New Bedford was supposed to be the race to test my fitness. It was supposed to indicate what kind of shape I was in. It, however, did not quite work out that way. I ran a 1:20 half marathon back in October, followed up by a 2:54 marathon in November, which could have been a little faster if I had paced better early on in the race. Since November, I have endured four months of marathon training. I have been running more mileage than ever before, averaging between 80-100 miles for the last 16 weeks or so. My workouts have been tough. I have been completing marathon specific workouts and have been running much faster than last fall. Some example workouts include: 6 mile tempo at 5:40 pace, 3 x 2 miles at 5:45 pace, 4 x 2k at 5:40 pace, 3 x 5k in 18:00 each, 5 x 1.5 mile repeats under 5:30 pace. This is a sample of what my workout days look like. I have been giving full effort in this build-up to Boston. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. My weekend long runs, which have ranged from 16-22 miles, have helped me to gain strength. I have been averaging around 6:40 pace for my long runs and leave them feeling as if I could have pushed the pace much faster. With all of this being said, I expected that I was due for a big race and half marathon PR. I have not raced at a distance over 5k since the Philadelphia Marathon in November. While I went into the race physically in top shape, I do not think I was there mentally. Nerves got the best of me last Sunday. I placed a great deal of pressure on myself to do well and the thoughts of failure crept into my head in the moments before the race and then I could not hold pace. I have put everything into this cycle. Every distance runner knows the sacrifices you have to make to stick to your plan. I place an immense burden on myself to race at a high level. I did not have any confidence on the start line. I feared the unknown, and instead of proving myself, I let doubt settle in.
The race:
I got to New Bedford plenty before the start. I went for a 2 mile warm-up a little under an hour before the race. I was already feeling nervous. I then went into my usual routine of stretching, form drills and striders. Then, it was time to begin. I lined up a little farther back than I should have, or maybe not given where I ended up. It took me 7 seconds to get across the line. I was blocked for the first couple minutes of my race and worked too hard early on to put myself in better position and to catch-up to people hoping to run faster times. I hit the first mile in 5:42 but I did not move very far in the first 10 seconds or so of the mile due to all of the runners. I ran the second mile, into a headwind, in 6:00. These would be my fastest two miles of the day, and I should note my goal coming into the race was to hold 5:40-5:50 pace. I forget every year how difficult the New Bedford Half Marathon course is. The third and fourth miles incorporate very steep hills. They force you to back off pace, but still do damage to your legs early on in the race. I went through these miles at about 6:15 pace for each. This could have been too fast with the elevation gained. At mile four, the course turns and flattens out. From miles 4 to 12 there are no significant hills and you can really dial into race pace. I, however, could not do this. My day was already over and I had no idea why. I could not drop under 6:00 pace and each step became a struggle. My legs felt fine but my spirit was down. I do not know why this happened. Training has been going well and I have been running at much faster paces in workouts. I tried my best to hang on throughout the entire race, but I was not having any fun out there. I put in all of this hard work in the winter months in the cold, wind and snow. I had not let any of these factors interfere with my training. For some reason, I just did not have it. I gradually slowed from 6:00 pace to 6:15 pace in the middle miles (8-10). At mile 10, there were two miles into a strong headwind where I split 6:34 and 6:30. Terrible. The last mile of the race features a long uphill climb that is sure to slow you down that late in the race. Then, you come around a turn and see the finish line and have a nice downhill finish. I ran 6:33 for the last mile and 20:12 for my last 5k overall. This was not encouraging. I finished in 1:21:34 (6:13 pace overall). My goal for Boston remains a 2:40 marathon. I know I am in 1:15-1:17 half marathon shape. I just wish I had not placed such a high amount of pressure on myself at New Bedford. This was my only tune-up race for Boston and nerves took me out of it probably before the start line. I have been training to hold 6:00 to 6:10 pace for the marathon. This is what I am going to try to do. I need to remember to stay relaxed and calm. Fast times are going to come, but it is equally important to have fun. I need to remember why I started doing this in the first place. I want to know that I am improving each day and doing my best. If I can say I am doing these things, then I am on the right track and need to be happy with myself. It is time to stop putting pressure on myself and to find the thrill I got out of finishing my first races and that feeling of accomplishment. This is what I want to feel when I cross the finish line at Boston. Regardless of the time, I want to run free.
(for coverage of the New Bedford half and to see videos of some fast local guys, check out http://www.levelrenner.com/)
Consolation Prize:
Two years ago I ran the New Bedford Half Marathon. It was my first go at the distance and I learned several valuable lessons in distance running. While I am not a veteran yet, I have completed a number of half marathons since and moved up to the marathon. I have run New Bedford three consecutive times and have run progressively better with each one. This is encouraging. It allows me to take a step back and see where I started from. It is funny that I am complaining about a 1:21 half when my first was in 1:45 and just a year ago my best was 1:30. Now that's improvement! This leaves me optimistic about the future. I will be back next year and I will be stronger than ever.
2011 NB Half- 1:45:17 (8:02 pace), 879th of 2373, top 37%
2012 NB Half- 1:30:40 (6:55 pace), 382nd of 2778, top 13.75%
2013 NB Half- 1:21:34 (6:13 pace), 179th of 3135, top 5.5%
Run Happy (but seriously),
David
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