High-Octane

1:33:44 "Official Time" (7:08 pace) but I was actually a little faster as they missed my start time and had to use the "gun" time for my start. 1st in my age group and maybe 14th overall.  

First of all, this is a great race run for a great cause. If you are at all interested in running a race for a good cause this is one you should consider!

This was an interesting race to run for me. After a long summer of only biking (because of my hip problem) I was able to average 32 mile running the three weeks prior to this race. Last year I did a similar training pattern because of another injury. In this report I'm going to do some anaylisis, since I've been running 2-1/2 years and have seen some interesting improvement. This specific race I would say was one of my best in regard to feel, speed, preformance, etc.

Here's a comparison of the 6 Half Marathons I've Run:

The interesting thing is the HR comparison. 165 is 90% of my HR reserve so it looks like I've run all of my races at a consistant overall effort while my times are dropping considerably.  (I discount the Orange Leaf race as it was over 80 degrees and 97% humidity.)

Here's the Race Report:

My plan going into this race was to try and run faster than I did last year. Last year was a 7:19 pace. I got to the race about 30 minutes before the start and decided to sit in my car as long as possible so I wouldn't get cold. I wore my light tights, arm sleeves, light gloves and a scull cap which all ended up being just right. With the reynolds syndrom I have even 48 degrees can be painful if I'm not clothed properly.  When I heard the nationl anthem being played I headed up to the starting line. The full marathoner started immediatly after the anthem and the half marathoners were supposed to start 15 minutes later. The race actually started late so they let the half marathoners go 5 minutes after the full. This posed a problem just a few miles into the race when all of the faster half runners caught up with the slow full runners. I guess I'm becoming a running snob because I was very irritated having to weave in and out of all of the slow full runners for several miles. They were just jogging along, yapping and laughing with no concern some people were trying to run fast! Anyway, back to the start. I got to the chute and was working my way up to the front when the gun sounded and the race was off. I had thought I would have 15 minutes to get to the front but because the full runners started late they decided to start the half runners early. I was about 20-30 yards from the start line when the race began.  This was another problem because my start time was missed and they had to use the gun time as my start adding several seconds to my time since I was so far back in the pack.

As I began to run the first mile my goal was to try and run the first three miles below 7:20 pace. I guess I must have been stiff and not warmed up on the first mile as my pace read 7: 33 after the first mile. I was thinking as I ran that it shouldn't seem this hard. I guess I limbered up on mile because it was a 7:08 and felt much easier. Mile three has a pretty good incline and I slowed down a little to a 7:19 pace. Mile 4 is a long downhill and I was able to catch my breath and begin to pick up the pace and ran it and 5 at 7:03 and 7:00. Mile 6 and the turn around were good at 7:08 and I was feeling good. Mile 7 has another slight uphill so I just kept the same effort and ran a 7:13. At mile 8 I was thinking, I feel pretty good, my breathing is steady and I had a couple of miles before the dreaded climb at mile 10 so I picked up the pace a little more. Mile 8 was 6:58 and mile 9 was 7:09. Last year I ran mile 10 at 7:55 and remember how tired I was when I got to the top. This year I ran it at 7:43 and my HR didn't raise at all. At this point I knew I could finish the race strong so I began to pick up the pace again and rand a 6:53, 7:11 and 6:29 on my last three miles.

***Now here's a footnote to ponder: How could I run a 6:29 on mile 13 of a half marathon and last week only average 6:26 on a 5K race? Hummm? My fastest track mile is 5:35, why can't I break 20:00 in a 5K.***

I ran the last .1 in 49 seconds. I'm not sure what that pace is but there's a 90 degree turn that slows you down right at the end.

Overall I was very pleased with this race. Negative split for the two halves of about a minute.

When it was over I felt like I could have run it 5-10 seconds faster per mile. Maybe next year I can average under 7:00 for the race.

James 1:27

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.