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Lake Sammamish Half Marathon
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Lake Sammamish Half Marathon - Run
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Comments: My sole focus has been mountain/trail running but I wanted to get something where race time and pace actually meant something so I could truly check in on my fitness. I have not done any long quality tempo runs or really anything specific to this distance, so really I was just winging it. My goals were as follows: D goal: Pace well so I could finish strong C goal: Run under 1:30 B goal: Run under 1:29 A goal: Run under 1:28 Because I hadn't had any relevant workouts, I wasn't sure what was reasonable. I've been working hard but workouts oriented with upward (and downward) travel such as trail running, summiting mountains etc. doesn't necessarily translate to fast flat running. I lined up near the front with a goal of a conservative start and a strong finish. We took off and I settled into a comfortable pace right away. I felt extremely relaxed. I was in shorts and a tank which is almost never a problem but it was particularly cold at the start and I was wondering if I made a good decision. I probably should have at least had gloves. My splits were steady through the 5 mile mark. I wasn't forcing anything but they were all landing under 6:50. I put most of my energy focusing on fast turnover on any downhill. Unfortunately they are paving the trail along the lake and each year the course has to change slightly to accommodate the closed portion of the trail. This year due to the closure we were forced up onto the shoulder of the road for several miles. It was very narrow and quite dangerous. You didn't have much room to pass so some people were cutting outside the cones into traffic. I didn't want to risk it so I hung behind the people in front of my and unfortunately my pace slipped while I waiting for an opportunity to pass. Finally we dropped down a hill back onto the trail and I used a fast cadence to take advantage of the hill, passing several people. During miles 6-8 I felt a little lost. I was more or less all alone and my mind wandered a bit. I was struggling to maintain focus. Lucky for me a man came up alongside me for the pass. I tucked right in behind him and let him set a pace. The thing was, I felt pretty good. My legs weren't shot, my breathing was under control. I was just struggling to push myself to that place you go in a half marathon, where it is more or less right out side of your comfort zone. I was very lucky to have the guy in front of me to do some pacing work. We got into mile 10 and 11 and I was feeling better, not worse. I traded places with the guy and we worked together to get into mile 12. At 12.5 or so I was fading a touch and let the guy take the lead again. He started putting distance between us. I snapped out of it and focued on closing the gap. We came into the final stretch and I was able to summon some strength and push the pace a bit. I saw the clock just under 1:28 and pushed hard to as to not lose my A goal. I finished strong with a negative split. As I said, this course changes every year so it is difficult to compare times. I knew I wasn't in a position to beat last years time for several reasons but finishing 1:27:xx was a HUGE accomplishment for me. As I had mentioned, I hadn't done any kind of long tempos to get ready. If I can run an 87 without that, I think I am in position to hammer a beautiful half marathon time with some specific focus. But for now, my sights are set on the more masochistic goals like the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Mountain Running Championship, where the times are slow, your heart-rate is through the roof and no one cares. LOL! What would you do differently?: Train specifically for this kind of racing, flat and fast.  Post race
Warm down: Changed out of my sweaty clothes, got on the bus and then ran the 2.75 miles to the bar. About halfway through my cooldown run I started feeling reaaaaaallly lousy. I was dizzy and my vision got blurry around the edges. I walked for a few minutes and felt a little better. Once I got to the bar I had a beer and felt a lot better. Lifesaver :) I met up with some BT peeps which is always a pleasure. Then I headed out to the mountains for a hike. By the end of the day I was really, really spent. I actually think I may have run outside my actual fitness today. Which to me, is a win. What limited your ability to perform faster: Non-specific training Profile Album Last updated: 2015-03-06 12:00 AM
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 2015-03-09 12:42 PM |
 Seattle |  Subject: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon |
| 2015-03-09 12:54 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Elite  7783     PEI, Canada | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon |
| 2015-03-09 12:59 PM in reply to: axteraa |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by axteraa Wow, nice work! You didn't say if you passed the guy at the end! HA! No, I didn't. I shook his hand at the end and told him thank you for pulling me out of the gutter. He told me I helped him more than I knew. Then a guy that finished behind me more or less told me the same thing.
It's so interesting how we use eachother in the race and how helpful your competitors are. Usually I communicate more and strategize a bit but I didn't really have it in me to do so. |
| 2015-03-09 1:07 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Extreme Veteran 2263 Ridgeland, Mississippi | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Nothing like beating all your goals. Fast race! |
| 2015-03-09 1:09 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Master 6595 Rio Rancho, NM | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Awesome race! I love how you know yourself so well and know that working with others will keep you focused. Nice job to you, and him. The after hike looks awesome too! |
| 2015-03-09 1:25 PM in reply to: rrrunner |
Pro 6520 Bellingham, WA | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Nice to hear the details of your race. I didn't get to chat with you as much as I wanted afterwards. I think we had similar experiences with the race other than the fact you were so much faster than me. I think it would have been tough to beat last years time because of the shortness of the course last year. I had it pretty darn close to 13.1 this year. It really was a nice day. We'll have to hit a trail together one of these days. |
| 2015-03-09 1:31 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Master 6834 Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Stellar job! Really nice to set a few goals and beat them all, to work with others, and to push beyond. And I thought it funny that you mentioned the mind wandering a bit. As you know, I am often challenged with the mental focus aspect, so it's nice to know others are in the same boat on (rare) occasion.
