 10 miles or more during the year. There was no bonking or any such thing. Nobody passed me the last 10 miles. It was a small race. I passed seven people, five the second half and three on the last mile (ha!). I got stronger as the race progressed.

The Competition

This was a Las Vegas Track Club event. The quality of runner was very high. I finished 18/41 overall, 17/26 among men (only got chicked by one runner) and 2/2 in my age group. To put this in perspective, last November I ran two minutes slower on a less difficult course and finished 89/1100. It was good for me to race with accomplished runners this year. I plan on running this again next year (only $25).

OK, I places 2/2 in my age group, but I'm taking the medal!

Next

I'm gonna rest. I've found a fast downhill marathon in September. I think it's time I qualified for Boston.

Sweat Your Thorns Off 5-k Race Report

The concept is to train slow to run fast. I'll admit it sounds stupid...at least I thought it did until I set a 5-k pr on a hilly course in 95-degree heat.

Result: 23:42 (Technically, it's five seconds slower than the first half of a 10-k I ran back in January on a flat course in 60 degree coolness.  I used that as part of my 10-k pr though.).

Average Heart Rate: 171

Maximum Heart Rate: 194 (I didn't know my heart could beat that fast)

There were two options for the race: (1) Hang out in the back of the pack with my virtual friends; (2) Set a pr against my virtual friends.  Because I didn't get out of the house until 9:40, it looked like option 1 was the choice.  In fact, when you're doing aerobic base training, you're not supposed to do any anaerobic runs.  When my feet started moving, the plan was to run it slow.  About .1 miles in I changed my mind.

I have three months until the Really Big Free Half Marathon in Henderson and I plan to do only aerobic base training until then.

Race Report: Rock to Pier Run in Morro Bay, California

It looked to be the most loaded field in Rock to Pier history.  Past champions, my nephew, my kind-of nephew, and my wife were slated to toe the starting line at the fourth annual Family Reunion 6-mile Rock to Pier run on July 17, 2012.  My wife and I started the tradition at our family reunion after running the actual live event in 2008.

In addition to these past champions, athletes from the other two houses involved in the beach side reunion were scheduled to give it a whirl.  An early starting time, tons of children to tend, and a rumor of rum drinking, however, limited the participants to only 3--me and 2 brothers-in-law.

I was very confident of a top 3 finish.

I'm on the right. Race Champion Kearby is on the left.  Parry is in the middle.

My goal was to come in under 50 minutes.  I ran the first two miles in 16:07 and felt very confident in not just a sub-50, 6-miler, but perhaps a sub-49.  Then mile 3 happened.  Mile 3 contains a 50-yard rocky surface to traverse during low tide.  We did not begin the race at low tide and the 50-yard rocky surface became a 100-yard rocky surface, 100 yards that slowed me to a 9-minute pace and threw me out of rhythm.  At the half way point I was a bit over my 50-minute goal pace and mile 4 did little to improve my confidence, an 8:22 mile that left the end in doubt.

That's when my improved aerobic capacity made an appearance.  I ran the next mile in 8:12 and the 6th mile in 8:01.  If the race distance were actually six miles, I would have easily come in under the 50-minute time goal I had established (as you may have deduced by adding the six times together).  The race distance is not six miles.  It's 6.04 miles.

Since I sprinted the last half-mile, I didn't bother to look at my watch, so when I crossed the finish line, I had no idea if I'd achieved my goal.  I hit stop on the watch, looked down, and saw...

49:59.47.

I'd done it.  I set a personal course record (it's the 6th time I've done this race) by 3:29 and beat my goal.  Unfortunately, I finished seven minutes behind my brother-in-law who shattered the family reunion record by over four minutes.  I finished second for the second straight year and crushed my other brother-in-law who beat me two years before.

We left the two babies at the beach house (supervised) and celebrated ocean style.  I'm back row left next to my lovely wife.  The three children are ours: Savannah, Trenton, and Mazie (from right to left).

We decided to move the race time back to 10:00 next year to increase participation, regardless of tides, which means I'll really have to train to procure a top 3 finish.