Race Report: Martian Festival of Races Half-Marathon - 8th Overall

Finally, my first race of the season is in the books!  After a long stretch of training, it felt good to get back on course and get a real indicator of where my run fitness is.  This race was interesting primarily because I haven’t ran in a stand-alone running race since 2009.  I know my running had changed significantly since that last race, and I was exciting to see how I compared to “real” runners!

Race Week:
My approach to this race was as a “motivated” training run.  There was no taper, so no real specific preparation from a training standpoint.  Looking at the big picture, I have Rev3 Knoxville on May 5 and Ironman Florida 70.3 5-weeks later, which are a bigger priority in the context of my triathlon season.  So race week it was training as usual, I just kept the hard bike and run efforts Monday through Wednesday, and took Friday easy to get ready for race day on Saturday.  While my race week training was uneventful, the weather we had was not.  It started raining on Tuesday and continued more or less through later Thursday for a total 2+ inches of rain.  Since the course is an out-and-back configuration on Hines Drive (a popular local training park) that lies on a flood plain, it wasn’t long before the course was under water.  I have to give credit to the race organizers since they had a certifiable backup course, so besides a course change, the race went on without a hitch.

Race Day:
The race day weather was less than ideal.  The temperature was in high-30s, 15-20 mph winds and a mix of light rain/snow.  Great temperature for running, but the wind and precipitation was not enjoyable.  The great part about weather is everyone has to deal with the same conditions.  Personally, I adapt well to harsh weather and I think it levels the playing field among abilities.

At 8:55 it was time to go, I lined up towards the right side second row from the front.  I chose the second row because the course starts with the first block uphill, then we turn right, directly into the headwinds, and wanted to let someone else lead the charge into the wind.  The horn sounded and we were off!  As we rounded the corner and headed into the wind, I stayed tucked behind the leaders in front of me.  Already the lead pack of about 6-8 started to pull away, with a single line of us following behind.  After about the first mile, the lead pack had broken away, then there was a smaller pack about of 2 about 50’ ahead slowly pulling away and I was staying sheltered from the wind in the 3rd group.  I had the feeling my group was slowing and not wanting to bridge too large of gap into the wind, I decided it was time move up to the group in front.  As I started to close, the 2 pulled ahead slightly as we went down a slight downhill.  After my initial surge I was stuck between the 2 groups, and decided to get back to my target pace, knowing that we would be turning out of the wind shortly and I would catch them eventually.

The rest of the race went well.  I was consistent on my pace, with hills or winds affecting my pace accordingly, slightly faster on downhills/tailwind or slightly slower on uphills/headwinds.   As I made my way through the course, I picked off a runner every 1-2 miles until about mile 11, where I held my position until the finish.

In the end I crossed the line in 1:20:16 (6:07 min/mile), which was 8th overall.  Based on my recent training runs, my goal was sub-1:22, and a stretch goal of sub-1:20.  I just missed breaking 1:20, but overall I am really happy with my results.  For those that are interested, here are my mile splits (min/mile) and HR (avg. bpm):

Mile 1:   5:57  (166)
Mile 2:   6:04  (168)
Mile 3:   5:53  (170)
Mile 4:   6:12  (169)
Mile 5:   6:00  (169)
Mile 6:   6:01  (171)
Mile 7:   6:17  (171)
Mile 8:   6:10  (168)
Mile 9:   6:07  (167)
Mile 10: 6:06  (168)
Mile 11: 6:09  (169)
Mile 12: 6:12  (167)
Mile 13: 6:03  (173)

With the first race out of the way, now it’s time to get ready for my first triathlon at Rev3 Knoxville on May 5.

Training Advice: Just Push Harder!

On March 23, I participated in the Final Race of the Fraser Bicycle Indoor TT Series.  The TT was held on the same course as last year:  a 10 km rolling course with a few short climbs.  Compared to the 54-minute effort from Race #4 the previous week, this one seemed to fly by.  However, with the shorter duration comes increased intensity….i.e. it hurts more, just not as long.  With my first place finish in Race #4, I already clinched the series victory, however as with any race, there were bragging rights at stake.  Given my strength at the longer events, the short 15-minute race was not necessarily my strength compared to the other riders.  Both short TTs in the series I finished second and third, so I knew I had to really push if I wanted the stage win.  After a thorough 25-minute warm-up, it was go time.  Once the race started it was typical of my riding style: consistent power output and a low VI.  After negative splitting my power, I finished with a good kick at the end with 30 seconds over 500w, and achieved my goal of sub-15 minutes for the course.  Last year, my time was 15:17 on 345w, and this year I finished in 14:54 with 348w (as measured by my Quarq).  This was good enough for first in my heat, but there were a couple of other fast guys to follow, including Chris Lutz (ITU Pan-Am Pro) and Dan Stubilski (1st Overall Amateur at 2012 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas).  Unfortunately, those guys blew apart my time, both under 14:30, and pushing me down to third for the day.  Great effort by those guys, they absolutely crushed it!

Riders in the Lab laying down the Power!

Later in the day I learned a great lesson from my 4-year old son, Nolan.  He asked how I did in the race that morning.  The conversation went something like this:

Nolan:  Dad, how did you do in your race this morning?  Did you win?

Me:  No, I finished third.

Nolan:  Oh.  Well that’s okay.  Next time, just push the pedals harder and then you can win.

Me:  Yes….you are right.  Thanks for the feedback…I just have to push the pedals harder….

As simple as it sounds, he is right and that is great advice.  At the end of the day, we are swimming, biking and running.  With all the fancy gadgets and training feedback tools, it can be easy to lose perspective on training and over-complicate things.  Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics and forget about all the technology, equipment and tools, and just do it.  Push harder and you will be faster.  When you are faster, you can place better.  Simple and effective advice.  Easy enough, right?