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| 2015-03-09 1:32 PM in reply to: popsracer |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon I think you need a AA goal! As usual, nicely done!! |
| 2015-03-09 1:37 PM in reply to: rrrunner |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Congratulations on a nice race with a negative split and A Goal accomplished. Way to go! |
| 2015-03-09 1:56 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Master 2235 Pacific Northwest | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Fantastic race! You are so darn fast!! Plus your hike after looks really nice, what a day! It was fun hanging out with you again, hope we can arrange some more events where we are both there at the same time again soon. I would say we could 'race together" but I know I would just see you at the start. -L |
| 2015-03-09 3:08 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
| Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon You need to change your nickname to 'torpedo' since you blew your goals out of the water! You are one speedy chick, congrats on the race! Your pics are great, too. Love the trail through the woods shot. |
| 2015-03-09 7:11 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Pro 4482 NJ | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Congrats on a terrific race. It's always fun to read your race reports. |
| 2015-03-10 11:32 AM in reply to: msteiner |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by msteiner Nothing like beating all your goals. Fast race! Thanks Matt! |
| 2015-03-10 11:33 AM in reply to: popsracer |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by popsracer Nice to hear the details of your race. I didn't get to chat with you as much as I wanted afterwards. I think we had similar experiences with the race other than the fact you were so much faster than me. I think it would have been tough to beat last years time because of the shortness of the course last year. I had it pretty darn close to 13.1 this year. It really was a nice day. We'll have to hit a trail together one of these days. Yeah for sure. On a good day, with the right training, I could totally PR And yes, please! Let's trail run soon! |
| 2015-03-10 11:43 AM in reply to: amd723 |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by amd723 I think you need a AA goal! As usual, nicely done!! Haha, well I suppose the AA goal would be to PR. Which I didn't do. |
| 2015-03-10 12:32 PM in reply to: Asalzwed |
Member 2689 Denver, CO | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon You never fail to impress me. A HM in a great time, WU/CD of over 5 miles on top of that, THEN going for a hike. A.MAZE.ING! Is it possible that the trail running is in fact helping your overall fitness? It's obviously different in terms of pacing and strategy, but it seems like it might be helpful terms of cardio and strength--not that you need any help in that area!! |
| 2015-03-10 2:28 PM in reply to: laffinrock |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by laffinrock You never fail to impress me. A HM in a great time, WU/CD of over 5 miles on top of that, THEN going for a hike. A.MAZE.ING! Is it possible that the trail running is in fact helping your overall fitness? It's obviously different in terms of pacing and strategy, but it seems like it might be helpful terms of cardio and strength--not that you need any help in that area!! Aww thanks Yes, it's clear the trail running is at least maintaining if not helping build the general run fitness. It's part of why I wanted to do this race, as an experiment of sorts. I was really happy this was the case. I believe that my running, in general, meaning trail, track, road and mountain seems to continue to improve so long as I keep working hard and consistent. But I also can see where those specific workouts, tailored to a distance/style of running are critical if you wish to compete closer to your potential. But I imagine that's not a surprise to anyone. |
| 2015-03-11 10:54 AM in reply to: Asalzwed |
Master 3870 | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Yes, you should take a bow (first pic Seems you're usually really focused. Is the mind-wandering thing something you find happening recently or in different types of races? No matter, though. You pulled it together and finished with you A goal! |
).| 2015-03-11 11:06 AM in reply to: #5099111 |
Master 2005 South Florida | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Wow. I thought this was a dude's report, you are so fast!! If I lived near you I would run and drink beer with you. Well, I would run behind you but prob have no issue keeping up in the Pale Ales. Nice effort, it sounds like! |
| 2015-03-11 12:29 PM in reply to: 4agoodlife |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by 4agoodlife Yes, you should take a bow (first pic Seems you're usually really focused. Is the mind-wandering thing something you find happening recently or in different types of races? No matter, though. You pulled it together and finished with you A goal! In this particular case, I think it was the mental part of those long tempo workouts that I was missing. Generally for a race like this I would have done several. Due to a bunch of circumstances out of my control (and focus elsewhere in running) I didn't get them in. I hesitate to say that the mental portion is as hard or as important as the physical portion, but it is one area that cannot be neglected in training. |
| 2015-03-12 12:45 PM in reply to: Mimir98 |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Originally posted by Mimir98 Wow. I thought this was a dude's report, you are so fast!! If I lived near you I would run and drink beer with you. Well, I would run behind you but prob have no issue keeping up in the Pale Ales. Nice effort, it sounds like! Hey thank you!!! And it sounds like you have your priorities straight! If I'm in Florida again I'm in! |
| 2015-03-16 12:56 PM in reply to: Asalzwed |
| Seattle | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon I wanted to share this photo. I love it! It's just so awesome how you work together, sometimes silently leaning on each-other for secret motivation. Then at the end you reveal just how important you were to each-other. Just awesome.
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| 2015-03-16 5:52 PM in reply to: #5099111 |
Expert 1394 Wilmington, NC | Subject: RE: Lake Sammamish Half Marathon Awesome race. Nothing like hitting A goal with little problem. Those pics looks awesome as well. How I wish I could run in places like that. I need to visit my friend in Ellensburg (not sure if there is as nice a running there, but certain it is better than over on my side of the country.) |
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4th Dimension Racing
40F / 4C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 55/1805
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 5/394
Watched the sun go down and had a fire near the beach with friends while the almost full moon came up. I had a citra pale ale and a Fremont 77 spring session ale.
Parked at the bar that we were going to meet at for beers after and ran the 2.75 miles to the start as a warm-up. Picked up my packet, used the porta, grabbed some water and lined up. I was running a little later than I had hoped so the whole thing felt a bit rushed. I need to get up a little earlier next time. I also had to sacrifice doing strides because I ran out of time.