Fall Classic Half Marathon
I don’t think I’ve ever woken up before my alarm raceday. I don’t know if it was a product of race morning or I just had enough sleep, but I woke at 5:30 and quickly realized that was it for sleep. So I turned off the 6:15 alarm and got the morning started earlier than anticipated. I altered the order of events (eating, coffee, eroticism, scrolling, #### #1, shower, etc.), but other than that the only real noteworthy item was my being hungrier than usual. Ever since I started IF this summer I don’t eat much before noon nor do I really want to, but not this morning. I imagine it was due to my eating my large meal (salmon and rice) the day before at 2 pm, but I was very happy I packed contingency food rather than just what I usually eat. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best confirmed! So I mowed down a couple of clementines and some nuts on the drive in addition to my egg and banana breakfast, apple, and pre-race pretzels.
I got to the site and couldn’t help but laugh at the conditions as I walked to the start/finish area. The road was a sheet of ice. I parked at the top of a small hill (50’) and just kinda skated down into the valley. Once down I made a mental note to be sure to check the updated hourly when I got back to my car after the warm-up to see if ice may be a problem during the race. After emerging from the porto potty and began jogging a smile crept up on my face a quarter mile into the warm-up as I turned to the south and was greeted by a giant yellow object in the sky. I looked to the west and saw nothing but blue behind it – the clouds are clearing out before we start this thing, can’t ask for much better conditions - 30, sunny, and the wind was just crisp/not breezy. I get back to the car to change into racing gear and get as warm as possible before the gun. I find myself with an extra few minutes after I check the hourly weather and respond to a few texts, so I pop into the 10K thread for some early morning laughs. I wasn’t ready for a photo of a couple of dum dum’s though. Erupted in laughter so loudly the young hottie in the car next to me looked over to see what the hell I was cackling about. Thanks, fellas.
I finally leave the warm, friendly confines of my car 15 minutes before the gun then upon jogging down the still icy hill and seeing the porto potty line decide to take a trip down
memory lane -
'I was running a bit late...and then I saw the line for the bathroom. Oops. Well, it's ten minutes to the gun and there's no way I can get through this line...so, plan b. It was cold and those I knew coming to watch weren't coming til either halfway or the end, so I wore these old sweat pants that I planned to dump at the start line and if I couldn't find them afterwards - oh well. Instead, they were used as tp. I jogged out of the woods after I took care of business and slid into line about five-seven rows back literally ten seconds before the gun. Never been more proud of myself.' I only needed a race nerves #1 this time and (un?)fortunately someone responsibly took care of those sweatpants I left behind 4 years ago. I’d feel bad if I weren’t such an ### hole. So I walk to the line and settle in about 5 minutes before the start. Wired up, dum dum in mouth, and hoodie ready to dump on the side of the road – exact same attire as 2 weeks ago. All black (tank, shorts, gloves, compression socks, and shoes) with a green headband. LFG!!!
Mile 1 (6:01)
In typical fashion, I started off way too fast as I looked down a quarter mile in and saw 5:24. If you pull up the run on a desktop you can pinpoint the moment I looked down. A few seconds later I found my first ice patch too. It was just an awkward step, but a gentle reminder that I need to pay attention to this stuff today. So a not surprisingly bumpy start, but things begin to go smoothly from there.
Miles 2 and 3 (6:04/6:06)
As I settle into my race strategy of surging the first minute or so of a mile then back it off before a ¾ mile check I realize I’m not going to have to. I get passed by a pack of 7, including a nice big red wedgie. Eye candy and I don’t need to worry about pacing myself as it’s clear they’re going out at hour 20 pace and will take care of it for me. So I settle in about 2 strides behind the pack of rabbits.
