Age: 34 Pace: 12:55 Clock time: 2: 49:15
Here is the other stuff:
It was my first half marathon. Longer than I had ever run. We trained beginning in January in ice and snow, never in temps warmer than 55 degrees. On race day it was 80 degrees. I cried at the finish line. Here is a link to a video Walter took of me at the finish.
On November 21st I ran the Tulsa Rt 66 Half Marathon. Planned to run the the full and trained up until the 18 mile training run. However, due to what I think it an IT band knee problem and little time to rehab I made the decision to run the half.
Since the day of my first half in April of 2009 I have run: Two Full Marathons; Won third place for women in a 6 hour race on trails in deplorable conditions; Ran a 15k Trail Race; Many Many long training runs including trail runs and pacing my running peeps on ultras. Generally, my confidence and experience as a runner has really solidified in the past year.
So, I was a bit taken aback at my stats for the Rt 66 Half.
Overall time 3:10:26 Pace 14:40.
Why is this? With all the miles I've logged have I only gotten slower? Granted, I had some knee problems, a bathroom stop and didn't cry at the finish but ...I ran my heart out on this race. Am I becoming a worse runner? Do I need a garmin? What do slower paces and longer finish times mean?
I think you need to think of all the circumstances, and think of them as reasons, not excuses. 1. You had a nagging injury. 2. You probably did not get the taper you needed, thanks to me. (sorry) 3. Even if the IT issues did not flare up during the race, it was in the back of your mind and you were probably being a little cautious with your effort. 4. The course was not super easy for a fast half-- plenty of hills, and then when it flattened out on Riverside, you had 2 miles of horrendous headwind. 5. At that point, I would have probably just loafed on in if a good time or PR were out of reach-- not sure if that was the case for you.
ReplyDeleteYou won't PR every time. Some days you have a bad run for no particular reason. I have been in the upper 20%, and I have been dead last. These days, for me, if it is an enjoyable run, I count it as a good run. A 16 minute mile pace that is fun is a super run in my books. I have given up on impressing anyone with speed. When we run together, I think you have a joy for running and I think that's very good. Faster times will come your way on a faster day. You'll see that day, and you'll have an off day again too. My $.02. (of course you know I think you're awesome!)
I agree 100% with everything TZ said. The hills in the first half of Route 66 are much tougher than OKC.
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