Run with Eric + TIME

2008 OC Half Marathon

My stretch goal heading into this race was 1:20, with a 'fallback' plan of 1:22.

The 5/5/5 pacing strategy that Coach Mike laid out for me was 5 miles at 6:10 pace, 5 miles at 6:05, than whatever I had left for 5K.

Despite a prediction of rain, the weather turned out to be ideal. It was in low 50's at the race start and overcast. Somehow the rain cells avoided us and it was dry the entire race, except for a few puddles on the course. I thought about wearing a long-sleeve jersey, but I decided against it and went with my standard tank and a pair of gloves (my hands always get cold). It was the right decision.

After a short 1.5 mile warm up jog, I lined up at the start line and readied myself for the start. Both the marathon and half-marathon start were at the same time... and there were several elite Kenyans in the field. Those guys are tiny!

At 7:30, the gun sent us off.

Mile 1. 6:14.3. Slightly uphill and I felt a bit sluggish. I don't think I warmed up enough.
Mile 2. 5:34.0. Downhill, and too fast. I paid for this quick mile later. I was running next to one of the female Kenyan runners and her pacer. They were chatting casually in another language that I couldn't understand.
Mile 3. 6:24.3. Slight uphill again. The petite Kenyan and her escort stop talking and proceed to drop me like I'm standing still.
Mile 4. 6:06.3. Flat. I settle into my pace (finally!) and feel pretty good.
Mile 5. 5:52.7 (5 miles - 30:11, 6:02 pace) A short downhill. Too quick again, I'm 40 seconds under my pace goal at this point. ARGH, I know I'm cooking myself, but can't seem help it. The hills are making it really hard to regulate my speed.
Mile 6. 6:09.8 (10K - 37:33) Ran this mile with a little group. My 10K split is a PR!
Mile 7. 6:05.8. Very slight downhill. Still ok at this point, but I can feel some fatigue building quickly.
Mile 8. 6:13.2. Really tried to push this mile and still ended up slower than the last.
Mile 9. 6:15.5. Legs won't turn over any faster.
Mile 10. 6:34.7 (10 miles - 1:01:30, 2nd 5 miles - 31:18, 6:16 pace). 6:09 pace through 10, which is pretty close to my goal, but my 2nd 5 is quite a bit slower than my first. Positive split is NOT the strategy! I know I'm toast at this point. But hey, its a 10 mile PR!
Mile 11. 6:35.2. Hanging on. Damage control mode now. Lots of turns on this section of the course... make sure not to slip on the wet pavement.
Mile 12. 6:07.8. Get a slight downhill and somehow manage a decent mile split
Mile 13: 6:45.6. Biggest uphill on the course, man this sucks. Catch two guys on the incline.
Final 0.1. 0:35.8. Finish line in sight... I see my wife and give a little burst to get over the line.

final time 1:21:29, 5th AG, 37th Overall

So, I missed my goal..but it still a PR by 3 minutes, and the 10K and 10 mile splits along the way were PR's as well. I'll be honest, it wasn't long ago that 6:06 pace was only a touch slower than my 5K pace, so to think I could hold that for 13.1 miles was a stretch for me mentally. But, I went for it (albeit, slightly too aggressively) and I still ended up with a pretty good result. I'm happy and the fact that the effort came at the tail-end of my biggest volume week ever (running-wise) is encouraging.

Thanks to Coach Mike (that's the two of us in the pic) for his guidance... I owe him a lot!

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2008 OC Half Marathon + TIME