Short Race Report: Shamrock Half - epic PR

The short race report is in the title. The rest of this is not short :)


What a great weekend! Yay you! Yay me! Yay us! Hooray for racers! Hooray for cheerers! Hooray for internet results stalkers!

Go team!

Why are you in such a great mood?
Because I had an epic PR this weekend, and took 17 minutes off of my half marathon!

I can hardly believe how far I've come, and hope that any new Z's who feel "too slow", but who are motivated to show up and get the workouts in can feel some hope at my progress.

In 2010, I ran my first half marathon. Every winter as we build the miles back up, I flash back to how unbelievable it felt that *I* could run 7 whole miles! 8 whole miles! (etc, etc)
Finish time 3:16, for a 15:00 min/mile pace.

In 2011, I took 11 minutes off, to finish at 3:05 with a 14:10 pace. 2012 I continued to improve, taking 8 minutes off to finish at 2:57 (sub 3!!!) with a 13:32 pace.

For all of that training, I ran my long runs at or below "Z2". Z2 is in quotes, because I was cheap and scared and hadn't been tested in a long time. I was and am proud of this progression and totally believe that social running that is easier than you might run on your own can lead to improvement.

Last winter, I started trying to use VDOT results. Except for a little bit of over-active brain getting in the way of my 5K performances, I love the VDOT tests because I can earn the right to train faster with a free run around the track, and I got to try again frequently. (I also hate the VDOT test because I have to try hard and suffer). In 2013, With a bit of pace-based training runs, I took 5 minutes off my time to finish in 2:52, a pace of 13:09.

After last year's run, I had a goal to run a half at a 12:30 pace this year. I put a lot of training in and had some great races in the 2013 tri season and started winter with that as an achievable goal.

After Kona last year, some triathlon team mates gave a great talk about what sort of things they do to perform at that level, and their comments were in line with the idea that 2 hours of training a day is great, but there are 22 other hours a day that can also influence your results. Rebecca Mohning (Expert Nutrition) said similar things at her Advanced Nutrition clinic last winter.

I decided I was finally ready to try to add daily nutrition to my training focus. Since starting to work individually with Rebecca in December, I have been super successful at losing weight, and dropping time in my running. In January, I'd dialed my goal pace back to 12:15/mile, and after a 5K PR at a VDOT test in late Feb, realized that I would need a new goal.

With my track coach, I made a plan last week that would pace out to 11:59/mile, and would let me negative split the thing.

So, finally, enough prep, to the race weekend. My pre-run the day before was terrible. The world was going to fall apart. I was never going to be able to break 13's. Taper had ruined my life. etc etc.

I was supposed to start with 3 miles at 12:30 pace. By mile 1, I had a side stitch. I was hitting my paces, but the world was going to fall apart, I was never going to be able to hit my overall goal, may as well walk, etc etc. Meanwhile, the sane part of my brain knew that it's a long run, things can change, and that I should stop being such a whiner and follow my plan. After having a drink at 20 minutes, I felt much better, and was able to hit the paces without over-achieving too much.

Then 7 miles at 12:00 pace. These were amazing. I was hitting my paces, and I started seeing other Z's. Every too-fast split coincided with cheering for someone as I caught up with them.
I saw John Ch. running with a new Z, I met Rosie (a new Z), cheered for Ruth (a less-new Z), and saw Patty G. up in the fort. The swamp-forest-of-desolation was much less desolate than in 2010 when I had been running a 15:00 pace.

The fort was the only part that was really windy for the half, and I'm grateful that our wind was eensy-teensy-baby-wind compared to the full. For perspective though, at one point the wind let up, and I lurched sideways and wondered if I was passing out because I had so little control over why I was running diagonal all of a sudden.

Leaving the fort, I saw Jen W and it was time to start speeding up. For the last 5K, I descended down to MP, said something unintelligible to Miro (I think I couldn't get out both syllables of his name by that point).

Turning onto the boardwalk, I was running at OP, when Katie W saw me, I tried to do math to tell her how awesome my day was and she said "Just run!". So I ran, and finished with a time of 2:35:10, a 17 minute PR, beating my best-day-plan by 2 minutes and with an overall pace of 11:51.

Epic conclusion to an amazing morning. I've trained consistently this winter, set goals based on my training results, met or exceeded them all, and did something awesome.

Throughout all my time on the team, if asked my pace, I would never have said slow. My long run pace is a noun, not an adjective. If you don't know how to quantify your running, and only call it "slow", then it will feel slow.

Back-of-the-packers, come run with me on recovery weeks! And run your appropriate training paces on work weeks, and we will break into the middle-of-the-pack en masse.