After mostly failing to run through summer, and subsequently feeling pretty rough on the run at Ironman 70.3 Boulder, I started building my running back up with the intent of running this race and being ready to jump into marathon training if the girl decided that she did want to run a marathon in spring after all. That's been an on/off discussion for a year or so now.
I made it to race day with 7 weeks of consistent running behind me, on average 3-4 runs per week and an average of 21 miles per week so far in October. Prior to that I was doing 0-2 runs per week - despite having been in good running form back in May I lost motivation and just let cycling take over. In my books that's not a bad thing, but it's sub-optimal when you're aiming to run a half marathon. Just to be clear about the contribution from my cycling, I've been averaging about 7 hours a week of cycling, with a peak of about 12 hours.
Yes, I have a very good saddle. We are friends.
So there we were, race morning, getting onto the bus to the start line. Day of the Tread is a point-to-point course, flat for 5 miles and then some smallish hills and net downhill run into the finish. I was hoping for a fast time. In particular, I was looking to beat my personal best of 1:36:30 set at the "High Altitude Half" in 2011 - the day before I started this blog. Normally I wouldn't recommend looking for a PB on limited training, but I had a similar balance of training back in 2011 and not as much volume through the year. I had designs on going under 1:30, that's a 6:51/mile pace, and so my official target was 1:29:54.
It turns out that there's nothing like a bus ride from the finish of a run, to the start line, to hammer home that it's actually a long way. We also passed what I'm pretty sure was one of the locations where they filmed Breaking Bad, which seemed to fit with the fancy dress/Hallowe'en/Day of the Dead theme. We then pulled up in what looked like the middle of nowhere, on a pretty nice road. The only signs of civilization, if you can call it that, were the row of porta-potties and the DJ/race starter.
The girl and I warmed up with about 15 minutes to go. I did some jogging in warm clothes, with some accelerations to race pace. The girl danced to "Blurred Lines" and whatever else they played. Then the warm clothes went into our drop bags, and we lined up at the start. A young guy, about 20, walked up and said "Hey, you look fast..."
Looking around at the various Ninja Turtles, Luigi (from Mario Bros), assorted zombies and superheroes I replied "Well, it's all relative."
He was planning about a 1:20 half marathon. I said he was too fast for me, I was looking for under 1:30. A young woman next to us said he was too fast for her too. She was dressed as a runner - and it was a very convincing costume. She looked pretty serious, with a possibility of fast. And then came the gun...
The first half mile was a fast pace, but the three of us were chatting, until I looked at my watch. 5:40/mile pace. Oops! I told them it was a bit fast for me, so I eased up slightly, as did Ms. Runner. Our exceedingly fast friend held his pace and disappeared. From there Ms. Runner and I were running variously side-by-side and up to about a minute apart (she led until mile 7, then I moved ahead). And then came mile 11. I was feeling good, and there was no-one to be seen behind me. Finally I'd made a decent gap! I passed another aid station, politely declined the cups of water and keep running in the lane coned off at the side of the road.
One cross street.
Two.
Three.
No more cones.
I stopped and looked around. There was no sign of where I was supposed to go. I jogged to the next bus stop and asked the people there if they'd seen another runner come by. They said no. Annoyed, but not willing to lose more time I decided to head back to the last aid station, it wasn't that far. As I started back up the road Ms. Runner was running toward me, so I asked her "Any idea where we're supposed to go?" The answer: "No, I was following you."
Great. We both ran back to the aid station and turned down the side street. Back on course! I shouted to the marshals and police that they should have someone on the corner directing runners. The sarcastic response was "Yeah, we'll get right on that." I know it's my responsibility to know the course, but the course markings looked like it went straight and no-one said anything as I ran past. Or as Ms. Runner went past. The volunteers, marshals and police were great everywhere else on the course, but that corner really let the side down.
After another mile or so I had pulled slightly ahead again, and by asking as I approached each junction I managed to stay on course, and take the right turn to the finish line. Despite running an extra 0.4 miles, and wasting a good 45 seconds heading to the bus stop to ask for directions, I'd managed to hold on to second place!
Final (official) time: 1:30:30. (My run on Strava)
Exactly 6 minutes faster than my previous best.
At most races a 90 minute half-marathon won't even get you into the top 25. At some it won't get you into the top 100. Lucky for me the Duke City marathon is a big deal in New Mexico, and that was exactly 7 days prior. All the fast half-marathoners showed up there and not at Day of the Tread. So how do you almost win a half-marathon? It almost doesn't matter how slow you are - picking your race is paramount. You can only beat (or be beaten by) who shows up.
While that was my official time, I covered the half marathon distance in 1:28ish. I'm disappointed that I missed my 1:30 target, but know that the race time doesn't tell the whole story. I covered the distance slightly faster than my target pace, so it's an unofficial sub-1:30 in my books. And it's a new PR that I know I can beat, just as soon as my legs recover.
