1:18 and that's okay

Three years ago, I captioned a blog post, "1:21 and that's okay." I was training for a marathon in the 2:40-range and ran a half marathon a few weeks beforehand. I did not taper for the race and was still putting in high mileage weeks. My PR at the time was 1:19-high. I ran about 1:00 slower to finish in 1:21-low. I convinced myself that, if I were taking that half marathon as a goal race, I would have done several things differently. I would have cut my mileage back the couple weeks before the race. I would have done an easier workout race week. I would not have been running double digit miles and doubling in the couple of days before the race. A few weeks later, I went through the half marathon of my goal marathon 30 seconds faster feeling like a completely new person.

Over the weekend, I replicated the above process but went a little faster. I am now a 1:17 half marathoner. Now I think that PR is a little soft and could be in the 1:15-16 range. The training block I am in now indicates that but I knew going into my half marathon on Sunday that I was in a similar position to the one I was in three years ago. Over the last 8 weeks, I have been averaging 80+ miles/week. Over the last 5, I have been closer to 90. The week before the half marathon I hit 102 miles and I reached 85 with the race this past week. I did not back off my workouts. I did a 24 mile long run the Sunday before with 4 miles at 5:52 pace. I would think that most folks going for a half marathon PR would not crank out 24 miles the weekend before their goal race.

With all of that being said, the goal for the race was to run 1:17ish and set myself up for a chance to dip into the 1:16s. The idea was that, if fresh, I could run 1:15 so going out at 1:17 pace would be on the conservative side. I went out a little ambitiously in the first mile in 5:45. That is 1:15 pace. I should have been about 10 seconds slower. I ran the second mile in 5:55. I was back on track and ran 5:55s for the next two miles after that. I then ran a couple of 6:00-flat miles for 5 and 6 so came through 6 miles in about 35:40ish. At this point, I felt like I was at mile 20 of a marathon. I feel like a slammed headfirst into the marathon wall. My legs were exhausted. I started to churn out 6:00-6:10 miles. Miles 8 and 9 feature some decent uphills so I split closer to 6:10. Mile 10 was a little downhill and I ran a 5:58. I hit 10 miles in 60:05. I would sustain that pace over the last 5k of the race which flattened out a bit. Mile 11 was a 6:0x, mile 12 was a painful 6:1x, and then 13 was a 5:56. I worked hard the last mile because I did not want to slip into the 1:19s. My calves were burning and my legs were starting to cramp like they might towards the end of a marathon. I crossed the line in 1:18:52- 6:01 pace overall.

I wish I hit a half marathon with a two week taper with the kind of mileage and workouts I have been doing lately. This run basically served as a marathon simulator. I am hoping, that if I go through half marathon in 1:19-1:20 in three weeks, that it feels a whole lot more comfortable on tapered legs. That seems pretty reasonable to me. I still have not run a half marathon that clearly indicates sub-2:40 marathon shape. My workouts have certainly indicated that. I have done a lot of work honing in on 6:00, especially on tired legs. Twin Cities is the goal race in three weeks and I'm going to be ready to roll.

Feeling good ahead of Twin Cities- training for a sub-2:40

I have the Twin Cities Marathon coming up in 4 weeks and I am happy to say that I am in the best shape of my life. My goal is to break the 2:40 barrier. I ran my last shorter race in mid-August and have been building up the mileage for my fall marathon ever since. I ran the Scandia 10k and finished 5th in 35:33. I was one second slower than my time at Butte to Butte on July 4th which I would say is a much tougher course. I got a pretty warm day at Scandia which did not help produce a fast time. At the start of the race, one guy shot out to a 10 second lead and I was running in 2nd through 4th until I fell off a bit at 4 miles. I went 5:31, 5:35, 5:37, 5:42, 5:55, 5:52, and then 80 (.25ish). I ended up getting passed around mile 5 and finished 5th. The early leader would eventually fall back so the winner came out of our little group. I would have liked to have seen something under 35:00 but this day was more about competing with who was around me.

