This has been a slow season for running for me. The moving and shaking about in my life has been quite consuming. I have only done a triathlon... and that is just about all as far as organized events go. But, I have kept in good shape for the most part. I run three times a week, and try to do the all-important long run. I cross train by season and just have fun for the most part. I am pretty whimsical compared to 2004, when an early season half marathon and late season full marathon really kept me focused.
So, it was with great hesitation that I entered the Mulberry Island Half Marathon on OCT 1st. In fact, it was with such hesitation that I entered on the deadline date of SEPT 23rd! I was sure to be as slow to run the event as I was to enter it, so I thought I had some kind of synergy working.
The 25th Annual version of this local race was held at Fort Eustis VA, on the Chesapeake Bay side of the VA Peninsula. The area is chockablock with trees and water... very pretty. And, being on an active base gives a civilian access to a seldom seen geography.
I will never get race mornings down, and this particular event proves that much is out of our control. Active.com said there was an 8am start. The event brochure said 845am. Which to believe? I chose 8am and was wrong. At least I was early! So in the darn-near-dark drive through the bridge tunnel, the morning overcast had me feeling pretty good about the weather. Even better, the temperatures were hovering in the 60’s. Perfect! But, I was EARLY. By the time the artillery fired [yes… not a horn or a pistol… we are talking pee-your-pants-loud military ordinance], it was in the 70’s and sunny. In just 45 minutes conditions went from perfect to acceptable.
Now, I had a plan. At or just below a 10-minute pace until late in the run, then do what my body told me to do. The first three miles led out to the bay and the first of two course turnarounds. It was early and I was entertained by some of the chatter of the 200 or so runners talking. At the first turnaround, one obviously military guy [to me, anyway] was sandwiched between two “runners” in front. I can tell such things by body type. “Runners” don’t generally carry as much muscle around… it just doesn’t help them to do that. They were at mile four and the spread was already over one minute between first and third place. Meanwhile, I started at a 9:52 pace and had stuck to it with amazing accuracy. My variance against that pace over the first four miles… one second!
Miles 5 through 8 provided some inland hardwood scenery and more entertainment. Through some lovely shaded roads, consumed a couple of gels and watched other runners coming from the second turnaround. They were really spread out now. The two runners had dismissed the young military dude by quite a margin. People in my turtle section of the race were still chatting, with two guys even diving to the side of the road and into the woods for a nature call. Too funny! I don’t talk too much during runs. I run on rhythm, so I get pretty deep in concentration. For my dead reckoning of pace, I use breath counts and cadence. At the eight-mile mark my variance was still under 10 seconds. I felt superb!
I had been using an average cadence with a six-step breath count [3 steps inhale and 3 steps exhale]. I really don’t know what approach other runners take. I guess I am a little curious about that. All I know is the breath/cadence method I use is accurate for pacing and feedback. Since I felt superb, I decided that I could bump things up for the final five plus miles. So, I switched to a 5-breath count [2 inhale and 3 exhale]. I slowly increased my cadence to medium-high turtle level. It takes a few minutes to figure out if the change will groove or not. By mile 9 I was rolling along in a new rhythm that I knew would stick. I saw a mile marker that led me to believe I could break a personal goal time of 125 minutes. So with about 5K to go I bumped the pace a little more by lengthening my stride. I also started to gradually increase my cadence to a four-breath rhythm. This is a “last move” for me. I bump my rev limiter after about 30 minutes when I take this approach.
I had covered the first eight miles in about 78:45. And my legs were starting to go numb with the increased pace in the final miles. I thought a lot to myself in those final miles. I thought of how this would test my threshold. I thought of whether or not I would actually have a kick left at the finish. It is very inspiring to do nothing but pass people in the final stages of a race, even as a turtle! So my energy was very high. With less than I mile to go, I realized that the mile marker I had seen a couple of mile back was one of the many military training markers on the road surface. I have no chance of the goal time, but I knew a PR was inevitable. It felt good to finish strong and really dominate what I had done last year. My three previous Half Marathons were 158 minutes [Quivering Quads], 131 minutes and 130 minutes. I crossed the line at 126.5 minutes this time. Cool! That means my pace was 9:21 for the last 5 miles. I was likely a sub-9 miler for the last two miles. Not bad for a turtle!
It was all very sweet for me. I had not trained as much this year. As a result, I believe I felt fresh for the event and did better than I thought I could. I also recovered unlike any other lengthy run I had ever done. The two days following the event were remarkably without soreness. I ran last night after a couple of days off. There was a little extra confidence in my steps. It felt really solid. Summer has ended for me in a perfect way. I hope all other runners feel this way at some point. Regardless of their relative speeds, it always feels good to be in “the zone.”
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