First 1/2 Marathon in 1:52:33

Congrats!  Tha's a really great time!

Edited by QueenZipp 2009-04-11 5:10 PM

congratulations on a great race !

Stud!

Nice Job!

Fantastic job! You crushed your goal, gotta love that feeling

Great job...Congrats!

nice! always great when you meet or beat your goal.

nice job! I ran my first last year in 1:54:49 and really enjoy that length of race. Not too short not too long

Great Job, Half Marathons is prob. my favorite distance to race.

Great job!! You'll find out where the blood came from when you lose a toenail later. :D

John

great job on your first half marry.....my first was 2:00 flat and pure torture, so it sounds like your fared much better. as to your bloody toes,...i experienced the same thing in my first two halfs.  i found out it was from a toenail. if your 2,3,4 toenails arent cut very short and from end to end, the edge of the nail rubs on the other toe causing a papercut-like wound which is hard to see. ......

my cure,(other than pudicures),.. Injini brand socks with toes.......they look weird but i wont run a distance race without them ever again.

Nice work!  Congrats!

Good job!

Grats

Awesome! you totally rocked it

Awesome. I am running one in less than 2 weeks. My first was 2:22 and I hope to have this one under 2 as well.

Great work.

Your diagnosis sounds about right.  The blood was between my "index toe" and my middle toe.  I had planned on cutting my toenails the morning of the race, but with as tired as I was, I simply forgot to do it.  (Next time, I'll have a written list to help me stay on track in the morning.)

I checked out the socks, and they do look weird.  Still, if it helps from keeping something like this happening again, I might just try them out.  Thanks for the advice!!

-Joel

Congratulations! That's a great time for your first 1/2!

Hi joel,

Congrats on your first half mary man.  That's a great time.  I am running my first in 2 weeks, and have very similar goals as what you had.  1:58 is 9 minute pace and I'm fairly confident barring some strange injury that I will meet that one.  I would really like to go under 1:55 like you did.   Did you negative split the race?    Where did it start getting rough?  What was your longest training run and how did you pace that one?   Any suggestions for fellow first timer?  Thanks a bunch!

zom

Thanks, everyone, for the positive feedback.  I really appreciate it.  My legs are recovering, although my muscles are still a bit tight.  (I should have done an ice bath when I got home, but opted for going out to get barbecue instead.  )

ZomVito, I'll reply to the questions inline.  Hope that's okay.


I had been watching my heartrate rather than my pace throughout the entire race, and I focused on keeping it around 168-170.  Anything over 170 meant that I was going to hard and wasn't going to be able to sustain.  Anyway, I reached the turnaround in 56:08 and ran the back half in 56:25.  I know my right knee slowed me down a bit, but I was able to crank up the pace during the last mile to bring my time down a smidge.


I started really feeling struggling with my focus around mile 11.  That tied in with what other runners had told me to expect, so I was ready for it.  I grabbed a water cup at an aid station, drank, tossed the rest, but kept the cup.  I crushed the cup and carried it to the next aid station, flipping it every once in a while.  This wasn't planned, but gave my mind something else to focus on.

To tell the truth, I only carried the cup because I forgot to toss it into the garbage after reminding another runner to pick up his cup instead of dropping it 20 feet before a garbage container.


My longest training run was either 9 or 10 miles, and it was around a 9:10/mile pace.  My last long run prior a week prior to the half marathon was only 7 miles, and it was cut short due to right knee pain.


I'm not sure if I would really follow this advice, as it's coming from someone who has run only one 5k and one half marathon.  With that said, my advice would be to listen to your heartrate.  Find out where you're comfortable and stay within it during the race.  Then, when you're a mile or so out, ramp it up a bit and finish strong.  (My average was around an 8:45/mile pace, but my peak was at the end where I hit a 7:40/mile pace for the last mile or so.)

Hope this helps.

-Joel

zom

Thanks a lot!

I did my long run this past weekend of 10 miles@9:15 pace, and I had done a 42 mile organized ride the day before on a fairly hilly course, so the legs started out kinda tired.  I finished it but really felt I ran out of gas at the end.  I think that might have to do with not having refueled enough the day before though after my ride.  Anyway, that was yesterday and I actually feel great today.  The legs are a little tired, but not sore really.  I think with a good taper I will be ready to hammer out the 8:30 miles.

I will take your advice and just get into a comfortable pace for the first half.  I will probably start at around 8:45 pace and see how it feels.  I want to be able to enjoy it up to the final miles where I will leave it all out there.  I would rather not be struggling for the back half because I went out too fast! 

The weather can vary a lot for this race (its in Oklahoma).. some years it is very cold and windy, and others it is hot!  I'm hoping for some in the middle weather at about 60 degrees would really be nice. Anyway, thanks for answering my questions.