I made it to race day with 7 weeks of consistent running behind me, on average 3-4 runs per week and an average of 21 miles per week so far in October. Prior to that I was doing 0-2 runs per week - despite having been in good running form back in May I lost motivation and just let cycling take over. In my books that's not a bad thing, but it's sub-optimal when you're aiming to run a half marathon. Just to be clear about the contribution from my cycling, I've been averaging about 7 hours a week of cycling, with a peak of about 12 hours.
Yes, I have a very good saddle. We are friends.
So there we were, race morning, getting onto the bus to the start line. Day of the Tread is a point-to-point course, flat for 5 miles and then some smallish hills and net downhill run into the finish. I was hoping for a fast time. In particular, I was looking to beat my personal best of 1:36:30 set at the "High Altitude Half" in 2011 - the day before I started this blog. Normally I wouldn't recommend looking for a PB on limited training, but I had a similar balance of training back in 2011 and not as much volume through the year. I had designs on going under 1:30, that's a 6:51/mile pace, and so my official target was 1:29:54.
It turns out that there's nothing like a bus ride from the finish of a run, to the start line, to hammer home that it's actually a long way. We also passed what I'm pretty sure was one of the locations where they filmed Breaking Bad, which seemed to fit with the fancy dress/Hallowe'en/Day of the Dead theme. We then pulled up in what looked like the middle of nowhere, on a pretty nice road. The only signs of civilization, if you can call it that, were the row of porta-potties and the DJ/race starter.
The girl and I warmed up with about 15 minutes to go. I did some jogging in warm clothes, with some accelerations to race pace. The girl danced to "Blurred Lines" and whatever else they played. Then the warm clothes went into our drop bags, and we lined up at the start. A young guy, about 20, walked up and said "Hey, you look fast..."
Looking around at the various Ninja Turtles, Luigi (from Mario Bros), assorted zombies and superheroes I replied "Well, it's all relative."
He was planning about a 1:20 half marathon. I said he was too fast for me, I was looking for under 1:30. A young woman next to us said he was too fast for her too. She was dressed as a runner - and it was a very convincing costume. She looked pretty serious, with a possibility of fast. And then came the gun...
The first half mile was a fast pace, but the three of us were chatting, until I looked at my watch. 5:40/mile pace. Oops! I told them it was a bit fast for me, so I eased up slightly, as did Ms. Runner. Our exceedingly fast friend held his pace and disappeared. From there Ms. Runner and I were running variously side-by-side and up to about a minute apart (she led until mile 7, then I moved ahead). And then came mile 11. I was feeling good, and there was no-one to be seen behind me. Finally I'd made a decent gap! I passed another aid station, politely declined the cups of water and keep running in the lane coned off at the side of the road.
One cross street.
Two.
Three.
No more cones.
I stopped and looked around. There was no sign of where I was supposed to go. I jogged to the next bus stop and asked the people there if they'd seen another runner come by. They said no. Annoyed, but not willing to lose more time I decided to head back to the last aid station, it wasn't that far. As I started back up the road Ms. Runner was running toward me, so I asked her "Any idea where we're supposed to go?" The answer: "No, I was following you."
Great. We both ran back to the aid station and turned down the side street. Back on course! I shouted to the marshals and police that they should have someone on the corner directing runners. The sarcastic response was "Yeah, we'll get right on that." I know it's my responsibility to know the course, but the course markings looked like it went straight and no-one said anything as I ran past. Or as Ms. Runner went past. The volunteers, marshals and police were great everywhere else on the course, but that corner really let the side down.
After another mile or so I had pulled slightly ahead again, and by asking as I approached each junction I managed to stay on course, and take the right turn to the finish line. Despite running an extra 0.4 miles, and wasting a good 45 seconds heading to the bus stop to ask for directions, I'd managed to hold on to second place!
Final (official) time: 1:30:30. (My run on Strava)
Exactly 6 minutes faster than my previous best.
At most races a 90 minute half-marathon won't even get you into the top 25. At some it won't get you into the top 100. Lucky for me the Duke City marathon is a big deal in New Mexico, and that was exactly 7 days prior. All the fast half-marathoners showed up there and not at Day of the Tread. So how do you almost win a half-marathon? It almost doesn't matter how slow you are - picking your race is paramount. You can only beat (or be beaten by) who shows up.
While that was my official time, I covered the half marathon distance in 1:28ish. I'm disappointed that I missed my 1:30 target, but know that the race time doesn't tell the whole story. I covered the distance slightly faster than my target pace, so it's an unofficial sub-1:30 in my books. And it's a new PR that I know I can beat, just as soon as my legs recover.
