Dipping A Toe Into Training

When you go swimming in cold water do you ease your way in slowly? Or do you just jump in and get it over with? I know it's probably better to just jump in and not drag it out (like ripping off a band-aid) but more often than not, I ease my way into the water inch by chilly inch.

This week, I've been easing into the training schedule (a.k.a. skipping workouts) in an effort to ease the discomfort of early mornings and cold weather runs. It's amazing how easily the excuses come (see below) and in the end, I only ran twice since Sunday.

I'm getting my groove back though... acclimating to the cold and remembering that early mornings aren't so bad once I'm awake.

Monday
Goal For The Day: 55mins Easy.
Distance: 0.0 Miles.

Notes: Decided to take a day to rest. I don't want to do too much too soon and end up injured.

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Speedwork. 6-10 x 800 meters @ 5 Mile pace (w/ 60secs rest).
Distance: 4.00 Miles.
Time: 8 x 800 meters. (3:05, 3:05, 3:09, 3:13, 3:10, 3:12, 3:09, 3:07).
Route: Parkway Northeast Middle School Track.
Conditions: 26 degrees. 6:00AM.

Notes: Feeling wimpy about the cold and wore too many layers. Felt heavy and slow. Also some stomach discomfort. There's a bigger group this year so lots of weaving in and out. 562 calories (Nike+).

Wednesday
Goal For The Day: 60mins Easy.
Distance: 0.0 Miles.

Notes: After last night's sluggishness and stomach discomfort, I took this morning off.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: 30mins Easy.
Distance: 0.0 Miles.

Notes: Colin didn't sleep well so neither did we. The alarm was too easy to ignore this morning.

Friday
Goal For The Day: Rest.
Distance: 0.0 Miles.

Notes: I stuck to the schedule today! WOMP, WOMP.

Saturday
Goal For The Day: Long Slow Run.
Distance: 12.05 Miles.
Time: 1:38:29. 8:10 Avg. (8:23, 8:28, 7:58, 8:36, 8:37, 7:38, 7:53, 8:38, 8:11, 7:56, 8:10, 7:33, 0:23*).
Route: Al Foster Trail.
Conditions: 10 degrees. 7:31AM.

I usually do the Saturday long runs on my own near home but this week's run was five minutes from my house and my in-laws are in town so they took Colin duty. The thermometer said 5 degrees when I woke up so the weather wasn't exactly inviting but I layered up and didn't even feel chilly during the run (which meant I was probably over dressed).

 Before.

Before.

Liz has been trying to convince me to run the Al Foster Trail for a long time now and I can see why she recommended it. Even with bare trees, the riverside run through the woods is beautiful. Icicles on the cliffs and some deer along the route made it worth waking up and braving the cold.

 After.

 After.

In the last few miles, we passed a shallow creek and any branches overhanging the water were covered in frost. We noticed them when the sun was at our back but got the full effect when we turned around to run facing the sun. Then we could see steam rising off of the creek, which froze to the branches, and then the frost built up and became so thick that it fell like snow back into the creek. It was a gorgeous cycle!

Running in 10 degree weather isn't my idea of ideal, but it turned out to be one of those mornings that make you thankful you ventured out.

Notes: I'm still feeling out of shape and I'll be sore even from this slower pace. Time to foam roll. 1,840 calories (Garmin).

Weekly Summary:
Distance: 23.06 Miles.
Time: 2:55:16
Calories: 3,483

2015Totals:
  Run - 23.06 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.
  3,483 Calories.

Boston 365

It's time to dust off the old blog and return to some writing. It's been almost TWO YEARS since I last posted on this blog and a lot has happened since then. Instead of trying to recap everything, I'm just going to pick up at today and focus on moving forward.


When I logged back into Pace Of Mind, I found a draft I never published from January of last year. It was an introduction to a new training program I was going to try called 'Boston 365'. Long story short, the training worked wonderfully and I finally ran a time fast enough to get me into Boston!


So here I am. Ready for Round 2.


I've tried a lot of different approaches to running marathons and I'm always looking for ways to improve. Two things that have repeatedly helped me during training are consistency and accountability. I'm hoping that writing here and participating in the training program will help me with both of these.


So, first the blog:


When I trained for the New York City Marathon, I wrote in this blog after almost every run. It helped me stay focused on my training and my goals. And even if people weren't really reading it, it made me feel accountable to others. I didn't want to slack off later in my training and embarrass myself in the event that someone actually was paying attention. I set a PR at that race and finally broke the 3:10 time I had been chasing for years.