That was back on August 13th. In the 4 weeks after that race, I hit 81, 88, 91, and 102 miles. Up to that race, I had spent most of the summer building a nice base hanging out in the 60-70 mile range. My marathon cycle has been all about the long run. Here is what I have been up to:

7/17- 2 hours on Brice Creek Trail, 5400 ft. of elevation change

7/24- 14 miles and almost 2 hours at Forrest Park in Portland, 2700 ft. elevation change

7/31- 17.5 miles easy (6:54 pace on the roads)

8/7- 15 miles easy (6:49 pace on the roads)

8/14- 17.65 miles easy (6:49 pace on the roads)

8/21- 18 w./ 12 @ 6:01 pace

8/28- 19 @ 6:31 average w./ a 4 mile push from 13-17 in 5:55, 6:02, 6:05, 5:57

9/3- 21- 2 mile warmup, 4 mile tempo @ 5:55 pace, 9 miles easy, 4 mile tempo @ 6:05 pace, 2 mile cooldown

9/11- 24 @ 6:44 average w./ a 4 mile push from 17-21 in 5:53, 5:57, 5:53, 5:45

This has given me all the confidence in the world that I can hold 6-6:05 at Twin Cities. Here is what my 102 mile week looked like from 9/5-9/11:

9/5- AM- 12.25 @ Mt. Piscah- 1:50:00 (3000 ft. elevation change), PM 4.15 @ 7:30

9/6- 11 easy @ 6:48 pace

9/7- 16- 3 up, 4 mile tempo 23:39, 3 mile tempo 17:28, 2 mile tempo 11:29, 1 mile 5:36, 3 down

9/8- AM- 10 @ 7:00 pace, PM 5 @ 6:50 pace

9/9- 11.1 @ 6:56 pace w./ 8 x 200m hills after mile 6

9/10- 9 miles @ 6:57 pace

9/11- 24.1 miles @ 6:44 pace, w./ a 4 mile push from 17-21 in 23:28- 5:53, 5:57, 5:53, 5:45

I think this has been the best week of training in my life. I am now 4 weeks out from my goal marathon. 24 will be my longest run in the buildup and 102 will be the highest I get up to. I am going to run the Albany Half Marathon next weekend (3 weeks out) with a goal of running around 1:16. Honestly, I won't be upset if I run slower with all of the volume I've been doing. I am not tapering too much. My workout this week is 10 x 1km on Wednesday and then Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be a 9/5 double, 8 miles, and 7 miles, respectively. I'm looking forward to Twin Cities and going after a marathon PR!

Butte to Butte 10k, things are coming along

I have been training to time a couple of track 1500s and a road 5k in mid to late July. On the 4th, I hopped into the Butte to Butte 10k to give a serious attempt at 10k as well. Most of my workouts have been geared towards 5k and under right now. With that said, I have been getting in workouts much faster than I have in the past. Here is the month of June:

6/3 8 x 1 mile on bark (slower surface) w./ 1:00 rest- 5:50 average

6/7 800m time trial 2:13, 6/11 Portland Track Festival Mile- 4:56 (2:31/2:24- closed in 71)

6/14 2 mile tempo 11:18, 400m 72, 1 mile 5:16, 800m 2:29, 400m 69, 6/17 8 x 200m, 6/18 10 mile tempo @ 6:05 pace

6/21 4 x mile w./ 3:00 rest in 5:26, 5:18, 5:15, 5:00, 6/24 5 mile tempo @ 5:53 pace

6/28 5 x (1k, 400m) 1:00 between the k and 400, 400m jog in between sets- 3:20/74 average, 6/30 10 x 200m

I strung together a solid month of June to go with a good last couple of weeks in May. I was hoping, given my workouts, that I would be in 34-mid shape for a 10k right now. 

Butte to Butte is one of the biggest road races in Eugene and, being in the middle of the Trials, this year was no exception. The course begins with a neighborhood loop for about a half mile and then a gradual climb for the next mile with a very steep section right before the 1.5 mile mark of the race. I have been told this course can be 20-30 seconds slow versus the track or a flat, road 10k. I still thought somewhere between 34:30-34:59 would be reasonable. It was 60 degrees and sunny at the start and we faced a headwind of about 10 mph on the point to point course.

I took things out in 5:35 which was probably a little quick with a net uphill in mile 1. I then split 6:05 for mile 2 which featured a big uphill and then a nice downhill the second half of the mile. Mile 3 was a 5:10 down a very steep incline. I then ran a 5:40 mile 4 as the course flattened out. I was about 17:25 at 5k and still on sub-35:00 pace at 4 miles- 22:30- 34:57 pace. At this point, however, my day was done. My legs took a beating on the uphill and downhill portions. I envisioned myself rolling on the last 5k on this course. It is perfectly flat and would make for a great 5k point to point race course. There was a decent headwind the last two miles and my legs felt like lead. There were plenty of people to run with and race but I could not respond the few times I got passed over the last two miles. I tried to go with a couple of moves but only lasted 10-20 seconds each time I tried to go. I would like mile 4-5 to be my quickest in a 10k and then try to maintain pace through the finish. I ended up splitting 5:55 and another 5:55 for miles 5 and 6. I didn't have much of a kick to the finish as I averaged 5:30s for the last .2 to finish in 35:32 (5:43 pace overall).

