Drake Half Marathon race report
Drake Half Marathon Race Report
April 30, 2011
Des Moines, IA. 56 °F and cloudy at start time. Moderate wind. Moderately rolling loop course with 433 ft total climb (source: USATF map)
Course: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=122478
Gun time 1:29:00. Previous PR for the distance: 1:38:12 in 1990, and 1:37:57 for the run leg of a half ironman in 2010.
Background
The Drake Half Marathon was a B+ race for me this year. I spent the winter in the November OS group, exiting at 20 weeks back in March. My best 5K time trial was 19:15. I did another one at the very end of the training cycle, at which I thought I had a chance to go to ~19:00 or just under, but I couldn’t hold it mentally and fell apart. I did not adjust my VDOT paces, took 2 weeks of transition time, and am in my 4th week of training for a HIM distance triathlon. As prep for this race, I moved the Saturday bike ride to Tuesday (doing threshold work, but shorter than three hours), dropped the mileage on my mid-week long run to just an hour, and did only biking with VO2 segments on Thursday, and only swimming on Friday. The race was Saturday morning. I felt reasonably rested.
Those that know me are aware that I am the calculating sort. I looked at several calculators to see if my 5K augured well for a sub-90 min race. The straight VDOT equivalent time was 1:28:15, but other estimators ranged up to 1:31:30. After careful consideration, I set sub-90:00 as my goal. The required pace for 90 minutes is 6:52.
Based on a 90 minute goal and the course map, my plan was:
- Miles 1-3 at 7:05
- Mile 4 (downhill) 6:35
- Miles 5-6 (rolling and uphill) 7:00 in the uphill part
- Remainder 6:48. Unsure of the significance of one other hill.
Day before
I’m an old-school carb guy. Nothing very special here diet wise, save that I consumed quite a bit of carb until early afternoon. Meal size at dinner was reduced to keep the colon fairly clear on race day. In other words, I just did a "lite" version of the standard EN prerace nutrition plan.
At about 9:30 pm the night before, my 16 year old son Christopher figured out that I was running and gave me a hard time about having not told him. Since he is in the middle of both high school track AND soccer seasons, and had had three soccer matches and a track meet that week, it hadn’t occurred to me that he would want to run. By 10:00 pm, he had secured permission from his track coach. This threw something of a monkey wrench into my mental preparation, because I realized now that I would have to deal with him as well (sign up, transport, etc.). But I resolved just to roll with the punches and have a great bonding morning.
Race morning
Chris and I got up at 5:00 and got to the race site by 7:00. Sign up for him and packet pickup were uneventful. I had a very light breakfast of toast and brought a 300 calorie bottle of InfiniT with me. I consumed about 2/3 of the InfiniT by about 7:30 before final lockup of the car and strip down.
The other issue I had to deal with was that I had to give up my Garmin. My old Garmin finally died a few weeks ago, and I had been using my son’s for the last few weeks. Given that he had to totally SWAG a pace because he hasn’t trained for the distance (and it was his…) I agreed to give him the running watch. I pulled the computer off my bike and calculated what my paces were in miles per hour, though I knew the speed would not be as precise as pace would have been. To carry this would be a pain, but better than nothing.
We lined up near the front of the crowd at the start. Both of us expected that Christopher would beat me, but there was more uncertainty in his time than mine. He had a race plan, but it had more RPE variability than mine. We agreed just to meet at the end of the race.
After the gun went off, I quickly found that the bike computer was not very useful for determining current pace. It just isn’t designed to go as slow as a runner and the fluctuation is too high to be very useful. I had set it up to auto-lap every mile and give me average speed for the mile in addition to current speed. This meant I would at least get useful data for the latter half of each mile.
The first mile was an execution disaster – partly as a result of using the bike computer instead of a running watch. I went out in about 6:40. This said, it was a struggle to slow down. The first few miles felt ridiculously easy. There was a pack of people running in view of me that I was tempted to catch and run with. I decided not to; I decided I needed to run MY race, not do whatever that group was going to do. The middle section of the race, until about mile 9 or 10 just felt like a garden variety run at some effort, and the last 3-4 miles were fairly hard work, but not grossly uncomfortable. I took a gel at the top of hills at about miles 6.5 and ~10.5.