As helpful as that was, I don't feel the need to post after every run this time around. Looking back on the way I documented my NYC training, some of those posts could have been a lot shorter and probably weren’t interesting to anyone but me. In fact, this entire blog might only be interesting to me, but I'll still try to keep it shorter anyway. I’ll update every few days (possibly weekly) and write a longer post (like today) when I think something is worth noting. I'm confident I'll stay on track with less frequent posts. And if anyone is following along, it might be less boring with less frequent updates.


Now for the training program:


Fleet Feet Sports in St. Louis offers a variety of training programs to help runners achieve their goals. One such program is called ‘Boston 365’ and it is an advance training program for runners who are either trying to qualify for Boston, or who have already qualified and are preparing for the race. Information about the program can be found here.

 A special thanks to my parents for the gift card that helped fund my training!

Until last year, I had never trained with a group. I generally prefer to run and train by myself and I was hesitant about joining a group program. (I'll post about that whole thought process another time.) But training with Fleet Feet definitely provided the consistency and accountability I was looking for so now I'm back.

I'll get into some of the program details later. I don't want to run too long on my very first post. The important thing for now is that the program started this weekend and we're off and running!


Saturday was Day 1 and involved a kickoff meeting providing program information and a little swag. The meeting included a presentation on the mental side of training (goal-setting and motivation). It made me want to put together my own presentation so maybe I'll eventually post something like that here. I had to leave before the group run (6miles) and missed the foam rolling clinic, but you can't do everything.

Kickoff meeting goodies!

Sunday is the weekly group run for the runners in the advanced marathon program. These runs sold me on training with a group last year and I was excited to meet up with some familiar faces even though it was cold and windy.


Sunday runs are in Forest Park and we met at 7:30 for a 6-8 mile run in gusty winds and sleet. I was sick most of November and December and only ran eight times in two months so I was a little worried about keeping up with my pace group. Luckily, they went a little easy and the run didn't feel as bad as I expected. Even with the poor weather, it felt good to start settling back into a routine and have a plan.


So, here we go... The race is April 20th. I have just under four months to prepare for the race that I've been waiting years to run. This should be fun!


Sunday
Goal For The Day: 6-8 Miles @ Marathon Pace.
Distance: 7.01 Miles.
Time: 51:37. 7:22 Avg.
Route: 2 x 3M Loop in Forest Park (w/ 1M offshoot).
Conditions: 37 degrees. Windy. Sleet. 7:46AM.


Notes: Ran "Marathon Effort" instead of Marathon Pace. Not as bad as I expected. 1,081 Calories.


Daily Miles: 7.01 Miles.
2015 Totals:
  Run - 7.01 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.
  1,081 Calories

Don't Sell Yourself Short

There was a baby shower for one of my coworkers this past Thursday. As with most work parties, it was a potluck event and everyone had an assortment of snacks on their plates. Every time this happens, I get at least one comment about my ability to eat what I want because I run so much. But lately, I've noticed that a lot of the people that make those comments are just as active, if not more active than I am.

Thursday, two coworkers were talking about what we were eating and their frustration with exercise. One guy is currently running more frequently than I am and even moved his treadmill into his living room for extra motivation. Another girl regularly goes for 6-mile runs. But because I have a reputation as 'a runner', they assume that I do more than them. So today's lesson:

Don't Sell Yourself Short!

It reminds me of all the people that need to be convinced it's okay to call themselves runners. So many people think there's some arbitrary amount of running or accomplishments you have to achieve before you can be called a runner.

If you like to run... If you run every now and then... If you do a mix of running/jogging/walking... All of the above... It's okay to call yourself a runner. Give yourself credit. Pat yourself on the back. Embrace it!

Okay... Off my soap box and on with the post:
After yesterday's run, I saw this guy making his way across the sidewalk:

I wonder if he felt like he was going fast. Or if he compares his times to other slugs. Maybe he was setting a PR for crossing the sidewalk. I hope he was at least heading someplace warm because it was a lot colder this morning as predicted.

My plan for today's run was to repeat last week's run of the Kircher Park Trail Loop but I decided to tack on a lap around Route 66 State Park. It was a cold morning but my stride was feeling more comfortable so I just went with it.

