running

running

Friday, November 8, 2013

race return

On Sunday I will be making my return to racing following the marathon that did not go as planned.  Well, I guess that's kind of a lie.  A couple of weeks ago I ran a 5k for fun in the middle of a 12 mile training run.  So, I don't really count that one.  Sunday I will be running my 9th half marathon and 4th of the year.  I am running the Seacoast Half Marathon in Portsmouth, NH and am very excited for it!


We'll be heading over to Portsmouth Saturday afternoon and spending the night in a hotel before the race.  I think this is actually the first time I will have stayed in a hotel the night before a race.  Any other time I have traveled to one I've stayed with friends or family.  I'm looking forward to a fun little adventure.

This week training has gone really well so far.  Tuesday I ran an easy 45 min w/ 4x 100m strides.  Wednesday I had to run after work.  It was dark, but unseasonably warm.  I had a reflective vest to wear, but I wish I had had some sort of light to carry with me.  After reading this running in the dark PSA post by Danielle, I am definitely planning to invest in some knuckle lights.  Anyways, I had wanted to go to the track to get my workout in, but the track was not lit up, and I can be a bit of a wimp in the dark by myself, so I decided against it.  Instead, I just ran easy for a half hour, and planned to do my workout the following day.  Thursday I had to work the night shift (NOT FUN), but at least it gave me most of the day to make my way up to the track. The workout scheduled was 4-5 x 1000 @ MP w/ one minute rest, 15 min warm up and cool down.  Everything about this workout just felt right.  My pace was much faster than my marathon pace, but I felt great and was able to stay consistent through all 5 k's, my last one actually being the fastest.  I started at 8:06 pace and worked my way down to 8:02.  I'm hoping this means good things to come for the race on Sunday!

As for my goals on Sunday…I really just want to run a consistent pace.  I STILL struggle with going out too fast and crashing at the end most of the time.  This was a big part of what caused my marathon disappointment.  I need to learn to hold back a little at the beginning.  The only way I think I'll learn how to do that is to practice.  So, with that being said, on Sunday I am really going to try to stay calm and start out slower than my goal pace.  I'd like to have the first half feel almost easy and then push it for the second half.  It's going to take some serious self control, but I have to figure out how to do that.  After the race we're heading down to MA for a wedding.  It's going to be a busy, but fun weekend. 

Is anyone else running the Seacoast Half, or have you ran it before?  Who else is racing this weekend?!     

1 comment:

  1. Good luck!! I ran my 10th half last spring and started out the slowest I'd ever started in a half and ran my second-fastest half time ever. Could have maybe been a PR if not for the fact that it was in hilly Nashville and my PR is from flat Houston, haha. It's taken a long time for me to learn it myself, but there really is a lot to be said for starting out slow!

    ReplyDelete