Mile splits were
- 6:40
- 6:52
- 6:53
- 6:26 downhill
- 6:42 up and down
- 7:04 uphill
- 6:51
- 6:47
- 6:49
- 6:50
- 7:03 uphill
- 6:48
- 6:40
I adjusted these up a few seconds per mile from the raw Garmin data, since my auto laps were slightly shorter than the mile markers indicated. Examining the splits, I ran the last ten miles or so almost exactly as planned, and picked up half of the minute faster than I intended in the first three miles. The rest was just a couple seconds here and there.
My final placement was 58th overall out of 1061. In the last mile, I passed 8 people and was passed by one guy whom I estimated to be in his early 20s.
I learned as I finished that Chris was half a minute ahead of me, since I heard his name being announced as he crossed the line ahead of me. I had not been aware I was anywhere close to him.
Final gun time was 1:29:00. Actual time was only several seconds less.
Post race analysis
I was very pleased with this time. I had run 3 half marathons in the late 80s, none nearly as fast as this. My marathon PR (from 2010) is 3:16:40; this time is faster than the half-marathon equivalent – so this is undoubtedly progress.
I feel like if I had known how to do this race optimally, I could have shaved another minute or so off the time. My heart rate was under 160 for miles 1-4, between 160 and 165 for miles 5-11, and between 165 and 170 for the last couple of miles. My threshold HR is in 168-170. There was no long period of intense suffering.
That said, this is a very good compromise. I learned that I could pace with much less than optimal feedback. I set a big PR. Even better, my recovery is pretty quick. As I write this (Sunday), I am sore, but not overly so. I am pretty sure I will be able to be running back to normal by Tuesday. Had I really blown everything out, recovery would have been longer. Thus, this race fits well into my training regimen for my first A-race of the year, in mid June.
My only lingering question is my mettle as a RACER as opposed to making my own personal achievement. I am confident – after the fact – that I could have raced with that pack. Over the rest of the year, maybe I should focus on being a Racer instead of a Runner after I get to The Line in my races. Feedback on this point is appreciated.
On the side, I will also say that I’m proud of my son’s effort. Dude hasn’t run any longer than 6 miles since last fall, but has run fast this spring. With zero taper, the fourth competitive event in a week, and a seat-of-the-pants race plan, he crushed the race for the first time at the distance. Undoubtedly, if I had figured out he was only 30 sec ahead of me and somehow caught up…he would have outsprinted me the last half mile, and both of us would be in bigger recovery holes; he has another track meet and soccer match this week, and I have a triathlon to get ready for soon. So it’s perfect. He beat me, and I was close, so both of us can soothe our egos…and both of us have times to be proud of.
Comments
the Jenks family is fast! Great job this weekend to you and your son.....
William, That is a very big PR and, like you indicated, there's probably more where that came from. Very well exectuted considering you had no Garmin.
Nothing wrong with thinking like a racer in a race. Sometimes you have to take chances. That is something that has been on my mind this year as well. I'm going to practice in my early season races.
Congratulations to you and Christopher.
Today had 3 x 1 mi at threshold on the schedule. Official TP is 6:38, but I know it's really a few seconds faster, maybe 6:32 ish. Anyway, I wasn't quite ready to do that, so turned that 3 x 1 into a 3 mile segment a little slower - 6:42 average, just under HMP. Recovery is coming along - feels right for how i wanted to run the race.
Regarding the racer mentality, I think everyone one of us should be a racer at the right time (or the line as you mentioned). Racing is fun and motivates us to push harder. For me in an open 13.1 I run my race until mile 9 and then I go into racer mode. I don't look at anything and I just run. For 70.3 it is a little later, at Oceanside I waited until the final turn around which was about mile 10 and then went all out.
Alternatively for b and c races sometime I just go out and race from the start with no plan at all. It's a nice change from being so focused and disiplined.
I suggest finding a sprint tri, 10k or another half marathon and just racing it with the mentality of I'm going to have an awesome race or blow up trying and see what happens. I bet you will surprise yourself.
Hot damn! You are really raising the stakes for IM Moo now.
Racing vs. running: what I hear you saying is "racing" means success in the race is determined by how you do relative to other people (could be AG, overall, specific competotors) vs "running" meaning paying attention to pace and letting time and place take care of themselves. Most of the time I mix both attitudes. Meaning, I am "running" my own race, but taking the opportunity to also alter my strategy near the end if specific pre-determined competition requires it.