I was doing fine until I stopped to admire some Cardinals in the park. I got my phone out of my armband to take pictures but the birds weren't cooperating and after several minutes, I gave up. Apparently, I stopped just long enough to cool off and for my sweat to get cold. As soon as I started running again, I turned a corner in the park and ran straight into a headwind. I was freezing! The last half of the run was a much colder experience than the first half!

Sunday
Goal For The Day: Long Run.
Distance: 7.61 Miles.
Time: 57:54. 7:37 Avg. (7:37, 7:29, 7:25, 7:27, 7:24, 7:29, 8:01, 4:59*).
Route: Kircher Park Trail To Rte. 66/1 Lap/Home.
Conditions: 25 degrees. 11:38AM.
Run Details On Garmin
Run Detais On Nike+

Notes: Two weeks of getting back into the routine. 15.35 Miles this week. Nike+ tidbit: 0.36M more and 0:15/M faster than the average of my last 7 runs. Nike+ Weekly Review: 5.1M Avg. 7:41/M Avg. 2,278 Calories.

Daily Miles: 7.61 Miles.
2013 Totals:
  Run - 28.54 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.

Why Not An Even 4 Miles?

The route that I run most often starts in front of my house, heads into 'downtown Eureka', runs down the main street in town, and then loops back along the same path to end where I started. It's almost exactly 3 miles but I sometimes add an extension up to a cul-de-sac and back at the beginning of the run. With the extension, the route is just under 4 miles long.

I've been running this course during the week and my Nike+ app posts my runs to Facebook and Twitter. My friend, Byron decided to comment on these less-than-4-mile runs with a little good-natured ribbing:

After Thursday's 3.88 Miles:

Byron: really...u couldn't go 4?

After today's 3.86 Miles:
Byron: do u need me to come down there and walk u in for the final 0.11m? let me know

My sarcastic response:
Brad: That's where the loop ends! If God intended me to run a full 4 miles, he would have made one of the streets longer. Plus, if I accidentally go past the 4-mile mark, I might be tempted to go ahead and run 5. Then where does it end? It's a slippery slope, Byron. A slippery slope.

The funny thing is, that missing 0.11 mile actually used to bother me. I like round numbers. I like distances and times to be neat and tidy. But even running the exact same course, I get slightly different reports on my GPS over time (like the 0.02M difference in the last two runs). So I've learned to ignore that OCD tendency to stress over a tenth of a mile. I just think of it as a 4-mile run. I figure it all balances out when I later run slightly over my mileage goal and then round down in my head.

Runners certainly don't round down.

Pic Source

Either way, it's a great example of how runners tend to obsess over the numbers!

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Easy Run.
Distance: 3.88 Miles.
Time: 30:01. 7:44 Avg. (7:34, 7:46, 7:42, 6:57*).
Route: Old Town Eureka Loop w/ Cul-de-Sac Ext.
Conditions: 45 degrees. 6:53AM.
Run Details On Garmin
Run Details On Nike+

Notes: I felt like I was running much faster than my actual pace. Checking my watch at the end was disappointing. Nike+ tidbit: 3.68M less and 0:05/M faster than the average of my last 7 runs.

Saturday
Goal For The Day: Easy Run.
Distance: 3.86 Miles.
Time: 29:17. 7:35 Avg. (7:36, 7:28, 7:41, 6:30*).
Route: Old Town Eureka Loop w/ Cul-de-Sac Ext.
Conditions: 47 degrees. 8:19AM.
Run Details On Garmin
Run Details On Nike+

Notes: Much warmer today. No Tights + No Gloves + No Hat = Instantly Feeling Faster. I even took the Christmas lights off of the house this afternoon in a short-sleeve t-shirt. A cold front comes in tonight and we're expecting sleet/snow. Good ol' Midwest weather!

Daily Miles: Thursday - 3.88 Miles. Saturday - 3.86 Miles.
2013 Totals:
  Run - 20.93 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.

Gear Check: Christmas Gear! (2012)

Either I didn't set my alarm right or I turned it off without really waking up. Either way, I woke up an hour later than I needed to if I was going to run this morning. So I'm going to take this opportunity to look back at the running-related gifts I got for Christmas this year.

Liz hooked me up with some great gear this year!

