Celebration Run 1/2 Marathon - 2014 November 16

I got to do a stand-alone, straight running event yesterday, a rarity for me because of the focus I have on getting to the starting line of an Ironman and because I've had some degree of plantar f-ing-itis since the beginning of 2009. Running the Ragnar Relay in Vegas last weekend was the first time since February that I'd done a running race of any kind in a long time. That February race was a 1/2 marathon, and though I'd had big plans to work on my running, that didn't happen. My time for that one was a disappointing 2:07 and I was not exactly healthy.
(*note: my two "take aways" are asterisked)

Yesterday's race was a nice one along Mission Bay here in San Diego. The only "hills" were bridges over the water. Much of the running was at sea level along the water. The weather was cool and pleasant. There was somewhere around 800 people doing the 1/2 and another few hundred doing the 10K so it was relatively easy to run your own race without having to weave and cut through a bunch of people. In spite of the "small" numbers, they did have pacers on the course, a very helpful way to keep you going and keep you focused.

I stuck with the 2:00 pacers, getting ahead early on, falling behind around 4 1/2 miles, but always staying within sight of them. My best time on 1:59 in 2008 seemed like it could be beaten. I warmed up, got with the 2 hour group, rejecting the 1:50 group as maybe too ambitious based on my pace at Ragnar (and hoping that maybe I could get close during the second half if everything went great). There were water stations every mile and a half and I took in water at 2 out of every 3 stations, walking enough to drink without spilling it all over. The only nutrition I took was 2 gels - one at around mile 6 and another one around mile 10. I made sure to take in 5-8 oz of water after each one.

My mile splits tell the story. I started off well, realized I might be going too hard, and dialed it back a little. The 2nd half had pretty consistent descending splits. There were mile signs for each mile but my splits are off of GPS. The signs were off by 1/10 of a mile from the beginning. It made me feel like they mismeasured the course even though I know it's measured with straight lines according to the shortest distance between points. I did a good job cutting the tangents of the course.

*I am always surprised to see how many people DON'T pick the shortest route but instead just sort of follow the curves.

I finished strong and went hard for the final couple of miles or so. I pretended it was a Ironman race and I needed to pass people to qualify for Kona. The last 20 yards were across soft sand. 4 steps into that soft sand I began getting foot cramps but held it together. I would tell the race director that while this fits into their theme for the race it is not a great way to finish a race that took place on asphalt and concrete for the entire rest of it.

*The biggest take away was that this run reminded me how to race a run and how to push for a sustained amount of time. By doing only Iron distance races, I've felt like I lost a little perspective on how to hold a proper run pace for 13 or 26 miles. In an Ironman you start running after having swum and biked for 6 1/2 or 7 hours. Fatigue has built up and a lot of energy, both physical and mental, has been expended by the time the run is started. Finding a sustainable but comfortable pace at the beginning and THEN trying to build that pace or negative split the run of an Ironman (or any triathlon) can get lost when you're out there that long and feeling bad. This was a good refresher, along with the Ragnar Relay runs last weekend, on how to run hard and how much effort to put out.

Time and Splits:
1 mile 8:48, HRave 120
2 8:54, HR131
3 8:40, 134
4 9:21, 132
5 8:58, 133
6 8:54, 135
7 8:53, 138,
8 8:45, 137
9 8:41, 140
10 9:03, 139
11 8:38, 143
12 8:24, 149
13 8:23, 153
13.28 (Final official finish time) 1:56:23
2nd of 9 men aged 55-59
197th of 731 overall