On November 23rd, 2014, I ran the Eugene EWEB Half Marathon in 1:23:31, a 3 minute PR at the time. On January 18th, 2015, I ran the Turner Cascade Half Marathon in 1:23:28. It was a three second improvement over the course of two months, which doesn't seem like much to most people, but for me, it feels like a huge accomplishment. Here's why:The EWEB Half Marathon is an uncertified 13.1 mile course (it actually measured 13.07 on my GPS and even less on other peoples' Garmins). The day of the race it was 46 degrees with a 6 mph wind. The course is mostly flat with a 117 ft total elevation gain going over bridges mostly. My total weekly mileage the week of the race was 51. My weekly mileage the week before the race was 56.5. We had just begun dabbling in harder workouts completing one tempo that consisted of 2mi w.u., 4mi@hmp, 2mi@T, 1mi@T, 2mi c.d. This was a "goal" race for the fall, and I went into it with a solid 10K PR in my pocket, but I wasn't sure I had it in me to run a big half PR. I really surprised myself and was thrilled with a 1:23:31.
Flash forward two months later.
The Cascade Half Marathon is a USATF certified 13.1 mile course (it actually measured 13.28 on my watch and 13.22-13.25 on most other people's. A course official said it was measured 10 yards long this year, but not running all the tangents explains why we all had a long course measurement.) The day of the race is was 52 degrees, 14 mph winds, and an off and on light to moderate rain. The course is pancake flat with a 92 ft total elevation gain. My total weekly mileage the week of the race was 60. My weekly mileage the week before the race was 73.8. That harder tempo workout that I mentioned before, we had run three more times since, increasing the half marathon pace part to five miles and I was running it faster each time. Our long runs were no longer easy, but had long marathon pace sessions in the middle of them. I did a mini taper for this race, but with Napa Marathon in a month and a half as the real goal, I didn't want to taper too much.
At EWEB, I had people to run with for the first four miles or so. In Cascade, I was on my own after about mile two. I didn't mind this, I wanted to run my own race at Cascade. Pace-wise at EWEB I started at 6:30's and worked my way down. At Cascade, I started at 6:25's and worked my way down. I kept my speed in the reserves until about four miles to go at EWEB, but in Cascade, I went for it after the halfway turnaround to catch Kevin. According to my Garmin splits, I race a much faster, tactical race at Cascade, and did well with pacing even with a headwind towards the end. Even though, I did not break 1:23 like I was hoping to, I know I ran stronger and faster than I did at EWEB.
EWEB Half Marathon Cascade Half Marathon
Sun, Nov 23, 2014 Sun, Jan 18, 2015
| Distance: | 13.07 mi | 13.28 mi | ||
| Time: | 1:23:31 | 1:23:28 | ||
| Avg Speed: | 9.4 mph | 9.5 mph | ||
| Avg Pace: | 6:24 min/mi | 6:17min/mi | ||
| Splits: | Avg Pace | Avg Pace | ||
| 1 | 6:28 | 6:26 | ||
| 2 | 6:33 | 6:22 | ||
| 3 | 6:35 | 6:25 | ||
| 4 | 6:26 | 6:22 | ||
| 5 | 6:27 | 6:21 | ||
| 6 | 6:27 | 6:16 | ||
| 7 | 6:25 | 6:19 | ||
| 8 | 6:24 | 6:11 | ||
| 9 | 6:17 | 6:13 | ||
| 10 | 6:27 | 6:16 | ||
| 11 | 6:20 | 6:19 | ||
| 12 | 6:21 | 6:12 | ||
| 13 | 6:13 | 6:11 | ||
| 14 | 5:20 | 5:34 | ||
I'm so excited to see where my fitness is now and where it can still go in the next month. I've felt so strong racing lately, both mentally and physically. I've struggled a little in some workouts, but once I realize it's more of a mental struggle (due to frustration of not seeing the pacing I want to on my watch due to poor satellite signals or whatever) and I begin to relax, it suddenly feels easier and I get a surge of energy. I hope I can tap into this at Napa, and fuel myself not just with Roctane Gel, but natural adrenaline. I am not attacking Napa the way I've attacked other marathons (going out conservative at 6:55, then settling into 6:50's and trying to work into 6:45's). I'm going for it right from the beginning. I decided I would rather miss my goal by 10 minutes than 3 seconds. Really though, I feel as though my workouts and racing reflect that I'm ready for a 2:57 or faster and that's what I'm going for. I've run a 3 hour marathon twice now. It's time to step it up and have no regrets!
