Mad City Marathon - Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

Well this was more or less a sufferfest. To best describe this race I will break it down by mile.

Mile 1: Since I started in the middle to back of the start line I spent most of the first mile trying to navigate the crowds running all over West Wash side to side, slowing down, picking up the pace and generally just being very frustrated. Once we hit Regent on was on the left side of the road when the aid station was on the right and so I missed the first station. (This is when I realized not bringing my fuelbelt may have been a bad idea). Hit the first mile checked my split and realized I was already behind pace. I wanted to run the first mile a bit faster then pace too since it started downhill and was flat.

Mile 2: A bit better but still ran the entire way of Regent off the official course and in the way of oncoming traffic just so I could find my stride and get into rhythm. By the time I hit Breese Terrace I was doing better but my HR was way too high. The second aid station I had trouble with again and came through the backside to get some water. This is when I started to get frustrated and the negative thoughts entered my head. I was angry at the RD, the large pack of runners and this was wasting energy and losing focus of the task at hand.

Mile 3
A relatively unevenful mile the ended at the Nat. Pack started to thin out which made me happy, but I was still continually angry and not in check.

Mile 4
I think this is where I lost my race and the wheels came off. Running up Observatory was just a kick in the face. I did great up the backside at Crazylegs, but today was different and with the mental state I was in halfway up the hill I took my first steps of walking. I knew at this point reaching 1:40 was just about out of the question, but I planned to regroup and set my eyes on 1:45.

Mile 5
Started on University Ave and this is when the lead marathoners passed by me. Could have been a great source of motivation, but I just didn't have the high gear that I could kick into. The one good thing about this was I knew I was getting close to some of my support crew so I was looking forward to that. Once I hit State Street the crowds of spectators appeared and it felt awesome to pass by them. They lined down gorham as well which helped but again the gear I wanted to kick into was not there. The thoughts of "where is some damn water" repeated in my head and this again brought on the anger that was helping me lose focus.

Mile 6
Walked a couple of times on this mile just to get my HR down some. I knew that I was becoming dehydrated and started to pour water down my shorts in an effort to cool my core while drinking some as well. Whenever I hit an aid station I felt better immediately but that wore off soon as well. This was also when I started to see people receiving medical attention and it reminded me to pay attention to my body. Hey people had there hoses out which felt great running through.

Mile 7
I remember running this mile but I don't remember what went through my head. Just seeing a 9 on my splits was becoming very defeating. Even on my slowest recovery runs I can't run that slow.

Mile 8
Now I was seeing the backside of the course. The miles were less and less and this is when I knew I wasn't the only one suffering out there. A older guy came up to me and another man who were walking and said "God damn this is brutal today" He just ran Boston a few weeks prior and said that was a cakewalk compared to these conditions. We talked for a minute and realized we were all way over our pace times.

Mile 9. I hated my life

Mile 10: It felt great to get along the lake and run past the Terrace. All I really thought about here was Ironman and the swim start (A good distraction for me) I also knew my support crew would be here somewhere so I was looking forward to seeing them. I think I looked like a pile of dog shit passing them. I knew at this point my goal for 1:45 was gone as well, so I told myself just to get under 2:00 and finish as strong as I could.

Mile 11: All that was left was a 5k. In my race plan this was when I was going to take it up a notch and really push hard for the last 5k. I tried to do that and nothing. My mind said go and by body said no. This hurt, was not fun, and just plain sucked. All I could think of was "almost there, almost there. I really wanted to push hard but I just didn't have the energy.

Mile 12: Just over two miles and I was done. From here I could see the capitol and the finish and saw how close I was and thought "Push it" but once again walking was what was in order. Nothing left in the tank, which was a little demoralizing considering the time I wanted to run, but on a day like today I was going to be happy to finish.

MIle 13. Ok I just grinded it out as best as I could. The final 1/4 was all uphill but I was able to find a good stride and finish strong (where was this all day?). I wish I felt better to enjoy running down the finishing chute because I am pretty sure it would have been really cool to enjoy. It was packed passing spectators everywhere and felt good, just a bit later then I expected.

Splits
Mile 1: 7:53
Mile 2: 7:37
MIle 3: 8:08
MIle 4: 8:50
Mile 5: 8:18
MIle 6: 9:25
MIle 7:
>19:15
Mile 8:
Mile 9: 9:15
MIle 10: 9:49
Mile 11:
> 20.06
Mile 12:
Mile 13: 9:53

Not really sure I think my training was spot on except missing a couple long runs in the final few weeks. I think this race was a mixture of poor training leading in, the heat, and just not being able to kick it in gear on race day.

Sat in shade


Heat, maybe a bit of undertraining on long runs, small loss of fitness over past couple weeks?


Maybe a mass start, and better marking of aid stations. That is all I ask.