run, rest, eat, bitch, buy things, cross-train, blog, repeat.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Race Report: Cedars of Lebanon Frostbite Half Marathon

Well, by now you know how Saturday morning's race turned out. And if not, then you might want to scroll down and check out the drunken race update that Vandy Montana and I put together Saturday night.

And I know what you're thinking and you're right. Sunday morning, I did not feel so hot. It was worth it though... I haven't quite yet learned the art of celebrating SANS booze (but if I'm going to simultaneously lose weight and continue to kick ass in races this training period, I'm looking for suggestions).

But... about the race.

I had been thinking about what I wanted my goal to be all week and it wasn't until the ride to the race that I finally settled on a goal time: 1:53. That's what McMillan says I should be to run in order to run a 3:59 marathon, so I figured that's a good goal.

The race course wasn't too difficult. As far as elevation goes, it was wayyy flatter than the previous location of this race that I had ran, but there was a good 2.5+ mile stretch of the race that was on gravel... which... is NOT fun. I had my slowest mile in that damn gravel... all because there were slower people in the padded down gravel and in order to pass them, I had to pick my moment in the center of the road, where there were huge loose gravels just waiting to twist my ankle.

Overall, I felt really good in this race. Sure, I had my moments... miles 3 and 4 were probably the hardest mentally. But, I realized something really big during this race... as soon as I start to struggle mentally... if I pick up the pace, I find that I can push myself past the mental fatigue and negative thoughts. Like, in the past, I've always done the opposite... I've slowed down and I think that just makes me feel worse about myself. As soon as I sped up on Saturday, I was like a new person. It was awesome and something that I think will help me in the future when I feel the mental collapse approach.

I wore my watch and kept track of all my splits:
Mile 1: 8:25 (the start was super clogged)
Mile 2: 7:51 (ummm.. probably a bit fast)
Mile 3: 8:04
Mile 4: 8:22
Mile 5: 8:36
Mile 6: 8:29
Mile 7: 8:16
Mile 8: 8:16
Mile 9: 8:13
Mile 10: 8:49 (Damn gravel and slow peeps)
Mile 11: 8:38
Mile 12: 8:34
Mile 13: 8:19 (a nice downhill here)
Mile .1: no idea.

Official time: (no chip timing): 1:49:54.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with those splits.

And I want to give Vandy Montana a shout out for his effort, as well. He PRed with 1:40!!!!!! (Damn show-off.) We are going to kill St. Louis in a couple of months.

The best thing about this whole thing... isn't that I did so well and pushed myself and had awesome results. The best thing about the race is that it shows me that I'm training the right way. My hardwork is paying off and is there anything better than that?

Yeah, there's no denying that's a PR smile.

15 comments:

Stephanie said...

Woo hoo! Congratulations!!

Van 1- Hall said...

congrats again...was the half in Candyland?? whats up with the pink stuff on the ground?

Melanie said...

Congrats! That's so awesome! BTW, what kind of training plan are you using?

Unknown said...

Congrats on your awesome time! And I have yet to figure out how to celebrate sans booze, so I'm not help in that department.

Danielle in Iowa in Ireland said...

Nothing like actual seeing results from training. Otherwise it all seems so useless!

maria khoury said...

congrats congrats congrats! you are a total bad ass.

Anonymous said...

Wow-- I think I'm done giving tips -- you're officially a bad ass who knows enough about running to disregard others' advice. FYI, that point is reached by going sub-23 in a 5k, sub-1:10 in a 15k, sub-1:50 in a half, or sub-3:30 in a full (and I know those times are not all equivalent). Major props girl! You rock!!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, personal question, feel free to disregard. Are you and Vandy a couple? Just wondering since you spent VD together. If you are, congrats. If not, awesome running buddy!

Velma said...

I just found your blog. Way to go on the PR. I am sure you will fly by me at the St. Louis Marathon :)

Kelly said...

Nice job! Congratulations on the PR. Way to go!

Chic Runner said...

Congrats! what a great time, and that is great you are seeing such great results from all your training. Congrats again!

Spike said...

Great race again, and a great lesson learned. Hard work always pays off!

RunnerMom said...

Wow, could our race reports BE any different???

I saw you from behind right at the start in the clogged part (you should have been lined up closer to the front with that finish time!). How I knew it was you from the back, I have no idea!

Again, great job in the race. You had some fast miles in the first three, but it didn't slow you down at the end. How do I do that??? (It's called "fitness," isn't it?)

Anonymous said...

t's such a tickety-boo site. fabulous, quite stimulating!!!

-------

[url=http://oponymozgowe.pl]Opony[/url]
[url=http://pozycjonowanie.lagata.pl]Pozycjonowanie[/url]

[url=http://comar.pl/zdrowie/opony,s,5343/]opony[/url]

Anonymous said...

Hi

Last year has been for a few of us very hard. Many problems, few leisure. So I wish you all best in new year. Don't miss [url=http://www.xn--porednictwo-wizowe-7nd.nowaruda.pl/wizy-do-kazachstanu]wizy do kazachstanu[/url] this year!

Greetings