The bad news: I am more fit than this result shows. That is how I feel a lot of the time after races but there is no doubt in my mind I should see 34:XX on the clock in a 10k right now.

The good news: A new PR for me! It was a new PR but remains relatively weak in my mind because I think I can run about a minute faster right now. Last summer I ran 17:45-17:50s for a few 5ks and on the 4th I averaged 17:46 per 5k on a hilly course. That is encouraging. I don't get to race 10k much and the only other race efforts I've had in the past year are a pair of 36:1xs. Both were taken more as tempo runs but it was good to take off 40 seconds a couple of days ago.

There is definitely more in the tank and I will get to prove that. The 4th started a stretch where I race 5 times over 6 weeks. I am going to trust my training as my workouts will cut significantly in volume and speed up a bit. For example, instead of 4 x 1 mile, I'll have 4 x 400m at goal 1500m pace the week before my first 1500. I need to recognize that the work is done, let my body recover, and get after fast times in races--not in workouts.

Summer Schedule:

6/11 Portland Track Festival Mile- 4:56 (2:31, 2:24) in a tactical race

7/4 Butte to Butte 10k- 35:32 (5:43 pace) on a hilly course

7/14 All Comers 1500m

7/23 Bowerman 5k

8/4 All Comers 1500m

8/13 Scandia 10k (flat course!)

p.s. with the Olympic Trials in town, the top 80 were all at 36:00 or better on a hilly course into a steady headwind. I only managed 63rd. Most other years I would have been top-25 or 15.

Portland Track Festival- 4:56 mile FTW

Just a quick recap:

The night was perfect- low 60s, cloudy, little wind. I left Eugene at 3:15 pm, figuring it would take me an hour and forty-five minutes to get to the track at Lewis and Clark College right outside of Portland. I hit three separate accidents on my way up and got there at 6 pm. I luckily had another friend in the race and he grabbed my bib for me. I definitely was feeling a lot of anxiety the last hour and a half of the car ride and now only had 20 minutes to get ready for the mile.

I usually like to warmup for 20 minutes before a 5k race or shorter. I did what I could and jogged an easy 1.25 miles in 11:00. I went straight into drills and took no time in between them. I did on stride, put on my spikes, and went straight to the start line. Just like that, the gun went off. I was in the Community Mile and the field was supposed to be a little bigger than it was. There were only three of us. I had my friend with me who is in similar fitness and then there was a masters woman (to her credit she broke 6:00!).

My friend took things out and we went through 409m in 75-mid. Any thought at a mile in the 4:40s went out the window on the first lap. It had turned tactical already with just the two of us running. The next lap was a 76, as we went through 809m in 2:31-mid. I knocked out 4 x 800 averaging 2:30 a few weeks back. With 600m to go, I took the lead and started to push the pace. I split 73 for the third lap. On the final lap I continued to press. I felt strong but my legs started to feel it in the last 200. I could not close as well as I wanted to but still managed a 71 second last lap. My last 800m was in 2:24 but the opening 2:31 meant a 4:56 mile. I wanted to be faster in this one but I had some bad luck getting to the race and you can only race who shows up. I ended up putting 7 seconds on my friend in the last 600m which is solid.

For the win, I got a Portland Track Festival backpack and a 22 of craft beer! So practical! I would recommend this meet to anyone. The race director let me register after the official deadline had passed. It was well organized. The commentator was calling out our splits for all of the spectators to hear. It was a fun time! I'm happy I went up and competed! I just wish I hadn't rolled out of a car after three hours of driving and onto the track. There's plenty more in the tank. This is just the start to my outdoor season!

Next up will be an All Comers 1500 in Eugene on 7/14. The goal here is to run something equivalent to a mile in the 4:40s. Stay tuned.

Trials and Tribulations

In early April, I was coming off of the NYC Half Marathon and looking forward to the Eugene Marathon. A few things did not go my way in NYC and I thought I left a lot of time out on the course. I managed a two second PR but definitely think that something in the 1:16 range should have been possible that day. After NYC, I upped my mileage and began to put in some solid workouts. I hit an 18 mile run and a 22 mile run. The week of April 4th, I hit a nice 4 x 2 mile workout in 11:37, 11:37, 11:35, and 11:21. The next three days I ran 11, 9, and 7 miles. Then on April 9th I ran the Pear Blossom 10 miler. The goal was to maintain marathon pace on some very tired legs, in a high mileage week. I ran 59:06 (58:50 on my Garmin) for 9th overall and 3rd in my age group. My last mile was my fastest in the race in 5:44. As I got into the last mile of the race, I started to feel lightheaded. It was a little warm (60s) in comparison to the 40s and 50s it had been for the previous couple months. After I crossed the line, I just figured I would hydrate and be fine. During my cooldown, the lightheaded feeling persisted so I shut it down for the day and figured that I would be good to go the next day. I was wrong.

I've been on this cycle for two full years now. In winter of 2014 I passed out running and then for the following 3 months or so I was lightheaded every time I ran. It eventually just went away. I was fine in the fall of 2014, but the feelings came back in the spring of 2015. By summer and fall of 2015 I was feeling back to normal again and felt awesome all the way up until April 9th, 2016. Then for about one month I felt the same as I did in winter 2014 and spring 2015. As I write this now the feeling seems to be gone. I was still feeling awful on May 1st but I wanted to complete my first marathon since fall of 2013. I should not have started to race because of the constant lightheaded feeling I was experiencing. I opened up the race with 5k splits of 19:04 and 19:09. This comes out to 2:41 marathon pace which should have felt easy seeing as I ran 5:55 pace for a 10 miler on tired legs and 5:54 pace for a half marathon both in the six weeks prior to this race. The lightheaded feeling persisted and I slowed horribly during the marathon. I went through halfway in 1:22:32 and stumbled home to finish in 2:59:18. I had to stop due to leg cramps around mile 25 for a couple of minutes. I have no idea what happened. Well, I know that my body just felt completely different on April 8th versus April 10th. The April 10th feeling is how I felt on May 1. The only good news is that I salvaged a Boston Qualifier so have that option the next two years now. I truly believed that I was in shape for a 2:37-2:42 marathon. Sure, sub-3:00 is nice and all, but this is where I was in 2012. I've put in the training for something much faster and it is tough to have circumstances you cannot control interfere with training and racing.

Anyways, now it is June, and just like that, the lightheaded feeling is no more (or very minimal). I hit the track with a lot of anger immediately after the marathon. I did take two weeks easy with four days or so off in the first week. On May 17th I took my frustrations to the track. I was still feeling lightheaded at this point but I did not care in the slightest. Here are my last several weeks of workouts:

5/17 4 x 800m- 2:27, 2:30, 2:35, 2:30, 1:58 600m, 69 400m, 6 x 200m 33, 33, 34, 34, 34, 33

5/20 12 x 200m hills

5/24 1km in 3:19 on bark (slow surface), 8 x 400m in 73, 73, 73, 73, 73, 73, 70, 68, 2 x 300m 50, 49, 2 x 200m 33, 32

5/27 4 mile tempo 23:07, 4 x 200m relaxed in 35, 35, 35, 34

5/31 1 mile on bark 5:38, 1200 3:47, 800 2:32, 600 1:53, 500 1:33, 400 71, 300 49, 6 x 200 33, 34, 32, 33, 32, 30

6/3 8 x 1600m on bark 5:50 average (5:37 last rep)

6/7 1 mile 5:45 on bark, 800m 2:13 (66.5, 66.5), 400m @ goal 1500 pace in 70, 4 x 200 32, 32, 30, 29

Most of the workouts above were done with jogging rests. I have no idea what I am in shape for. Last summer I ran a 4:39 and 4:35 for 1500m in the two races I competed in. About 30 minutes after the 4:39, I ran a 2:19 800m. I ran 2:13 for 800m in a time trial on June 7th. The workouts I have been doing have basically been at my 1500 pace from last summer or much much faster. I think I am in the 4:20s for 1500 and 4:40s for a mile right now. I am hoping I can run sub-16:00 for 5k this summer. I think my speed is setting up well for that once I get in some more strength over the coming weeks.

Tonight, I am heading up to Portland to tackle a track mile. There are different ways to deal with disappointment and frustration. Over the past two years, I have hated running and even have contemplated giving up all together. It is frustrating to not see improvement. During this tough time, however, I have made my choice to keep fighting. I think about where I was at in high school and it gives me all of the motivation I need. I was overweight when I started running, I got picked on a lot and made fun of for it. High school kids are ruthless. My first ever 5k I ran 24 or 25 minutes for 5k. Now I have run in the 16:30s and look positioned to knock off some more time this summer. In high school, I doubt I could break 6:00 for a mile. Now, I have run half marathons averaging in the 5:50s. I am hoping to drop something in the 4:40s for the mile tonight- not bad for a kid who six years ago would have trouble with 6:00.

Let's do it.

NYC Half Marathon Race Report: a 2 second PR but a missed opportunity

Back in late November, I finally had what I would consider a breakthrough in the half marathon. After going through a period of a couple of years where I was not able to race much and not able to see improvements, I clocked a 1:17:50. My splits were incredibly consistent in that race and I felt strong through the finish. On this past Sunday, I ran 1:17:48 at the NYC Half Marathon. I would have been upset if I did not dip under 1:17:50, as my fitness coming into this race was as good as it ever has been. I wanted to see 1:16:xx on the finish line clock but came up a little short. This was due to some things that I controlled and some things that I could not. Let's get into it.

Like I just mentioned, my buildup was very solid for NYC. I read a quote once that said something along the lines of you know you are ready for a good race when you have a lot of good workouts but are not necessarily knocking them out of the park. This is how I felt. Here are some of my workouts since January (there were many others that were along the same lines so this is just a small snapshot):

1/13 6 x mile starting at 5:53 and working down to 5:42

1/17 10 mile tempo 1:00:55 (6:05 pace) in San Diego

1/29- 12 x 1k 3:36 average

2/17 6 x 2k 5:51 pace

2/21 12 mile tempo @ 6:09 pace (1st 4 6:15, last 8 6:05, 5:55 last mile)

2/27 3k 9:42

2/28 long run with 4 miles @ 5:53 pace, 6 miles in between, 3 miles @ 5:57 pace (2 mile warmup/cooldown)

3/2 2 miles 11:36 (5:48), 2 x mile 5:37, 5:34, 4 x 800m 2:45, 43, 40, 36

3/6 long run with 3 miles @ 5:50 pace, 2 @ 5:47 pace, 1 in 5:35

I also ran the Shamrock Run 8k on 3/13, which was the weekend before NYC. My goal for the race was to target half marathon pace. Because of the layout of the race (faster 8k runners running into slower half marathoners) I got a little over 5 miles on my Garmin, having to pass half marathoners for much of the race. My 28:46 for 8k came out to 5:44 pace with the added distance. This gave me some confidence for NYC. My plan for NYC was to take the early hills of the race easy- 5:50-55 pace and then work it down on the faster miles of the course starting at the 10k point. I was hoping for a 1:16.

The weather race morning was in the low 30s with 14 mph winds. Not ideal. The security line to get into the start area was excessive and unexpected. You have to enter the park and work your way about 12 blocks to the start line. Before you do this, however, you need to basically go through airport security. Put that image in your head but then much longer lines and you being antsy about getting to the start on time and getting your warmup in and that was how I was feeling. Bag check is also before security so I was waiting in line in shorts and my singlet. I was frozen. I started waiting 1 hour before the racing, hoping to start warming up 45 minutes out. Instead, I made it through security 25 minutes before and started running immediately. I stuck to my normal routine but it was rushed. Corrals also close 20 minutes before the race. This is absurd. In that kind of weather, even if I had gotten in sooner, I would not want to stand for 20 minutes. By the time I came back to my corral (wave 1, corral 1), it was just under 10 minutes to the race. They had removed what was separating the corrals so I entered into corral 3. I made my way to the front of the seconds corral and then security let me into the back of the first (those two were still separated but there was not another way to get to it). I made my way towards the front of the corral but made it about halfway. This meant there were about 500 runners in front of and behind me. For reference, I ended up finishing 145th and 500th place was 1:25. That is an awesome time but 8 minutes slower! 

(ditching the gloves at 11.5)

