Surprisingly enough, the low mileage, low intensity training method did not generate great results. This was a really tough race but I am not surprised at how it turned out. I really have not put in enough work in the last 6 months to expect anything other than what I got. Woke up on Saturday and the temps felt great. Once we got off the buses at the starting line, the wind was blowing hard up the canyon. Left Becky for a quick warm up run then we wandered around trying to keep ourselves busy. Had to convince her to get past her fear of the port a potties. Port a potties are a runner's friend. The wind picked up more and more as the start time approached. Went towards the front and waited for the race to start. The race started and so did the fun. The first 1/2 mile is a steep downhill and, despite the headwind., I was running below 6:00/mile. It felt really comfortable and I was not pushing at all. Settled into a comfortable pace and the first mile came in at 6:26. The course flattened a little but was still predominantly downhill. The headwind had it's affect on the pace but I was still able to maintain 6:40 for the second mile. Not as much downhill during mile 3 and the wind was really killing me. Split for this mile was 6:52. This was my goal pace so I felt good about it. Much of the same during mile 4 (6:47). I tried tucking behind other runners but it didn't seem to help. Felt alright through miles 5 and 6 (6:56, 6:54) but I could tell that trouble was looming. I just didn't have the endurance to maintain the pace. A large pack of runners moved by me during the 7th mile and I surged to stay with them. There was a good climb during this mile so the split was slower (7:00) but it took a lot more effort. I think this was the final nail in my coffin. Miles 8 and 9 were 7:02 and I was in trouble. The tenth mile has the short but steep climb and I thought I was going to die (7:23). The only thing that kept me going was seeing the big downhill that followed. My legs were trashed so I couldn't take advantage of the downhill. Switched to survival mode at the start of the 11th mile (7:23). That has never happened to me in a half before. Came out of the canyon and the 12th mile was beyond painful (7:57). The wind was unbearable. I was running slower than when I hit the wall in a marathon. Last mile was om 7:34 and I was just happy to finish. Final time was 1:33:13 - by far my worst half marathon ever. After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a quick drink and completely ignored my sever glycogen depletion and started running back to meet Becky. Based on my estimate of when she would finish, I thought I would be able to run the last 2 miles with her. Slowly jogged back and tried to cheer everybody on. As I was approaching mile 12, I decided to start walking and just meet up when I could. At that moment, she completely surprised me and made the turn at the 12 mile marker. She was way ahead of schedule. Ran the last mile with her and really struggled to keep up. I couldn't believe how well she was doing. She finished in 1:53 and would have been below 1:50 if it were not for the wind. After all was said and done, it is time for me to get back training serious. It was a nice little break but I hated the feeling that I had for the last 3 miles. I am better than this and need to get back to where I should be.
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