I got replacement inserts for my Stuffits. I haven't replaced my inserts since I got them for Christmas two years ago. (Gross.) Now I have a pair of brand new, cedar-filled inserts to keep my shoes from getting too funky!

www.stuffits.com

Speaking of funky... My Garmin watch had a Velcro wristband that I also never washed. That thing smelled horrible! So I'm really excited about my new watch band. It won't absorb my sweat like the Velcro did and it should be much easier to clean. As an added bonus, the part that the watch clips into pops off of the watch band and attaches to a mount for my bike frame. This way, I can move it quickly and easily for triathlons and duathlons!

My new Garmin watch band and bike mount.

I've used Fleet Feet's Ultimate Training Journal before and I really like the setup of the pages. A new year calls for a new journal and I'm hoping to be consistent about filling it out.

Fleet Feet's Ultimate Training Journal

 

And last, but not least, I got a new ornament to add to the Christmas tree! Now that Colin is here, Christmas feels even more exciting and our trees are one of my favorite parts of the Christmas tradition. I like that our ornaments are tiny little reflections of our personalities.

 

Gotta Run Christmas Ornament

It was a great first Christmas with our new addition to the family and I received a nice set of running goodies!

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Easy Run. (Not accomplished... Overslept.)
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Daily Miles: 0.00 Miles.
2013 Totals:
  Run - 13.19 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.

Competitive... Stalker... It's A Fine Line

Hello. My name is Brad. And sometimes I get a little caught up in competition.

This is hard for me to admit because most of the time I'm not an overly-competitive person. I play most games, sports, etc. with a primary goal of having fun. Win or lose, as long as I'm having fun and doing my best, I'm happy. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, I get a little caught up in the rush of competition and do things I wouldn't normally do. For example:

In the winter of 2011-2012, I ran the St. Louis Track Club's Frostbite Series. It's a series of five races that you can enter one race at a time, or you can enter the series and compete for an overall place in your division. You get points based on how you place in each race and at the end of the series, they give awards based on your point total from all of the races.

I've run this series before and I always track the points of people I'm competing against in my division. It adds a layer of fun to the race when you know who you're chasing and who is nipping at your heels. But I usually just check names in the results report each week. I don't really know who to look for when we line up for each race. Last year was different.

I was competing for the top spot in my division and when I checked the results, I noticed that the guy I was chasing also lived in Eureka. There was another guy about my age, in my town, running very similar times, and we were competing for points in the Frostbite Series.

So, of course I looked him up on Google.

(Hanging my head in shame.)

I wanted to see what kinds of times this guy usually runs so I was looking for other race results. What if we've been in the same town for years and have been racing each other without knowing it? I also hoped to see a picture so I could look for him on the starting line so I knew who to keep up with (it seemed that he was a little faster than me).

I realized this probably wasn't normal and Liz definitely made fun of me for stalking this guy online, but that didn't stop me.

Pic Source

In the end, he won the series and I placed second. I had a new runner to keep an eye on and life went on.

Then, last fall, I ran a 5K here in Eureka. While I was waiting at the starting line, the guy from Frostbite turned to me and said, "Hey, Brad. How's it going?" He recognized me on sight and started some small talk. Maybe I'm not the only one that's a little competitive. I don't know if he just paid attention during the Frostbite Series or if he did some internet searching of his own, but he knew who I was.

Jump ahead to this morning. I was out for a run on the new trail that connects to Kircher Park. On my way into the park, I passed that same guy as he was running out. Again, he recognized me (this time, I didn't recognize him at first) and said, "Hey Brad! Not running Frostbite this year?"

Not only do I feel a little better about taking notice of my competition, I feel a little better about my internet searching (definitely not stalking). That night, I had a friend request from him on Facebook. Of course I accepted and Liz and I had to laugh at how much I seem to have in common with this guy based on his profile.

Hopefully, we'll meet up for a run sometime and I look forward to some more races with him since he seems to be running better than I am right now and it'll give me another reason to push myself.

Sunday
Goal For The Day: Easy Long Run.
Distance: 5.44 Miles.
Time: 41:41. 7:40Avg. (7:28, 7:22, 7:49, 7:44, 7:50, 3:28*)
Route: Kircher Park Trail Loop.
Conditions: 40 degrees. 2:24PM.
Run Details On Garmin
Run Details On Nike+

Notes: My hamstrings felt really tight early but loosened up later in the run. I'm still feeling a little mentally lazy. Much warmer today. It was nice to shed the tights. Nike+ tidbit: 2.64M less and 0:10/M faster than the average of my last 7 runs.

