Training Report

Half-marathon training continues to go very well. 30 miles two weeks ago, 29 last week. No doubles lately, as the long runs are getting the job done in making sure my weekly mileage stays where I like.

I ran my second 12-miler this past Monday, pacing out at 7:59 per mile. I was pleased with the effort, but the course was not as challenging as last week. Next week will be my last tune up, and I'll make sure it includes a little more hill work.

This means I can now aim at 1:45 for a finishing time. It would be nearly 1:30 per mile faster than my Abilene half in 2006. Truly something to be excited about.

I also did mile repeats Thursday just to shake things up, holding 7:41 pace per mile on a treadmill.

Twelve-miler

When I ran my ten-miler last week, my half marathon goal pace was 8:20, with the plan being to finish in 1:50 or better. 

Turns out that goal may not be lofty enough. 

I haven't really been following a structured training plan for this race, so I didn't know until early this morning what today's long run would be. After last week's ten, I've heard from coworkers that I could run eight-minute miles for the whole 13.1. So I decided to go for it. Twelve miles at 8:00. 

It rained about an inch in the overnight, and I took off at about 9:15 this morning, on an off day from work. A gorgeous day for a run. Peanut butter toast and water were my only fuel. Well, that and a nice, hot cup of coffee. In hindsight, I probably should have eaten a little more.

It takes about a half mile or so to get the pace dialed in, and after that, I made steady progress on getting onto goal pace. Splits needed to be around 2:00 per quarter. I find I like measuring splits that way instead of by the half mile-- helps me stay on pace. 

The first five were pretty easy, until I hit the stairs to get to the bridge that takes me over the river. Very soon after that I stopped to fill my bottle, which took a few minutes. I felt pretty good through about 9.5, when I hit a decent hill. Turns out that the stairs and that hill were the only two times I really missed my splits. Everything else was either below 2:00 or very close. I did take two GU gels-- one at four and the other at nine. I feel good about how I timed those. 

The last half mile was difficult, but I clocked in at 1:36:20 for the run-- an 8:02 pace. I didn't quite meet the goal, but I got pretty dang close. It even lets me adjust my goal. Now I can aim at a 1:45 half and really like my chances. 

Half Marathon

In 2008, I ran my first big race-- the Eisenhower Half Marathon in Abilene, Kansas. I felt like I worked hard to get ready for that race, and I did. One reason for that was I weighed nearly 200 pounds and it takes a lot of effort to lug a body that size down the road. The temperature was 20 degrees (F) on that first Saturday in April. the only fuel I took was the Sport Beans (still a fan) I bought specifically for race day. Didn't want anything to slow me down, after all. I finished in 2:02:44 on a flat course (9:24 pace).

Last week, I signed up to run the Huntsville Half Marathon in Huntsville, AL on Saturday, November 10. It'll be my second half, and I fully expect it to go a lot better.

I really feel like I'm in a great place training-wise, and that I can put a great number on the board. I've been at 25-30 miles per week for the last 2-3 months, having worked in half-mile and mile repeats for several weeks in a row. This past Monday, I ran a 10-mile time trial at 8:18 pace, so I am already confident. My coworker Ed (my unofficial coach) thinks I can run 8-minute miles. I'd be happy running 8:20 miles for a 1:49, but eight-minute miles mean I can get in under 1:45.

So I'm pretty excited. And I feel ready-- part of me wishes the race were tomorrow. It'll get here soon enough, and there's still work to be done.