Here I go again!

Riley's Rumble Half Marathon

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Location:

Washington,DC,

Member Since:

Jan 01, 2009

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Two Marine Corps Marathons: best '09: 3:55;
10k PR 46 something

Half marathon PR: 1:42:50

Short-Term Running Goals:

3:40 at Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach, March 20

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay healthy and fit!

Personal:

I'm a very clumsy and injury-prone 31-year-old Argentine runner and biker living in beautiful Arlington, VA.

Favorite Blogs:

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Mizuno Lifetime Miles: 401.24
Saucony Lifetime Miles: 289.49
Race: Riley's Rumble Half Marathon (13.45 Miles) 01:48:50
Running MilesSwimming YardsBike Miles
14.000.000.00

Lots of hills. Rained lots. Was hoping to do 1:46 but with the longer course and the hills, that wasn't possible. Everyone was talking after the race about how difficult the course was. Some of the top runners were saying they finished 5 or 10 minutes slower than in their flat halves.

Started slow and a lot of people past me, but I caught up around mile 3 when I warmed up, and I passed at least 4 girls in the last 3 miles and was able to hold the speed even though it was super hilly.  The worst part was that we went downhill the first 3 miles, knowing we'd have to come back up them in the last 3 miles... yikes!

Splits:

1 - 8:36
2 - 8:17
3 - 7:50
4 - 8:03
5 - 8:03
6 - 7:58
7 - 8:38 (must've stopped for water)
8 - 8:08
9 - 8:09
10 - 7:51
11 - 7:43
12 - 8:24
13 - 8:11

I looked at my watch at 13.1 and it said 1:46... bummer on the longer course!!! On the positive side, I beat my friends Chris and John. ha ha ha ha! (evil laughter).

Pretty happy overall - if I had not had that pint of ice cream last night I may've done even better. Lots of cool people on the finish line. I love this race! Now I really want to find a flat half marathon to see what I can do!

Happy Sunday bloggers!

-------------------

Official results: I got 12th girl (out of 236), 1:48:56, and apparently 2nd in my age group (though it looks like they screw that up and I may be 3rd; either way I'll take it!) Last year I finished 17th girl, although my time was 1:48:30, so I think there was some improvement, maybe.

Mizuno Miles: 14.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Bonnie on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 17:43:50 from 24.121.55.123

Congratulations Lucia! I think this is a great effort!! It is awesome that you were passing all those women at the end!! Yippee.

From ultrajim on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 20:52:45 from 67.137.2.3

Lucia, great time. Don't worry about the ice cream. Everyone knows that ice cream is one of the four major food groups. That means you should ahve some every day.

From Metcalf Running on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 21:10:19 from 97.126.147.83

Great Time!!! you are getting sooo speedy!

From seeaprilrun on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 21:27:01 from 68.102.144.140

Awesome job! Sounds like a tough course!

From Eric Day on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 22:05:32 from 189.169.249.204

Super Rocket! Way to go! 1:48 on a tough course if excellent. Now imagine what you can do on a flat course....

From Teena on Sun, Jul 26, 2009 at 22:30:23 from 67.177.20.13

WOW!!! Seriously Lucia, that is super impressive. That is an incredible time, especially considering the tough and long course!

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!

Btw, absolutely LOVE the pic! :)

(Hope you are now resting.)

From Burt on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 12:25:12 from 68.76.197.194

Nice job Rocket. You're faster than me.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 14:54:31 from 64.81.245.109

Is this a certified course? If you do not take the tangents right, you can easily run 13.46 on a proper course. Also the difference is within the GPS margin of error.

But in any case, 1:48 is a solid time. Congratulations.

From argentinerocket on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 15:30:26 from 74.9.147.114

Thank you guys! It feels good to feel good! Last year at this time of the year is when I started with injuries... but this year that won't happen!

Sasha, do you notice your performances suffer a lot when you race on a hilly course vs. a flat/downhill one?

From auntieem on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 15:57:19 from 67.182.145.8

Looks like a nice race! I admire you for going slow in the beginning! I have never been able to do that, and I think it screws me up every time! Congratulations.

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 16:35:32 from 64.81.245.109

Going from 7% downhill grade to flat I slow down a lot. From 4:30 to about 5:20. And even more than that when it is 7% uphill vs 7% downhill. I can barely run 7:30 up 7% grade with 5:20 flat effort. So that gives you an idea of what would happen if I had to run a mile up at 7% grade, the come back down, and repeat throughout the course of the race. 7:30 - 4:30 cycle, that is 6:00 average for 5:20 effort even though there is no net elevation drop.

There is also a shifting gears issue. If I go up 1-2% grade for 3 miles at 6:00 pace, then turn around, my first 0.5 down would be at 5:50, then I get into the rhythm and can run 5:30s. With practice you can learn to shift better, though.

If you want to get an idea of what the performance was worth you can put it in the Course Tool, it will analyze the gradients for you.

From marion on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 16:41:57 from 71.213.106.139

Congratulations on a very most excellent time :) You are the Rocket woMAN!!! :) Whoo Hoo!!! :)

From argentinerocket on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 17:10:06 from 74.9.147.114

Thanks Marion!

Sasha, I put the course in the Course Tool - "Riley's Rumble" is the name... The elevation profile chart looks quite impressive, but the grade never goes above 6 percent... so it looks like it wasn't very steep. However, since it was so much up and down, the shifting gears issue definitely made a difference, I hadn't thought about that. Thank you!

From Huans32 on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 17:21:26 from 138.64.2.76

WOOT WOOT!!! 2rd or 3rd. Oh yeah!! Great job on your race. Those splits are looking great. And very consistent. Looking good rocket.

From Brent on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 22:37:33 from 66.7.127.219

Rocket, nice run, 200 commando points for placing and another 200 for the gun show and waiting imaginary tables while running. How Kool, Keeping real and fun.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

From argentinerocket on Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 10:20:53 from 74.9.147.114

Thank you Huans! Brent you made me laugh out loud. Waiting imaginary tables, so funny!

From josse on Sat, Aug 01, 2009 at 11:20:45 from 70.192.127.198

I think this is a very solid race, great job. You look like you ran a good even effort so great job on a hilly course.

From Kelli on Sat, Aug 01, 2009 at 18:47:41 from 71.219.100.174

I missed a race---sorry!!! Great job. sounds like you not only kicked fanny on a hard course but had fun doing it!

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