Miles 4, 5, and 6 (6:06/6:08/6:11)
Unfortunately the pack slowly deteriorates and the wedgie was the first to drop out. Only two of us, myself and backwards hat, remained in mile 6 as we joined in with the slower 5K runners (5K started 15 minutes after us). I knew this was coming as I have done this race before, but it’s still a bit challenging mentally dancing around slower 5Ker’s. I kept my eyes on backwards hat and used him as an offensive lineman, which mostly worked but there were a couple of times the holes were filled by the time I got to them and I had to improvise. As we approached the halfway point I noticed I was feeling quite warm and thought that along with the 5Ker’s may have contributed to the slower 6th mile. As a test I took my gloves off and decided if my hands didn’t feel too cold by the time I got around to my hoodie at 6.7 I’d dump them there.
Miles 7, 8, and 9 (6:06/6:13/6:11)
I dumped the gloves, popped a couple chews, passed backwards hat, and thought I was back on track with my 6:06 7th mile. I knew I needed to go back to my original strategy at this point as I had lost my rabbits though. I surged the beginning of the mile, did a check to see 5:XX at about a quarter mile, backed it off, would check back at ¾ mile and see 6:10 or so, wait 30 seconds or so, then surge again until checking again at the next quarter mile. I was still seeing 5:XX at the quarter mile checks, but I was aware of the slower splits. I knew miles 10 and 11 would tell the story as I was confident I could channel my 5K technique if I got there on pace, but I could not open things up sooner or I thought I would blow up.
Miles 10 and 11 (6:23/6:24)
Well, ####. I didn’t feel like I was going slower, but time’s don’t lie. I sustained the same technique, but I was clearly not moving my feet as quickly nor covering as much ground with my strides. I briefly thought about going to the 5K technique early, but juice vs. squeeze – likelihood of sustaining it for 4 miles was not good and even if I was able I don’t think it’d be enough to get the A goal. Plus I still had a B goal. So let’s get that. I popped my final couple chews and maintained the same strategy - surge to a quarter mile, back it off til ¾ mile, then finish that mile strong and surge into the next one. The time’s were just about 15-20 seconds slower than early in the race.
Mile 12 (6:25)
I was actually happy to see someone pass me as I approached this mile, but…he blew by me. It was way too brisk to use him as a rabbit. I went with him for about a minute anyway, but that light headed vomit feeling came over me and I was reminded about this happening 2 weeks ago. We were way too far out from the finish to consider this devil’s dance, so I let him go then resumed the original strategy. It made me happy with my decision from earlier though. 4 miles of pain were one thing, but if I was that close to my mHR then doing so would not have gone well. Once my bearings were back together I shifted to the 5K technique and opened up the stride. I stopped watching my pace at this point as pace didn’t matter. It was all maximum sufferage. Plus I knew the pace would be slower and seeing that would only be counter-productive, if anything.
Mile 13 (6:21)
I really hope no one got a photo of me in this mile. It was all grit. A total grind. And I know I was wearing it on my face. It felt angry, but probably looked like crying. Everything hurt and I wanted to die. So I knew I was doing it right.
Mile “0.36” (5:37)
I have no idea where I found that final burst. It didn’t feel much different than everything prior. Increased crowds? Shrug, I don’t know. Damn proud to see it though.
Official time – 1:22:44 (6:11 pace), 10th of 612, age group win - PR by more than a minute
Slightly better than the hour 43 I laid down at this race 5 years ago in my half marathon debut. A long way in a short period of time. The race was unfortunately long, but not by as much as indicated. The consensus seemed to be around 13.25. Looking at my graph I think my gps went haywire going under a freeway underpass four separate times. So I’m just gonna call this PR an hour 22, many of us round down in this sport anyway.
I’m very happy with everything about yesterday – the prep, the plan, and the execution. I haven’t been this sore after a race in a long time, so I am confident I didn’t leave anything out there. Even more so after looking at the published race photos. They didn't get any of me mid-race (probably a good thing), but
scroll down to the finish line photos and look at #5. I had nothing left. That was a great way to end what was supposed to be just a maintenance year - and now it’s time to use that as a springboard into a spring BQ attempt. Third time’s the charm – and I will make it this time. Let’s dance.