Run Derneld, Run!

Canyonlands Half Marathon

Previous WeekRecent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesDerneld's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageMonth ViewYear View
Graph View
Next Week
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
201620172018201920202021
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Idaho Falls,ID,United States

Member Since:

Oct 15, 2016

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Favorite Marathon: St George

Favorite Half Marathon: Cottonwood (Revel)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Overcome 2020!

Long-Term Running Goals:

Finish a marathon in under 3 hours.

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
ASICS GEL-Contend 4 Lifetime Miles: 626.66
Saucony Guide ISO White Noise Lifetime Miles: 1520.56
Saucony Guide ISO (Pair 2) Lifetime Miles: 1396.48
Saucony Guide ISO (Pair 3) Lifetime Miles: 718.09
Total Distance
43.38
Weight: 0.00
Total Distance
9.52

5.02 miles at work easy. Beautiful day out in the desert, saw a good number of other folks running.


4.5 miles on treadmill at home. Will do a small workout tomorrow, and then I will just stay warm for Moab this Saturday. Also got the inspection done on our house, and there were no (major) problems! 

Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
8.01

5.01 miles at work, outside. Close to the end, I did 12 miles @ LT. Averaged 6:47 during that time. I definitely feel I'm getting better. I'm not sure my training would've changed if I hadn't started participating on FRB, and I'm pretty sure I never would've gotten better if my training hadn't changed. Sure am grateful I found this!


3 miles very easy on part of the hill today.

Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
6.50

4.23 outside at work easy


2.27 outside at home after work, also easy. Less than 3 days til Moab.

Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
5.20

Easy miles on treadmill. Travel day.

Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
0.00

Hiking in Arches National Park. Tried to keep it pretty mild, but I am the only person running a half marathon tomorrow.

Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Race: Canyonlands Half Marathon (13.109 Miles) 01:33:22, Place overall: 59, Place in age division: 9
Total Distance
14.15

The prettiest course I have ever run, even better than the Grand Teton Half that ends at Teton Village north of Jackson, Wyoming. It was also a PR for me, which is something I've been unable to get to since my Huntsville disaster in 2015. 

The day before the race I took my family to Arches National Park to enjoy the scenery. I probably hiked a little too much and stood out in the heat too much as well. We also went to a local diner that only seems to sell deep fried food. I had a veggie burger there and mostly had bagels for the rest of the day. 

I woke up with an uncomfortable stomach and lots of nerves, and the race wasn't going to start until 10am. The starting line was so cold. I opted to bring a hoodie, but no sweatpants (which is half-nice since I forgot to grab my gear bag afterwards), and I was still freezing. I did a half mile warmup about 40 minutes before the start and drank my last sample of UCAN. I stood close to the front with the 1:30 pacer, and the clan formed around him. He told me that in the first mile (the biggest downhill in the race) he would try to run in 6:40. Five minutes after the race started, the pacer and his clan already had 20 to 30 seconds on me. I felt like they were going too fast, and confirmed that when I finished the first mile in exactly 6:40. About halfway through the first mile we ran into the first sunlight from over the cliffs, and the temperature difference was immediately noticeable. I knew that hydration would be very important in this race. With the exception of the first aid station, I grabbed a water at each station, drank half, and poured half on my head. I figured this would work very well in the super dry weather of Moab, and it turned out to be the case. For the first 3 miles I got passed by a few people and passed nobody. I stayed calm and stuck to my personal goal of keeping under 7:10/mi. From miles 6.5-8.5 I took a raspberry clif gel.  During the second half of the race I passed 20-30 people; most of those were in the last 4 miles. With 2 miles to go, I felt really good and I was fairly confident I would be able to PR and also catch a few more people I could see. My last two miles were both under 7. I really tried hard to muster a kick at the end, but I didn't really feel much faster during the last bit.

I think the big change that made this race better was increasing my easy miles. Around Christmas time-ish last year, I tried to really up my weekly mileage and took a few weeks off of workouts, except long runs. After maintaining around 60 miles/week, I slowly started adding some small workouts. It seems to have worked well so far. Looking forward to the Salt Lake City full next month!

I recorded the race as 13.17, which seems consistent with some other race reports on FRB from previous years. Anyways, here are the splits:
 

Mile Pace
1 6:39.48
2 7:05.51
3 7:15.04
4 7:04.30
5 7:07.15
6 7:09.61
7 7:10.64
8 7:12.18
9 7:13.94
10 7:17.76
11 7:09.76
12 6:54.87
13 6:51.89
13.11 (or .17?) 6:17

 

Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
43.38
Weight: 0.00
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: