Eugene Half Marathon Race Report- 1:16:40 PR !!!

(final mile grit)

On Sunday I ran my first half marathon since having a blood clot in my lung in November, 2016. The last 6 months have been hell. I have been battling with anxiety since this time. With that being said, I really used running over the last three months to help me feel like myself again. Over the last 12 weeks I have averaged 75 miles/week. With each step I run, I am able to prove to myself that I can move on. I am not done yet with running and have more to accomplish.

Selected workouts:
3/21 Michigan 1 (full) mile track 5:15, 1 mile bark 5:54, 1200m track 4:03, 1 mile bark 5:53, 800m track 2:34, 1 mile bark 5:54, 400m track 67, 1600m track 5:38
4/9 8 mile tempo 47:25- out in 24:15, back in 23:10. 6:04, 6:01, 6:09, 6:00, 5:53, 5:54, 5:49, 5:34
4/12 3 mile tempo 16:56- 5:41-5:46-5:29, jog over to track (3:30), 10 x 400m (78.0 avg- 76-79 on the reps) w./ 200m jog :55-57, jog to 3 mile start (4:00), 3 mile tempo 16:53- 5:44-5:42-5:27
4/17 5 mile tempo 28:55 + 4 x 400m
4/21 8 x 1600m w./ 1:00 standing rest 5:34 average (1st rep 5:39, last rep 5:25)
4/26 3 x 2 miles w./ 2:00 400 jog 11:17, 11:16, 11:15

Tuneup Races: 9:24 3k, 16:36 5k, 58:19 10 miler (controlled)

In short, the workouts were there for a good one. After the 8 x 1600 workout I thought 1:14:59 might be possible but I probably needed a few more weeks of similar workouts to make 5:40-5:45 a little more comfortable. The 3 x 2 mile workout was good but it felt a little too hard to be half marathon pace. I went into Eugene with a time in the 1:15 range as my A goal, with a secondary goal of running a PR (previously 1:17:48). On the day of the race I woke up to low-40 degree weather and sunny skies. Great for racing! My plan was to take it out no faster than 5:50. The first four miles have some incline so I wanted to conserve some energy. I executed pretty well in here. On my Garmin I went 5:40, 5:51, 5:51, 5:58. The Garmin was a little off. I ended up getting 13.2 miles and they were clicking the miles off just a few seconds early each mile. The course gave me a 5:45 mile 1 and 11:35ish at 2 miles. I went through 5k in 18:07. After mile 4 I made a conscious effort to try to pick things up. The Garmin gave me 5:42, 5:43, 5:39, 5:43. I went through 10k in 36:04 (17:57 2nd 5k). 8 miles in I was averaging 5:45 pace and on target for a 1:15 finish time.

(hanging with Andrew Wheating post race)

After mile 8, the course climbs college hill. The half marathon is tough because you are basically red lining the whole time and the pace you are trying to hold becomes increasingly difficult the farther into the race you get. I split 5:57 on the uphill mile 9 and my race got a lot more difficult. I took a gel at this point and then clicked off 5:53, 5:57, and 5:54 miles to reach 12. I hit 10 right at 5:50 pace or so. My Garmin gave me 57:5x. I was knocked off of 5:45 pace in here and lost more than 40 seconds. I reckon I could have kept my pace in the 5:40-range had it not been for the hill. I worked hard during the final mile (5:50) to reel in 2 runners and put in a decent kick during the last 200m where the race finished on Hayward Field. I crossed the line in 1:16:40 for a new PR on more than one minute. I finished 18th of 2500 and 2nd in my age group. Look, 6 months ago I did not know if I would ever run faster than I had pre blood clot. On Sunday, I proved to myself that I am not done yet. With that being said, the workouts still tell me that I can break into the 1:15 range. I know that time is possible and have something to shoot for next time out. I had a blast running in my Team Stop the Clot jersey and got a lot of love on the course. I can tell you that the feeling crossing the finish line last weekend was awesome. It is among the happiest I have been in 6 months. I've battled a lot with anxiety the last 6 months and was happy to run well.

(#TeamStopTheClot)

Next up is the Newport Marathon on June 3rd. That's right! I'm not slowing down. I ran a half now it's time for a full. I am going to keep up the mileage the next month and try to run between 2:38-2:42. I want to thank my family, friends, running buddies, and the blood clot community for encouraging me, inspiring me, and supporting me over the last 6 months. I am feeling more like myself thanks to a lot of amazing people.