Wallis Sands 2012 Half Marathon

Long ago in  aland far away my 2012 season happened.

 

Wallis Sands Half Marathon Race report:

 

Pre-race routine:

Up at 4:30. Had a banana and a half bagel with honey. Ate relatively light since my previous 2 day carbo binge left me with some cramps during yesterday's run and still felt a little stuffed at dinner last night. Had two coffees at home and then stopped at Starbucks for the last one on the way to the race. Slept terrible as always before a race.

Event warmup:

Ran abut 5 minutes in the parking lot, then out to the road and a few pickups to race pace.

   Run

Comments:

First four miles were right along the coast, therefore nearly perfectly flat, and with a wind behind the back. I tried to go pretty easy and felt like these four miles went by quickly and without issue. I had opted to wear the long sleeve summer layer under my Gnomie shirt, and I after mile 3 I thought maybe it would be too much so I pulled up the sleeves at least.

 

I was running with someone who told me in the start chute he was hoping to go out in 8:00 pace before he picked it up, so I assumed we were about at that level. As we turned inland, I did a quick check and everything was 100%. Achilles was absolutely fine, breathing was smooth, no cramping in site. First third of the race was down and so far I had been smart and not gone out way too fast. (8:01, 8:02, 8:05, 8:06, HR was at 164 avg by mile 4)

 

I lost my running partner as he took off on his quest for faster paces, and I really never ran with anyone the rest of the race. As the fifth mile progressed, we hit some minor hills and I really worked to keep the effort constant, no matter the pace. I had tried something completely different this race with my GPS. I decided to only have the HR visible so I wasn’t obsessing over moment to moment pacing and such. At this point in the race, the effort was even but hard. I did feel like I could maintain this effort for the whole race, and since HR was showing just a few beats below threshold I thought that was good.

 

These middle miles were mostly into an increasingly strong wind and through rolling hills, thus the slower mile times despite the even pace. The wave start of the race and relatively low number of entrants kept the crowd down and I was running basically alone with usually 10-20 yards free in front of me. (8:15, 8:20, 8:18, 8:06, 8:26, HR was at 163 avg).

 

The last third of the race was mostly flat with a few small rollers, though still into the wind until the last mile and a half. At this point, I was starting to feel some tightness in the legs though overall everything was great. At mile 10 I did a check to see how the last 5k should be run, and everything was right on. No Achilles issue at all, no cramps, no leg problems. Tried to tick the effort up just a bit, and started catching a few people who were fading. Kept that level of effort through to the end, though picked up the pace at the last quarter mile to pass a few people on the way through the chute, one of whom had passed me about a half mile back.

 

Felt great about the finishing effort, though given how relatively fresh my legs felt gearing it up for that last quarter mile push I wonder if I could have extended it back a mile or two. (8:05, 8:07, 8:09, 8:09, 6:57 last quarter mile, HR was 167 and peaked at 170 at finish).

What would you do differently?:

Not sure I could have run much faster overall, though I do wonder if I could have stepped up a bit for the last mile or two given the surge I had at the very end. I just need to keep running and get miles in my legs, and race more so I know the feeling and how hard to push. I've blown up a few times at this distance (once in a HM and once in a 70.3) so maybe that plays too much into my decision making.

Post race

Warm down:

Walking warm down. It got colder and windier, so dressed up and ate the food.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

This was a well run race for my current fitness. Afterwards I thought I could maybe have pushed some parts harder, but based on the HR numbers maybe not.

Event comments:

Well planned race, lots of parking right on site, went out in waves so no crowding at all. Lots of volunteers along the way. Love this event.