I signed up for the Carlsbad Half Marathon months ago after one great run into my recovery from a hamstring injury. But, as usual, the recovery wasn't smooth, and there were lots of iffy runs for every great run over the last 3 or 4 months. I wasn't ready to race this half. I even tried, unsuccessfully, to sell my bib. But in the end I'm glad I ran the race.
I had vigorous debates with myself (and Penny) about how I should run the race. Training run? Best efforts? Fun run? Pace someone else? By Saturday, I had settled on a training run. 8:00ish with a fast 5K to fininsh, if and only if my leg felt good. Why risk a hamstring setback for a race I could not get close to placing or PRing in?
I stuck to this plan all of 1mile once the race began. I had memorized my splits from last year's Carlsbad Half, and I finished the first mile in exactly the same time. Miles 2-4 were also almost spot on last year's splits. That's when I knew I had to stop checking my watch. I didn't want to push myself into besting last year's time. So I ran miles 5 to the end watchless.
I went by effort and tried to be comfortable in my stride and breathing. My leg never hurt, not even a twinge of tightness on a hill. I also set my pace by trying to continuously pass the next person in front of me, one at a time.
The new plan of running comfortable also fell by the wayside in the last two miles. My leg was feeling fine, and I started pushing the pace a little bit more, as the next person in front of me got harder and harder to catch. It was a pretty hard effort at the end, 8 out of 10. I finished in 1:34:46, about 1 minute slower than last year, and my third slowest half marathon to date.
It was a risky to push the hamstring like this. It was ready, or I got lucky, because I have no hamstring pain 24 hours later. I'm just experiencing normal post-race soreness, and happily, it is even soreness in both legs. So I know nothing is wrong.
My gun time was 1:35:00, which I am taking as an auspicious sign of good things to come in 2015!
| Split |
Time |
Distance |
Elevation Gain |
Elevation Loss |
Avg Pace |
| 1 |
07:31.8 |
1 |
51 |
30 |
7:32 |
| 2 |
07:12.2 |
1 |
-- |
54 |
7:12 |
| 3 |
07:25.3 |
1 |
39 |
-- |
7:25 |
| 4 |
07:11.0 |
1 |
-- |
39 |
7:11 |
| 5 |
07:19.5 |
1 |
44 |
-- |
7:19 |
| 6 |
07:11.6 |
1 |
14 |
14 |
7:12 |
| 7 |
07:17.4 |
1 |
49 |
32 |
7:17 |
| 8 |
07:03.1 |
1 |
38 |
51 |
7:03 |
| 9 |
06:59.2 |
1 |
-- |
0 |
6:59 |
| 10 |
06:55.2 |
1 |
32 |
47 |
6:55 |
| 11 |
07:11.4 |
1 |
7 |
-- |
7:11 |
| 12 |
07:04.0 |
1 |
42 |
30 |
7:04 |
| 13 |
06:52.6 |
1 |
-- |
51 |
6:53 |
| 14 |
01:32.1 |
0.23 |
-- |
-- |
6:38 |
| Summary |
1:34:46.3 |
13.23 |
316 |
350 |
7:10 |
| 