When the gun went off, it took me 5 seconds to cross the line and many more seconds to actually get going. It was very congested and I could barely move in the first 400 meters. I spent miles 1 and 2 moving around people and running extra distance. My watch clicked at 6:04 for the first mile but I reached the marker at 6:10 or so (maybe a couple seconds slower). That was well off goal pace but I was probably running pretty quick making up for a very slow opening 400 the rest of that mile. I then committed a mistake that made this race tougher than it should have been. I split a 5:42 weaving around folks in mile two. I wanted to stay relaxed through the hills in the park and then drop a 5:42 through Times Square and then hold that kind of a pace during the faster, flatter miles from 7 to the finish. Mile 3 was a 5:50 flat mile. Mile 4 was 6:09 but climbed 110 feet (also dropped 70 so a net 40 gain). By mile 5, 29:42 (on my watch), I took the only gel I had on me. My legs felt cooked so I just tried to get in some calories. I took some gatorade between 6 and 7 and that would be my last fluid/fuel intake of the day. In retrospect, I should have grabbed a gel just before mile 8 where they were being handed out and I should have taken liquids again around 9 or 10. My splits on my watch were off where the course was. After I came out of the park, I dropped two 5:45s (6-8) and the started running in the low 5:50s until 20k. I ran by my family at 11.5 or so and was exasperated by then but hanging on. I was giving it everything I had and I felt like I was running 5:40s instead of miles closer to 6:00. At mile 10, I had 58:50 on my watch. The course had me at about 59:10. I definitely lost a good amount of time on the course with the slow start, weaving in and out of runners, and not running the tangents. Even with my gun time, I was quicker than my last half through 10 miles by 25 seconds. In this race, however, I ran my slowest miles of the race versus my last half where I ran my fastest 5k at the end. I held it together but I was really spent from 20k to the finish where I averaged about 6:05 pace. I had no kick and lost some serious time here. Had I kicked and had been able to drop the pace, I could have been closer to 1:17-mid.

Here are my official 5k splits from the race (not from my watch, I had myself a little quicker with the added distance):

5k: 18:20 (5:54 pace)- 1:17:21 half pace overall

10k: 37:01 (18:41- 6:01 pace)- 1:18:06 half pace overall

15k: 55:12 (18:11- 5:51 pace)- 1:17:38 half pace overall

20k: 1:13:39 (18:27- 5:56 pace)- 1:17:41 half pace overall

4:09 to the finish- 6:05 pace

(flying- both feet off the ground!)

On my watch, I was on 1:17:07 half pace at 10 miles and 1:17:13 half pace at 12. At 20k, you enter an underpass so my Garmin lost reception here and did not calculate the rest of the race accurately. I lost some time coming back uphill out of the underpass. My legs were toast at this point and I was pushing hard but could not muster anything that resembled a kick. My official time was 1:17:48 which is 5:56 pace and a 2 second PR. I did not execute my race plan in the park which could have made some of those 5:5x miles from 8-12 in the 5:40s. I am happy looking at my official splits that my best 5k was my third one. I would rather have it there than the first or second. The third 5k is also by far the fastest miles on the course. 18:11 for 5k comes out to 1:16:43 pace so that was what I hoped I would have been closer to for the entire run. Overall, I have to be happy with where I am at. My last two half marathons were 1:17:50 and 1:17:48. Both averaged 5:56 pace. The training has been going very well. I just would have liked to have seen something in the 1:16 range or 1:17-low range. I do not get to race a ton of half marathons because they take a lot out of you. That means I will not get a chance to better this mark until the fall. I definitely feel like my time could have been 1:17-low or better even with some aggressive miles in the park if I had just had a clean start. The start process needs to be cleaned up for runners who qualify into this race. There needs to be an easier way for corral 1 runners to access their bags, their corral, and get a good warmup in. I would suggest using the entrance by 72nd street which is where I am guessing the true elites get to go through. 180 runners went under the qualifying mark of 1:19 so it would not be too many people to accommodate. There should also be a separate gear check by the start line for those folks so runners can warmup and stay warm right up to the start.

So after this overly wordy blog post, I feel satisfied but disappointed. I am in much better shape than a 2 second improvement indicates. I had to fight the entire race just for those two seconds and lost time in ways I could have controlled and in ways that I could not have. A 1:17:48 half equates to a 2:41-2:42 marathon or so. I believe I am in 1:16-mid shape which would equate to a 2:39-40 full. I am going to run the Eugene Marathon which was six weeks out from Sunday. I want to clock a sub-2:40 marathon. This half marathon does not quite indicate that, but the fitness does. This is tough to process but I am hoping to use the half as motivation for the full and not as a setback. I know I am in the best shape of my life for longer distances. I'm excited for the challenge of a shorter marathon buildup with the half marathon base that I have. One final thought is that I have the best support crew in running! Shoutout to my friends and family who braved the cold for me and gave me a boost a little before mile 12. I made a hard move on the downhill going into the underpass and passed some folks that I would end up beating. While I slowed in that final stretch, their energy might have been the difference in a 2 second PR. Onward to Eugene. Onward to a sub-2:40.

2016 Goals

1:15 half marathon

2:37 marathon