Rock and Roll Recap
So after my 130 half in March, I set my sights on a sub 130 in June at the San Diego RnR half. I knew I was more than capable, but at the same time I wanted to be smart and not train for the actual race per say with a plan. Miami was a disappointment and I decided to take on a fall marathon to hit my goal. I wanted to have this training be fun, but also solid that I could hit my time goal. So I set out to run around 30 miles a week on average and take my gym classes 2-3 times a week to supplement my lower training miles. I have never done well with super high mileage plans, it just is what it is. I always remind myself this when I might find myself comparing my runs to others. Just don’t!! Everyone is different and find what works best for you. It definitely works best for me. I had a few down weeks when I had a hamstring tightness in March, only ran about 15 miles that week, sickness in April so 15 miles that week as well, and also my shin scare, where my weekly mileage was 20. Other than that I was consistent with on average 30 miles a week. My formal track workouts stopped at the end of April because for the summer we don’t have the track on Tuesdays. Instead I would go to the weekly all-comer meets and run a 1500/3000 double or 5k. My 5ks were less than stellar and slower than my road 5ks recently. This is important to note because I think the game changer for me was really staying on my strength schedule. I will alternate classes with F45, Barry’s Bootcamp, and most recently Solcioty Buckhead.
So let’s get to the race! I flew out to SD on a late Thursday night flight, getting in at what was 2AM east coast time. I don’t recommend you do this unless you have another 2 nights before the race. Friday I was a little groggy, but we did a bunch of sightseeing so we were pretty busy. My eating was large and rich that day, probably not what you should consume before a race, but I figured I had Saturday to make up for it since it was a Sunday race. Saturday more relaxing and I was able to eat solid, healthy meals.
I never like to have my body adjust to time changes when I go west, so each night I was in bed pretty early. This was huge for the early race start of 615AM. Sunday morning I was up before my alarm at 5AM feelin spry! I had my pre-race half meal of a Clif Bar, peanut butter on half an english muffin and some banana. Two large glasses of water, one with SOS. I was ready. I packed my 3 gels and was off to the start.
I do much better going out reserved. I really like negative splits and feeling strong. My goal was to go out between 650-7 for the first 3 miles and then take it down. I did a pretty decent job of this – 644, 643, 652. Then I got into a groove and picked it up with my next four miles all under 640. Some rolling hills and the sun put me at 644 for the next 3 and then a fast 621 for mile 12 because of a sweet downhill. I think I am most disappointed in mile 13 at 652 – I don’t know what happened here, there was some uphill, but I definitely slowed down more than I would have liked. Once we crested the corner and headed down to the finish, I picked it up for the last .17 (watch says i ran 13.17, pretty dang close!) at 550 pace. At this point I was cruising and smiling because I knew I would be a sub 128. I think I cried tears of joy as I was crossing the line. My official time was 1:37:33 and my watch had me at 13.17 which is a 639 average mile pace.
The whole time I felt relaxed and smooth. My splits were pretty consistent and I am most proud of every single mile being a sub 7, including 2 at 620. I took a Clif gel after 30 minutes and again at mile 9.5. I always bring my own and don’t use what they hand out. It was fairly warm and humid, not like ATL, but still not ideal conditions, so I was getting water and Gatorade every time they handed it out, except at mile 1, I just didn’t feel like cutting across people to hit the station, because it caught me off guard that soon. I think training on my rolling hills helped, as I really felt good on them except maybe the last climb when I was fatigued, but was able to kick it into gear after cresting it.
My biggest take away from this race is that its good to go out relaxed, but I think I can push it a little more at the beginning and get into a groove. And proof that cross training really, really works. I wouldn’t have run this time without it. I am not sure when my next half will be, if I will be doing one before my marathon. But I do know this, next time the goal will be a sub 125!
What makes this really special is a year ago, I was still coming back from injury and walk/running. I would be able to run 3 minutes (prob around 9-10 min pace) and then walk a minute. I think I maybe was doing 2-2.5 miles. Middle of July was when I was allowed to run straight through. In this last year, I ran 3 half PRs – first bringing it down by 30 seconds to a 132:04 in November, then a 1:30:03 in March and now my 1:27:33 in June. I am super excited for what I will be able to continue to do!