Going out with a "pack" though is a whole other ball game. Personal pace goes ot the window, and so does time. It's all about trying to live within the confines of what the group comeptition requires. Sort of like a highly competitive group run or ride. Not a good choice for trying to get a PR, IMO.
I made a trip from Chicago out to Omaha last weekend, and by coincidence I was at Drake University yesterday morning and saw all the banners for the Drake Relays, and the sidewalks painted by all the student groups for the race weekend, Sounds like a really big weekend and I would like to try to catch more of it next year. I have blown through Des Moines on the Interstate many times but that was my first time ever getting off to look around. I was surprised how hilly it was, especially just west of the Drake campus on University Ave. I also noticed you did not mention the wind but it was howling all weekend, so with those hills and winds it also make this a really good result and confidence booster.
Thanks for taking the time to write it all up this way, Very educational. Good luck with our upcoming HIM prep
On my way out of town back to I-80 I saw a huge billboard for the Blue Mile race that Dan Gilliatt did last week too
Anyway, the Drake Relays are definitely one of the big state events each year. It gets big state-wide coverage, even though track and field is a comparatively "minor" sport.
@Matt - yes, this 9-10 mile mark in the HM or around 10 mi mark in HIM is about where I have thought the spot would be as well.
As for just letting go in some B/C races, unfortunately, I probably won't have any this season. I have accepted the position of chair of my department starting July 1...but that really means starting now for practical purposes. It's good for me professionally and personally, but it is time consuming. I will still do my main races (KS and IM WI) and i will still train for them as I would have. But it means that I will have a lot less flexibility than I might have to mess around with extra weekend activities that might throw more long training into the weekdays. I have to plan my hours very carefully, and that means sticking to the highest priorities first. I am now considering whether to even do a planned Oly distance triathlon (C-priority, but social) in late May because of the opportunity cost associated with losing that weekend for KS.
And @ Al
I was never a just do-it-on-the-fly guy, but since I jumped on the EN bandwagon about a year and a half ago, I have worked pretty hard at being very disciplined. And it's paid off. Boston Marathon 2010 = PR by 9 min, Last summer's HIM = 9th place at Steelhead in AG and 16 minute PR, this race also a PR, but importantly, better than the equivalent marathon, even though I've been doing tri training, not just running. All three were characterized by discipline in training and execution.
I've never really thought of myself of having any more than average athletic talent, but whether it's just getting the most out of my pretty average self, or uncovering a bit of latent potential, I've gotten measurably better. I am not at the place where placement really matters quite yet...but I can see it on the horizon and can wonder if i can get there. So it's that kind of thing that makes me think about "racing". The kind of time required to get in the top 10 at KS is probably out of reach, but a guy can fantasize...
But you're totally right about the pack. I don't think I'd have ever joined a pack...but it seems a shame to have left a podium spot so close. 3rd place was 15 seconds or so ahead of me and I came in 5th.
Speaking as one who climbed from good performances to being able to routinely compete for podium spots (with innate athletic ability I would rate at the 75% percentile), one little story and a couple of observations about what's needed.
My first running races were HMs. 8 years ago, I did my third one (the same one I will do as my first big comeback race in ten days), I came in sixth in my AG with a time of 1:34.XX. But it felt like my best, most successful race (including tris) to that point - awards went down to fifth place, and I was happier with that performance than any time I'd ever gotten a ribbon or medal for a "podium finish". I determined to come back the next year and win the new AG I was aging into, which I did, dropping my time by less than a minute.
Point is, CONFIDENCE in one's abilities is a key foundation to racing success. Just by feeling good about that race, and saying to myself, "I can WIN this thing", I built self-confidence and expectations over the next year, and the win was another stepping stone to consistent success since then.
Another point, taking that next step up requires something you already have, but will need to take more and more advantage of. Knowing your limits, and being able to race at the absolute top of them is another requirement. It is NEVER EASY.
Don't ever let yourself set permanent limits; dream, work, set goals, succeed, repeat by ratcheting up the next step. Most people aren't willing to go through all four steps with persistence and discipline; that's what will allows people like you to beat them.