Mohawk Hudson River Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I had been laughing at my ridiculously high HR during the pre-race meeting and waiting for the gun to go off, but quickly realized it was no laughing matter once we got going. It would NOT stay in Z2. When I saw that my HR was 170 while going DOWNHILL at a 10 minute pace, I knew I had to adapt the game plan. Decided to go by the paces +15 seconds or so (to play it safe) that I'd usually hit at each zone.

First four miles (Z2): Stuck to a SLOW pace - hit the 4.4 minute timing mat at 44:04 - 10 minute pace. Literally got passed by hundreds of people and only passed one walker. Felt ridiculously easy.

Miles 4-10 (Z3) Stuck to around a 9:30 pace, which would usually be Z2 on this course. STILL felt strong and was holding myself way back, even at the end. Started passing people, which was fine.

And because you've been waiting for it: Pace booty pictures.







Miles 10-11.5 or so (Z4): Brought it up to a 9 minute pace - closer to a Z3 pace. Still felt great, believe it or not. REALLY started passing people at this point. It's funny - I'd get up to the next person, settle in behind them, and half the time I'd have to pass them because although they had shot way ahead of me in the beginning of the race, they were going at about 10:30 pace or so now. Kept having to pass more and more folks.

11.5-13.1 (Afterburner time): This was the first time it really began to hurt, believe it or not. My engine, endurance, and even the pace felt fine. What was giving out were my quads, just like during Tinman. Was tempting to walk at several points, but was determined to make it 13.1 without walking for the first time. Got to the finish chute and saw that the clock said 2:04 and change. I REALLY wanted that sub-2:05, so somehow found another gear and FLEW through the finish line. My Garmin says I hit a top speed of 5:02! Holy crap!



Quads were DONE.

Nothing. This was a perfectly executed race. I could not have run any faster today. (Actually, I *could* have gotten 17 seconds more out of the day to go 2:03, but oh well.)

All in all, top 50% overall (men and women) and 20th out of 99 in my AG isn't bad for my current conditioning.

Keeping myself from collapsing after that final sprint. Had a good half-dozen people ask me if I was okay. LOL!

Why? Because this is what hitting a 5:00 top pace after 13.1 feels like for me:



But I was really happy though:




1.) My quads. Two out of three races this year had my quad strength as a limiting factor. I definitely need to hit the gym this off-season!

2.) General run fitness. Just need to continue to build the miles back up.

3.) Race nerves. Now that I have the HRM and can quantify how much energy that's costing me, it's not good. (Well, it works wonderfully for 5Ks and the mile, but not for long-distance stuff.) It also makes racing by HR impossible. Need to just continue getting experience so that my HR doesn't skyrocket as much on race day.


A great race with a very fast course. Definitely want to go back - maybe do the full next time!