Nike+ Badge: "Talk About A Triple Threat. You were active 3 times this week.

 

 

Daily Miles: 5.44 Miles.



2012 Totals:
  Run - 13.19 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.

Off My Game

I'm really feeling the effects of all that time off... physically and mentally.

I've gone for stretches of time without running before and while I might be a little rusty when I start back up, I usually get back into a groove fairly quickly. But I don't usually feel this far from my baseline.

I was surprised to have sore quads Wednesday after running less than four miles at a pretty relaxed pace on Tuesday. That kind of run hasn't made my legs sore in years. On one hand, it felt good to have some sore muscles again... a nice sign of real work being done. On the other hand, I wish it had been a harder workout that caused the soreness.

And today's run was a sign of how rusty I am mentally. I started out at a slow, easy pace... and then got slower and slower. It wasn't a fatigue issue or that I couldn't go faster. It was just a lack of motivation to make myself go any faster. I was perfectly content to basically jog the last mile. My mental metronome is dramatically slower than it used to be.

(I don't think my brain woke up for this morning's run.)

Pic Source

Granted, my only two runs since the break have been with temperatures in the 20's so I've been bundled up which tends to slow me down. And today was an early-morning run which never feels as good. But I would still expect to be running these distances at least a minute faster per mile.

So my only goal for the next couple of weeks (possibly for all of January), is to run at least 3 days a week. I can run them as easy and relaxed as I want, but I need to get my base back. Then I can regain some speed and work on my mental game.

Friday
Goal For The Day: Easy Run.
Distance: 3.89 Miles.
Time: 33:02. 8:29 Avg. (8:10, 8:16, 8:34, 7:59*).
Route: Old Town Eureka Loop w/ Cul-de-Sac Ext.
Conditions: 25 degrees. 6:10AM
Run Details On Garmin
Run Details On Nike+

Notes: Tuesday's run was about 3 minutes slower than I usually run this course. Today was 2 minutes slower than Tuesday. I know better than to jump back into things too quickly, but I probably don't need to go quite so easy. Nike+ tidbits: 4.45M less and 0:50/M slower than the average of my past 7 runs.

Daily Miles: 3.89 Miles.
2013 Totals:
  Run - 7.78 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 Miles.

New Year But Not A New Beginning

I think it's a common thing to use special occasions as 'starting points'. New Year's Day is a perfect example. It's a day known for resolutions intended to help us become better people. We do the same thing on birthdays, holidays, the beginning and ending of seasons, etc. Over and over, we say things like, "I'm going to start working out more in the new year." "My diet begins right after Christmas." "I'm 30 now... time to start making healthier choices."

I'm a big fan of goal-setting, challenging yourself, and general self-improvement. But I feel like our habit of using 'special' dates as starting blocks can actually work against us instead of for us. I'm certainly guilty of delaying an intended goal just so I have a more important starting date to mark the beginning of my next adventure.

Take this blog for instance... There's a definite correlation between my production on this blog and my workouts. I'm not sure about the cause-and-effect, chicken-or-the-egg of it, but the more I write in this blog, the more consistent I am about working out. (Or the more consistently I work out, the more I write in this blog.) So for months, I've been planning to get back into updating my blog. I've even had several false starts along the way. (I have a half-dozen unpublished drafts just sitting there.) One of the reasons I didn't just get back into it is because I wanted something worth writing about to happen. I was waiting for a good starting point. Then... several perfectly good starting points came and went without me taking action. So I would wait for the next opportune moment to come along and eventually, the clock struck midnight, we turned the page on the calendar, and strolled into 2013. A new year and a new beginning!

But I want to break my cycle of delayed starts. So I'm changing my mindset. I refuse to think of this as a new beginning. Instead, it's just me resuming something that never really stopped. I'm picking up where I left off. The story went on even while it wasn't being written and now I'm just rejoining our broadcast already in progress. This way, if I ever stray again, maybe I won't feel the urge to wait so long to get going again. Maybe I'll just pick up where I left off the very same day that I feel the urge to write (or run, or swim, or bike, or whatever) again.

It's like any other challenging thing in life... there will always be reasons why today isn't the best time to take on that challenge. Eventually, you just have to forge ahead regardless of the obstacles.

So while today is New Year's Day 2013... as far as this blog is concerned, it's just another day. And any day is a good day for a run!

