Nothing tests the progress of training runs like participating in a half marathon. I am 7 weeks out until the full Memphis St. Jude Marathon and this half was going to answer a lot of questions for me an my perceived ability to run the full marathon again. I came in with what I thought was a lofty but achievable goal of breaking 2 hours. This would have required me to run 13.1 miles with a pace of 9:09 per mile. The race started out extremely cold. I spent the 45 minutes before the opening gun hovering around a charcoal grill that Jim's BBQ had started up. I have no idea if the BBQ was good but I highly endorse their charcoal grills in 30 degree temperatures. I have yet to start a race where I felt good starting out. My first mile was an 8:56 pace. To make a long story short, I kept trying to slow down thinking I was going out too fast but I realized it is almost impossible to slow a pace down once you have started it. Every mile my watch kept telling me I was going faster and faster. I continued to feel tired but new I had a little energy left. This feeling stayed with me the whole race and helped me have possibly my best race in my 2 + years of running. I made it to the half way point (6.55 miles) and realized that while it was a long shot, I had a chance to beat my personal best for a marathon of 1 hour, 49 minutes and 14 seconds which I previously never thought would be possible. I continued to push myself and watch as my watch dropped down to a pace in the mid 8:20's. I entered the track where the finish line was and all I could think about was hitting my best marathon. I finished on a dead sprint and knew I was close. I crossed the finish line and looked at my watch. 1:49.52. I ran for an eternity and missed by personal best by 30 seconds. If i could have seen my virtual self in front of me that set that pr 2 years ago, I probably could have hit him in the head with a rock before he crossed the finish line. I took away a lot from this race, most importantly increased confidence. This will provide a great boost as I start picking up runs in the mid teens which will eventually top out at 20 before the marathon. My fundraising support has almost reached $1000 with several verbal commitments that have not yet been received. I am praying things will go well the last 7 weeks with my training as my knee continues to hold up. I have one more finish line I am planning to cross. Total 2010 Training Miles: 231.77 miles Total Time Running: 36 hours, 41 minutes, 57 seconds. Activity
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Posted from www.bimactive.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 comment:
Excellent time!
Post a Comment