Eugene Half Marathon

The race is done.

Goals:

Start slow, 10 min pace for 1^st  9 miles

Accelerate for last 4 miles

Sprint final 200m (finish was on Hayward Field track)

Wanted to keep this strictly as a strength builder for the upcoming 70.3 triathlon and couldn’t afford to blow myself out.

Actuals:

First 9 miles in 9:45

Last 4 miles in 8:15

Sprint 200m in 32s (no typo)

Hadn’t run more than 6 miles in training (favoring the knee that gave me trouble last yr), so I was a little apprehensive going in.

It was a little tough being patient early. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel great at the slow pace (but not horrible either). Had to empty my head a few times to focus better, and I kept my stride low with hamstrings engaged (I blew both flexors last year on much more training volume ). Breathing was fine, no real effort. Flexors started to make noise around 6 miles (like last year) without getting too loud.

At 9 miles, I started squeezing it down. Stepped over my threshold at that point but kept it in check. OMG, I must have passed 400 people in the last miles. Talk about a motivator! Last year, I struggled to finish with 11-12 min miles and I was the one getting passed.

God loves negative splitters.

The final part was somewhat tough but my stride stayed light. Never felt sluggish or weak throughout the run. I hit every other aid station for water or Gator and walked about 50 yds each time. Big help.

We hit the track and I just exploded. We could only use the outer four lanes and it was crowded; could have cut another second or two if it was clear. Didn’t feel any lactic at that point, just my first time on that gorgeous track in a competitive situation. Was somehow able to keep cranking the turnover with bigbig strides

Gotta believe I’ll be showing a great ugly face in the race pix. Absolutely worth it! I’m hoping Runner’s Space recorded a full streaming video ‘cause I want to see that sprint. (post-script: Runner's Space rocks. I'm the guy at about 4:45 in the white shirt. haven't run that fast since high school).

Came home and sat in a cold tub 2 hrs later then stretched and hit the roller. Feeling fine now, but will reserve all judgment until Tuesday to ensure no collateral damage. If good, I’ll sign up for the tri (had been waiting to see how this run went).

Obviously, my down week and pre-race cold didn’t hurt me too much. I had also been eating lots more raw veggies consistently.

Oh yeah; race-day breakfast was a PBJ. Manna from heaven. Even more: the previous two days I had been officiating a meet at Hayward, so I was on my feet a lot. I grabbed every opportunity to get down and stretch.

Next up: a multi in two weeks (XC ski, bike, run, kayak). Can’t wait to get in the big ring and fly down the mountain.