Well.. I guess the first thing I should say, is that it DID NOT rain at the Auburn Half Marathon. That was good... actually, it was close to perfect weather.. I say "close" because it was windy.. breezy.. blustery.. It's said that a tail wind doesn't aide you near as much as a head wind hurts you. I believe that .. Another good thing for the race was that my Dad was at the finish line of the race. Well.. to say that was "good" is not saying it right.. it was GREAT.. I knew he would be there today and that helped me that final 1/2 mile... when it hurt so much.
I started the race in the back of the pack but within the first two miles had made my way up to a group that I would be around for the next few miles. I knew pretty soon that this was going to be a tough race. The bulk of my daily training runs are on relatively flat roads. This race was on roads of rolling hills.. with the exception of about 3 or so miles.. it was all rolling hills. The hardest point of the race for me was mile seven. I was really struggling and my mile split shows it (8:03). I refused to let my mind tell me to purposely slow down and catch my second wind, instead I actually pushed myself a little harder on the next mile and that felt good.
The last four miles were the same rolling hills that we faced on the way "out"... with the wind at my face pretty much the whole way.. I ran a good last mile and that was good.. I think I really wanted to race to be over! :-)
splits 7:26; 7:19; 7:11; 7:32; 8:01; 7:25; 8:03; 7:42; 7:58; 8:14; 8:14; 7:46
A wrap-up of thoughts
My Mind:
Acceptance of where I am mentally.
This race was not a goal race. That being said I still want to do my best. My problem is not doing my best it is not finishing with my best time. I know it isn't logical to expect that I will finish every race with a PR but I would like to see improvement. This is just something I have to deal with in my own mind.
My body:
Acceptance of my physical limits.
My body just isn't as young it was in 2007, this was the year when I had my best running and racing year. However, I am finding it very hard to come to the realization of an aging body. This struggle is not my own, but one that I am sure that is shared by many runners of my age. I am four months away from my 50th birthday and it is hard to accept that my best years are behind me
My Training:
Am I on the right training plan?
I have to finish the plan. The plan is the Hal Higdon 1/2 marathon Advanced plan. I am hoping that the plan will peak at the time is it supposed to, and I will have a breakout run at next months Mercedes half!!!
I hope that all this isn't received as complaining.. but just me being real with whoever will be reading this...
I don't agree that your "best years" are behind you. I think your best years are still to come. I believe they are what you make them, and sometimes, that isn't based only on your times. Bravo on your effort in Auburn! You did great!! Four weeks to Mercedes ... and counting.
ReplyDeleteJames, quit being such a drama queen :) I ran my first back-to-back half-marathons. I did Disney last weekend and this past weekend, I did the Houston. I ran Disney at my wife's pace and had a good solid training run. I felt great on Monday and didn't feel like I overdid it. The night before Houston, I ended up skipping dinner because of a late lunch. I didn't sleep well and had to get up early. I was dehydrated by mile 2, and trying to catch-up with Gatorade. There wasn't any food on the course until mile 10. All of that was my fault. So a race I had planned and was on pace to finish in 2:05 as a ramp-up to a sub 2 hour for my next official race ended up having the wheels come off and I barely finished sub 2:30.
ReplyDeleteMuch like you, I learned that I can only ask so much of my body. I also learned that my training has consisted of to much indoor work and that I need to allow more recovery from my long runs, no matter how good I feel.
To say your best years are behind you isn't true. You've got the mental discipline that I'd kill for, you just gotta make sure your training and timing are on it. Plus, run in Birmingham if you want hills. Prattville is for the weak! :) When's the next podcast?
Thanks Kym and Eric.. I feel well repremanded and like Cool Hand Luke said... "I've got my mind right" ;-)
ReplyDeleteJames that was a strong effort and a great race! Keep up the good work on the training and podcast.
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