07/24/2005 [Riley's Rumble Half Marathon]

Workout: Riley's Rumble Half Marathon.

Today was the first concrete benchmark of my training progress, and admittedly I am pleased with the results.

Everyone seemed to benefit from a day much, much cooler and less humid than recent weeks. I'd venture to say it was around 70 degrees or so at the start, with about 65% relative humidity. Very comfortable. After learning of the six waterstops, I belted on only 12oz. of Gatorade, leaving the two 4oz. cannisters--and their added weight--behind. Lastly, just prior to the race I had a Succeed sodium tablet, and brought another for the turn.

Having run the course last Saturday, and having suffered miserably through extreme heat and humidity, I was quite aware of the need for better strategery, primarily a slower start so as to save energy for the later miles. Luckily the mass of runners forced my hand, as the first two miles came in at 15:32, most of that done whilst dodging to and fro. I smiled internally as I saw naive colleagues sprint up the first hill. I was sure I would see them again soon.

After approximately four miles I'd settled into a good pace and was passing others with ease. Contrary to past hill-efforts in races, I opted to keep good form with high knees and a straight torso as opposed to trying to maintain a steady race pace up the hill. The tactic seemed worthwhile as I noticed most of the initial hills did not push my heartrate beyond 166.

By mile 5, I was in a very comfortable and brisk pace, so comfortable that I didn't even bother to keep splits of my progress. Rather, I decided my goal was now simply twofold: pass at least 10 more runners before finishing, and complete the final 8+ miles in strong, consistent fashion.

The first goal initially seemed daunting, as I was no longer approaching many runners as I had before. By mile 6, the front of the peleton had separated into two distinct groups in front of me: the serious, dozen or so hardcore runners who actually had visions of winning the race, and a string of strong runners trailing ever father behind. I, of course, was in the latter group.

It was also at about this mile marker, or soon thereafter, that the leaders passed us in the opposite direction. By rough estimates, they were 1 1/2 miles in front of me and pulling away. Guys, save me a Gatorade at the finish line!

By the turn I'd overtaken 1 of the 10 runners I'd set as a race-day goal. I was so caught up in the chase and being conscious of my pace, that I neglected to record a split at the turn; I think it clocked in at 46:52. Not great, but I had to take into account that the first two miles were effectively out of my control and a good 1 - 1:30 off my capable pace. Better to take it slow when necessary than to turn an ankle being aggressive.

It was awhile before I caught the next pack of runners, but when I did I was able to cruise by them in pretty quick succession. I ended up passing 18 in all after setting my goal, and felt really good the whole way. Only the sprint for the last mile had me pushing the heartrate above intended levels.

I ended up placing 35th overall, with a time of 01:30:21, which translates to a 43:29 on the way back. I think the carbo loading program may have actually helped!