Hottest Half - Race Recap

I had been looking forward to this race and went in with multiple goals.  Obviously, I wanted to run it as fast as I could, and there were several times/paces that would be significant to beat:

- Race PR from Heels & Hills - 2:04:55 (9:32)
- PR from Rainbow Run according to Polar - 2:01:57 (9:18)
- Sub-2 (9:09)
- PR from Rainbow Run according to Jog Log - 1:59:57 (9:09)
- McRun equivalent of 4:09 marathon (with 9 weeks to go) - 1:58:19 (9:01)
- 9-minute miles
- McRun equivalent of 4:00 marathon - 1:54:02 (8:42)
- McRun equivalent of 3:45 marathon (predicted by Yasso 800s) - 1:46:55 (8:09)

I also set a few goals that had nothing to do with time:

- Finish.
- Breathless.
- Knowing that I had left it all on the course.
- Average HR > 175

My plan was to start getting my HR up in the first mile and try to hold it in the upper 170s for miles 2-10, then go 180+ the rest of the way.  Based on past experience and data, this seemed like the best strategy to maximize performance without pushing myself into the danger zone and crashing.

I had a good warmup and felt ready to go.  My HR was in the 160s for the first mile, which I ran in 8:42.  In the 2nd mile, I turned my HR alert on to cue me if I was below 175.  It kept beeping at me, and I kept pushing...and ran mile 2 in 8:26.

Common sense should have told me something was wrong, that I was running too fast, and that I should slow down.  This was way faster than I expected my average pace to be based on the majority of my data, but I reasoned that maybe I was seeing the effect of a week's taper, and since the Yasso/McRun conversion suggested I might be able to average 8:09, I thought maybe it wasn't entirely crazy....

Until I finally noticed what my monitor said my HR actually was.  I ran mile 3 in 8:40, supposedly with an average HR of 113???  That average dropped to 99 for mile 4 and 74 for mile 5, despite running both around 8:52.  Clearly, I was getting bad data.  I was furious, since my whole race strategy and most objective non-time goal was based on this stupid device.  I took it off (no sense chaffing if you're not even going to get good data!) and put it in the pouch on my belt.  It continued to take readings, which initially were more accurate OFF my body!

I felt good, though, and continued to run well.  I found a couple of guys that were running my pace and tucked in behind them, matching them step for step until we got separated at the water stop.  The change in the bounce when crossing bridges felt super weird, and I couldn't believe they had us zig-zagging down ramps with railings on either side, but I pressed on.

During the 2nd half, my fast start and the climbing temps were catching up with me, and a couple of times I pulled alongside other runners just to keep me going.  The first guy and I never said a word, and I left him behind as soon as I realized he was going too slow for me.  The 2nd guy was about 6'6" and had super long legs.  I said something about just 5K to go, and he began to pull ahead of me as we started uphill.  I pushed myself to keep up...and kept going, right past him.  :)

Even from the first mile, I had been noticing a discrepancy between the mile markers and the distance on my Garmin.  Sure enough, it was a long course.  Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to hit the lap button as soon as I knew I'd run 13.1.  But I still had to run an extra third of a mile to the finish!

It was so nice to have my mom at the finish line.  She is a great assistant, and I'm super happy I'll have her with me at MCM!  It took me long enough to recover that I knew I had given my best effort, but it wasn't so bad that I was incapacitated the way I had been after Wounded Warrior (which I think was a relief to Mom since that was the last race she came to).  We waited around for the awards ceremony with my friend Pam (who took 2nd in her age group!) and her husband.  We also bumped into another friend from our group runs, and the tall guy I'd dropped with 3 miles to go came up to congratulate me on leaving him in the dust.  :)

Post-race, the data-crunching began...

My 13.1 time was 1:58:11 - right where I wanted to be for that 4:09 equivalent 9 weeks out.  Total race time = 2:00:55.  I was pissed that the long course had cost me an official sub-2 finishing time, but I still averaged 9-minute miles, so I was happy with my performance.  I'll never know for sure if I averaged HR > 175, but I definitely accomplished my goals of finishing breathless and knowing I'd left it all on the course.  Even though I missed the 2-hour mark, I felt much better about this race than Too Hot to Handle, when I hadn't had a firm goal and finished feeling like I didn't run hard enough.  In fact, based on the 13.1 time, I had met all of my time goals except to run the equivalent of a 4:00 marathon or less...which I hadn't really expected to do with it so hot anyway. Despite the long course, my official time was still a race PR and a personal PR (based on the earlier Polar time, which I believe was more accurate), so just about any way you slice it, this was my best half marathon to date.

I'm learning it is wise to accept (and perhaps expect) that there may be factors beyond one's control on race day, like temperatures in the 80's, a HR rate monitor giving bad data, or a long course.  My goal is to become strong enough to overcome those things and not cost myself any extra time because of a mistake like going out too fast.  Of the factors within my control, that's the only thing I would change about this race.  Being deceived by my HR monitor (and seduced by the Yasso/McRun conversion) cost me a negative split, and I'll never know if the difference had I run just a little smarter would have been enough to get me under 2 hours in spite of everything else....

Either way, I had a good race and learned things that will help me for MCM and beyond:

- Let the data speak.  Come up with a target pace based on the majority of your training data, and let that be your guide on race day.  Take conversions with a grain of salt; they're not as trustworthy as data from runs you've actually done. While taper and adrenaline will hopefully give you an edge on race day, the difference is more likely to be seconds (not a minute or more) off your pace.  Plan accordingly and run conservatively to start.  If something unprecedented or miraculous is going to happen, let it happen in the 2nd half of your race.  :)

- Listen to your body, not just your Garmin.