(Not a bad sight for starting a run.)

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Easy Run.
Distance: 3.89 Miles.
Time: 31:08. 8:01 Avg. (7:49, 7:47, 8:10, 7:21*).
Route: Old Town Eureka Loop w/ Cul-de-Sac Ext.
Conditions: 26 degrees. 4:43PM.
Run Details On Garmin
Run Details On Nike+

Notes: This was my first run since November 22, 2012. Yikes! I don't know that I've gone that long without running in about 10 years. It was a cold one but I was surprisingly comfortable. Took it easy and had to slow down for ice on the Hwy 44 overpass. It feels good to get back out there. Now I just have to make time to keep going out. Nike+ tidbit: 4.86M less and 0:18/M slower than the average of my last 7 runs.

Daily Miles: 3.89 Miles.
2013 Totals:
  Run - 3.89 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 0.00 meters.

Race Report: Hospital Hill Half Marathon

Toward the end of my training for the Hospital Hill Half Marathon, I started to wonder if I was focusing too much on running hills. Maybe I was overdoing it.

I wasn't.

The race started at 7am and the plan was to leave the house bright and early at 5:30am. We left a little later than planned and hit more traffic than we expected but Kim and Liz dropped Nancy and I off just a couple of blocks from the starting area with plenty of time to spare.

When we got to the starting corrals, Nancy was wise and got in the relatively short lines for the porta potties. I was assigned to the first corral and I didn't know how long it would take me to get in so I passed on the porta potties and went to find where I should line up. I realized later that I should have stopped. I got to the line with plenty of time to spare but by the time I realized that, the lines for the porta potties had grown and I had doubts I could get through the lines before the start. Oops.

Kim and Liz parked the car and stopped by my corral to wish me luck. Then they found a spot just up the street to wait for us to run by.

The starting area was divided into several corrals and each corral started the race a couple of minutes after the corral before it. I was in Corral A and we started five minutes after the two wheelchair participants. Then Corral B started a minute or two after us, and so on.

The pacers in my corral had signs that made me feel confident that I was in the right place, but there were guys around me talking about marathons and half marathons that they had won. Who were these people? My best time in a Half is 1:25. On a hilly course in June, I was hoping to run under 1:30. These guys were covered in Boston Marathon gear and talking about winning races. Combine that with the fact that the 5K and 10K runners were also mixed in with us, I made a mental note not to take off too fast because the guys around me were likely to be flying.

At 7:00, they did a countdown, fired a cannon, and we were off and running.

(At the start of the Hospital Hill Half Marathon.)

I gave a quick wave to Liz and Kim and immediately started running uphill. The first mile set the trend for the rest of the race.

(A view of the uphill first mile.)

I expected several hills and thought there might be one beast of a hill that the race was named after. What I got was a seemingly endless string of hills and several of them felt like monsters.

(Hospital Hill Half Marathon Elevation Profile.)

Not only were several of the hills really long... the course seemed to be back-to-back hills the entire way and several of them were quite steep. I quickly became thankful I had run so many hills in the past two months. Otherwise, the number of hills in this race would have been really demoralizing and I think I would have struggled more mentally than I did. As it was, the physical struggle was plenty!

The first mile was uphill but I didn't really know what was coming yet so I was happy with how easy the hill felt. Then I hit the first mile marker and saw that I was going way to fast. I ran the first mile in 6:14. So much for not going out with the speedsters.

I backed way off and tried to settle in but just before Mile 2, the course started up a long, steep hill. This course just doesn't really let you settle in. I thought Nancy might avoid most of the hills since she was doing the 5K but it was hilly early and often so she hit her share of elevation changes.

(Nancy is in the red shirt, waving at Kim and Liz.

Her corral started 5-10 minutes after mine.)

Around Mile 3, I hit one of the longer downhill stretches and tried to take advantage by relaxing and settling into a manageable pace. I probably let myself go a little too much and ran from 3 to 4 a little fast.

About the time I reached Mile 6, Nancy was finishing the 5K and earned her very nice finisher's medal. She finished in 35:07 and was 21st in her age group!

(Liz congratulating Nancy after the 5K.)

(Super Spectator Liz - A seasoned pro!)

(Super Spectator Kim - No one is louder!)

