It's not that I am incapable of running 8:15 to 8:30...(if you read yesterday's blog) it's just that I didn't stick to my plan (more lessons learned, better prep for race day). Didn't kill me to day but would have if I'd 'gone for it' on Marathon day...
In order to get the miles in that I needed, I ran 6 miles before the race. I also had to run without my speed-timing footpod, as I dropped it in the kitchen on the way out the door and it managed to bend one of the battery leads beyond repair (well when I was trying to fix it with a key before the race!). Thus I did not have a key tool to gauge my speed. Instead I used my heart rate – rather successfully for the first few miles but then a little worse, and by the end I just ran. All will be revealed soon.
As I ran out on the course I actually ran the first, second, third, eleventh, twelvth, and thirteenth miles twice (or three times if you don't care about which direction was run) – see the chart below.
| Mile Absolute (# in race) | Warm up Mile | Warm Pace | Warm hrm Ave | Race Pace | Race hrm Ave | Race Cum M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1W | 09:09 | 142 | 07:52 | 150 | 7 |
| 2 | 2W | 08:42 | 146 | 07:52 | 158 | 8 |
| 3 | 3W | 08:21 | 150 | 08:03 | 158 | 9 |
| 4 |
| 07:55 | 163 | 10 | ||
| 5 | 08:12 | 162 | 11 | |||
| 6 | 07:41 | 166 | 12 | |||
| 7 | 07:55 | 170 | 13 | |||
| 8 | 08:18 | 167 | 14 | |||
| 9 | 07:50 | 169 | 15 | |||
| 10 | 08:01 | 166 | 16 | |||
| 11 | 4W | 08:28 | 151 | 08:33 | 171 | 17 |
| 12 | 5W | 08:44 | 151 | 08:42 | 172 | 18 |
| 13 | 6W | 08:30 | 148 | 08:14 | 178 | 19.1 |
So all told I completed 19.1 miles in ~ 2:38 – or 8:16 average per mile pace. This was too fast. There's not much more to say. Look at the spike on the heart rate in miles 17 – 19 – way too high. I simply put my head down and ran. Unlike the Brooklyn Half, I didn't slow down to 9 min per mile plus – which is a good sign. I wonder if I'd had to continue running if I'd be able to hold an average of 8:16, doesn't look like it.
So here's what happened – two things really. One, stupidly I started with my corral. I should know by now that unless I'm focusing on running a PR (and maybe even then!) I should not join the red (second after the local elites) corral at the start. A good friend of mine was running just behind me and managed to beat me by 6 places. Why not run with him? I'd just run back from my warm up and simply wasn't thinking when I joined the corral. Everyone passed me in the first few miles – it was painful, sort of. It was also a GREAT learning lesson to run my pace (you see that I did pretty good job of keeping my heart rate down over those first miles. Still that was way too fast).
Second – I was running spot on 8 min miles or just below all the way up until the blow out on 11 – 13. Thus I wanted to push myself to see if I could come in sub 1:45. Now why I wanted to do that, I have absolutely zero idea. I'd run 8.23 miles the day before, and a 6 mile warm up. What made me think that I could run sub 1:45? Anyway, sometimes you think pretty dumb stuff on a long run. I would have been helped considerably to have the footpod feedback.
But the lessons are learned. I do NOT like running ever expanding positive splits – miles 11, 12, and 13 (or really 17 – 19) weren't painful per se, but it's frustrating when I feel that I don't have anything left. Therefore, it will be critical that I really go slow through Brooklyn during the actual race. I can do it and this gave me both the motivation, and to a certain degree the training (as everyone passed me, and I was 'fine' with it).
All told, though, I'm really pleased with the result – my gear works, my hydration & fuel works, I'm mentally there, and I ran 19.1 miles faster than I've ever run it before. I really feel that some day, if I stay in shape, I will be able to hold the 8 min mile pace for the marathon. But that's not this year. And it certainly won't work in anything but perfect conditions...
Still, running 28 good miles in two days and running two great halves in two weekends marks a level of performance that I could only dream about last year. It's funny that I was so head strong about 3:30, and in a way that's GREAT. I'm not going to make it this year, but I will (hopefully) come in with a 3:3X time which will be fine. Even if I'm slower, that will be fine. I want to finish this thing – and that's what I'm going to do.
Official line:
| Bib | Place (overall) | Place (men) | Place (Age - Men) | Time | Ave. Mile | Age Grade % |
| 1294 | 1042 | 890 | 188 | 01:46 | 08:05 | 56.50% |
A final thought -
I feel great. Better than I used to after the half. I have a bit more low grade throbbing in my feet (balls thereof) but my legs and cardio feels fine. It's amazing what a couple (coughs) of months will do to the old prep & recovery.
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