Shamrock Half Marathon Race Report

The 2012 race season is officially underway and it feels great to race again.  I struggle with winter training and up until recently have been in a training funk.  Darkness at 5 p.m., cold days, and endless trainer sessions/treadmill runs really get me down.  I am stoked that daylight savings is back and I am able to do my workouts outside after work.  The recent warm temperatures and longer days have helped me get back into a great training groove.  I had a great week of training sessions leading into this weekend and I felt pretty confident about my early season fitness.  My previous PR in the half marathon was the second half of the Richmond Marathon last November.  I don't remember the exact time but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:35 or 1:36.  My goal was to get under 1:30.  This breaks down to 6:52/mile average pace.  This is way faster than I have ever run and I was definitely nervous about how much it was going to hurt.  Fortunately, Saturday steel hammer core runs have conditioned me to be able to suffer mightily.  Moose Herring and Rob Green often tell me that winter "core" runs really pay off when race season starts.  They were 100% right.  My buddy posted on his Facebook wall that our race strategy should be "go balls out in the first 5k to give yourself a chance".  This was essentially my strategy going into the race.  I knew I was going to have to be aggressive but controlled in the first few miles and not put myself into a hole I couldn't dig out of.  This was going to require jumping out of the box quick and holding on for the next 90 minutes.

The race start was pretty typical.  I was in the first wave and most people started out way too fast.  The pace of the first mile was aggressive all around.  In my past run races, my adrenaline typically makes my first mile speedy and today was no exception.  I glanced down at my Garmin a few times to make sure that I wasn't going to blow myself up by going too deep the first mile.  The first mile ended up a pretty comfortable 6:39 and I felt that I was holding myself back a bit.  The second and third miles I was able to stay comfortable and clocked a 6:46 and 6:44.  At this point my confidence was building that 1:30 was realistic.  My first three miles were under pace and I felt relaxed.  About this time a guy ran by me and was running slightly faster than my goal pace.  I decided I was going to ride his coat tails and see what would happen.  This ended up being fortuitous as I was able to use him as my pace rabbit for the next 5 miles.  I stayed focused on keeping my heart rate controlled and staying on his shoulder.  The next 5 miles were 6:39, 6:40, 6:34, 6:45 and 6:46.  About this time my pacer sped up and I knew that I couldn't match his acceleration.  I had to race within myself and let him go.  I was thankful that he gave me five miles of great pacemaking.  This was about the time things started to get painful.  Holding 6:45's is freaking hard and I was feeling it.  Mentally I kept telling myself to make it to mile ten and I could gut through the last 5k.  Miles 9 and 10 were 6:46 and 6:43.  During this stretch I thought I would have enough in the tank to drop it back into the 6:30's for the last three miles.  Unfortunately mile 11 ended up being my slowest at 6:49.  Mentally I was getting drained but I was able to drop the pace back down on mile 12 to 6:47.  Just before the mile 12 marker a guy ran up to my side and thanked me for pacing him the whole race.  I hadn't realized he was right behind me until he mentioned something.  I told him it was no problem and told him I was in the hurt locker.  He ran by me and told me to get on his shoulder and he would help get me home.  We ended up chatting for the next few minutes which helped take my mind off the pain.  It turns out that he was an ultra marathoner that was also trying to get under 1:30 for the first time.  I definitely appreciated him helping me get back on track on mile 13 and we clocked a 6:33.  At the 13 mile mark he took off and I couldn't keep up.  I went for broke and sprinted for the finish.  I knew I was going to get under 1:30 it was just a matter of by how much.  I sprinted for the finish and heard my wife and parents yell for me.  Crossed the finish line in 1:28:18!!!!  I am really excited about my time and obliterated my goal.  This was definitely a great way to start my season.

I feel great about where I am with my training and I am very pleased with my coach Bob Flanigan of CVE (who ran 1:18 today....badass!!!) .  I am believing in the training, and am gaining confidence with each week.  I think this is going to be a great season.

I want to congratulate my fellow CVE teammate Jeff Tunstall who had a great race.  I am also a proud big brother of my two sisters who ran the half marathon today.  Lummy went a PR of 1:48 and Jacko finished her first half marathon ten minutes faster than we all expected....amazing.  I also want to congratulate Kristan Hawkins and Meredith Deckert on their first marathons.  They both did unbelievable!!!  Most of all I want to thank my wife who is always my best and biggest supporter.  I couldn't ask for a better partner and she always makes everyone of my races easier and more enjoyable.

I wasn't a huge fan of the race course.  It is completely flat which is nice, but it is pretty isolated in terms of fan support.  I thought the course was mentally draining and it was a bit of a mental struggle to keep my focus.  Overall I am very pleased with this result and believe this is going to be a great season.  Next up Monument Avenue 10K where I hope to finally break 40 minutes for the first time.  Race file is below...Thanks for reading