My Garmin watch was right with the mile markers for the first 6 or 7 miles but then the distance report started getting a little off from the mile markers. A little after the 7-mile mark, I saw a couple of porta potties near the top of a hill and I couldn't wait any longer. I had to stop. I should have gone before the race and now I was paying. I had been uncomfortable for the past two miles and I was only going to get slower if I didn't stop.

When I got back on the road, I felt much better and I was coming up on the other long downhill stretch so I was able to pick up the pace again. My bathroom break put me just behind the 1:30 pace group so I slowly tried to reel them back in over the next few miles.

My watch wasn't giving me accurate distance readings anymore and I somehow missed the markers for Miles 9 and 10 so I was just chugging along and trying to keep up what felt like a good pace.

Around Mile 10, I started up the last really long hill. I knew I was getting close to the finish and it was a refreshing change to be close to the end without completely dreading the next few miles. In a full marathon, time seems to slow down so much toward the end of the race, that each mile becomes very intimidating. In a half, I'm three miles from the finish and they feel just like the previous three miles... and the three miles before that. I was definitely tired and the hills were taking a toll, but the miles weren't dragging by.

A little past Mile 12, there was one more uphill stretch that seemed very cruel when I came up to it. It was short but very steep. It reminded me of the onramp you have to run up in the last half-mile of the Chicago Marathon... only worse. I put my head down, cursed the course designers, and slogged my way up the hill. Then I was rewarded by a beautiful downhill stretch that continued all the way to the finish line and all was forgiven!

I lengthened my stride, let gravity do the work, and tried not to look too spent coming into the finish line. 

(Sweet, merciful, downhill running!)

I had caught up to the tail end of the 1:30 pace group and crossed the finish line in 1:29:44.

(A pretty cool finisher's medal for a tough race.)

Any time I can run a half marathon under 1:30, I'm happy but today's race made me earn it. I felt pretty good about my effort and time but I could have done without the bathroom break in the middle. Lesson learned.

I grabbed my bag of snacks provided by the sponsor, Price Chopper, or as some call it... 'The Machine'. Then I met Liz, Kim, and Nancy for some post-race food.

In addition to the normal post-race freebies (bananas, water, etc.), Hospital Hill offers a pair of flip-flops, bar-b-que and beer for all finishers!

(My Finisher's Flip-Flops.)

Unfortunately, my stomach wasn't ready for a lot of food yet so I nibbled a little pulled pork and sipped part of my beer before we all packed up and headed out. Before we left, Nancy and I got one more picture to remember the day we conquered The Hill.

(Sporting our new medals.)

The medals for the races are pretty cool. The 5K medals are yellow. The 10K are red. And the Half Marathon are blue. All of the medals have parts that let light through which is a nice touch. They make an excellent addition to the collection!

(Nancy's 5K Finisher's Medal.)

(My Half Marathon Finisher's Medal.)

(Medal Front.)

(Medal Back.)

(Very nice!)

We stopped at Bread Co. on the way back to the house and my stomach still wasn't ready for real food so I had a Naked protein shake. Yum!!! Luckily, my stomach was plenty ready by the time we had dinner tonight... Kim smoked some ribs and chicken and had people over to celebrate Nancy's birthday!

If only all post-race meals were that good!!!

Saturday

Goal For The Day: Race!

Distance: 13.10 Miles.

Time: 1:29:44. 6:51 Avg. (6:14, 6:54, 6:46, 6:24, 6:51, 6:57, 7:20, 7:55, 6:30, 6:56, 8:09, 6:51, 5:52*).

Conditions: 55 degrees. 7:00AM.

Race Details On Garmin

Results:

128th out of 3,344 Finishers.

112th out of 1,694 Men.

23rd out of 245 Men Ages 30-34.

Notes: I couldn't have asked for better weather! If the temperature had been in the 80's or hotter, I'm pretty sure I would have been walking some of those hills. My watch reports I only ran 12.90 miles so I'll take some of the paces from later in the race with a grain of salt. I think the 7:55 was my bathroom break but I know I didn't run an 8:09 for Mile 11. My official split at the 10K was 41:43 and at the 15K was 1:03:29. Next year is the 40th Anniversary of the Half and it would be fun to come back. Maybe I'll run the 10K instead though. Overall, a very fun, challenging race!

Daily Miles: 13.10 Miles.

2012 Totals:

  Run - 416.50 Miles.

  Bike - 0.00 Miles.

  Swim - 8,250 meters.