Can't think of a better way to spend the day after your birthday than by running a race and proving to yourself that you are not getting older...you are getting faster! Alright sleeping in and eating a lazy breakfast with lots of coffee is a **** close second but second none the less.
So the Surf City Half Marathon was this weekend and it went better than expected. That is after a few prerace snafus...who knew Huntington Beach was in OC and not over near Hermosa. Oh that and when the race directors say to get to the race at least 90 minutes before the race you should probably listen. It takes a long time to park with 10,000 other runners trying to do the same. So I got to the race a little behind schedule and was in a bit of a hurry (I left my sunglasses in my car...). I used the restroom and got my bag checked about 20 minutes until race time. I had just enough time to get warmed up (ran about .75 miles and did a couple of strides) and then I headed to the start line to queue with the first wave. Being late as I was I started near the back of the first wave, which was not ideal but I was trying to run a smart race for once so being forced into a slow start was beneficial.
I said that I was trying to run a smart race, and...I actually did run a very good negative split and it felt really good. I would recommend to anyone to really try to force yourself to run a negative split even if you have to restrain yourself at the begining. As I said above at the start I was forced to go slow. In fact I ran a 7:09 first mile (goal pace was 6:52). I actually panicked a little during the second mile and ran the first half of the second mile really quick (around 6:45 pace), but I forced myself to slow down again and finished the mile in 6:56 which was my plan. By then I was warmed up and sped up to goal pace a little earlier than I planned and ran the third at 6:50. Fourth mile was up a slight incline so the pace was slower at 6:56. Miles five and six were a little down hill so I tried to catch up a little and ran those at 6:47 pace. Then miles seven and eight were back on the level PCH and I settled into my goal pace at 6:50. It was somewhere during mile six or seven that I learned the drawback of doing negative splits. By running easy at the start it is easy to lose focus. I realized this when I tried to settle into goal pace and it took a good half mile before I really settled and focused on what I was doing. The first half of the race I wasn't paying much attention to my body, my breathing, and my glucose intake. It turned out alright for this race, but during a marathon you need to be focused the entire way.
At mile 9 I was focused and feeling good so I made a small move and increase my pace to 6:45. It was during mile 9 that I finally caught up and was under my goal pace to break 1:30. I was in cruise control for miles 10 and 11, running both at around 6:40 pace. My plan from the start was that I could probably make a move with two miles left so during mile 12 I went for it and ran it in 6:29. From then I felt great and ran the last mile in 6:12, and the .1 at 6 min pace. All that adds up to a 1:28:50, which is much faster than I set out to run and nearly 3 minutes off my PR. I really felt strong all the way to the end and think that taking it easy at the start helped a ton. My split times were (approx.): 1st half 45:06, 2nd half - 43:44.
Interesting enough I finished 118 (out of 10,xxx runners) which is 1 place higher than I finished at COA (only 6,xxx runners though).
Last weeks training:
Tuesday - 9.06 Mile Easy Run - 1:14:17 min, 8:11 pace
Wednesday - 5.05 Mile Easy Run - 42:19 min, 8:22 pace
Thursday - 5.30 Mile Easy Run - 45:14 min, 8:32 pace
Sunday - 13.1 Mile Race - 1:28:50 min, 6:47 pace
Shoe Mileage:
Asics DS Trainer 13.1 - 332.1
Asics DS Trainer 13.2 - 99.84
Asics DS Trainer 13.3 - 14.36
Asics DS Trainer 14 - 35.42
Asics Gel Bandito - 38.28
Weight - 132 w/ 8.6% body fat
