NicoleHello Half Marathon Racing! I’m not sure I missed you but I’m glad you’re back!
The past three months or so my boyfriend and I have been training for the Super Half Marathon, a local race I’ve been a part of every year since it was created in 2012. (There is also a 5k option which I’ve done a couple times.) It’s the perfect mid-winter race to stay in shape over the holidays and who doesn’t want to burn a lot of calories before the Super Bowl festivities.
Let’s take a glimpse into my history for this race:
2012: 1:50:31 13.1
2013: 1:53:19 13.1
2014: Volunteered
2015: 26:43 5k
2016: 2:12:07 13.1
2017: 1:59:59 13.1
2018: 0:30:53 5k
2019: 1:59:35 13.1
I’ve been training with running power (Stryd) this time around, and did most long training runs on the course. I had a good feel of what I *should* be able to hold with respect to power, pace, and heart rate.
Race week training was a little lighter than planned, but I was well rested race morning. Rudy and I parked a few blocks from the start and jogged over to the start area. Race morning packet pick-up and bag drop is fortunately inside a nice warm building. A few minutes before the start we headed out and got lined up. The race organizers started us in waves to keep the trail access a little clearer, as after the first half mile or so the course merges onto the Santa Fe/Greenway Trail. Off we went!
Being that the start is downhill, too, I started a little hot pace-wise. My target power was the low 190s – 190-192ish. By mile 5 or so, especially with my heart rate in the mid-170s, I was thinking I needed to back off a bit and that I started a bit too fast and optimistic. I did.
My legs were feeling it and I was looking forward to the turn-around, about 6.8ish miles into the course. On the trail it happens to be just after a short downhill section so as you turn around you get to power back up a hill. UGH!
The second half was definitely a mental fight to keep going strong. Just after the turn around I saw Rudy – he shouted something like GO NEO and it seemed he was feeling pretty good so I tried to channel some of that. (He ran a good race!)
The benefit of training on this course is that it is so familiar, I could mentally check off landmarks and I knew exactly how far I had to go. I was trying to either keep up with or pass some people on the course for mental motivation. I’m not sure if it is my memory playing tricks on me, or that I haven’t run a race longer than 10k in a while, but this was certainly more mentally challenging than I remember!
The wacky wind may have also played a role in my “greater than I remember discomfort.” It was strong, sometimes a tailwind, often a cross or headwind. It seemed to be everything all the time. The last mile was the most ridiculous with guts at least 30mph and blowing clouds of dust in our faces. Tumbleweeds were everywhere. You can even see in the power data where the variability increases – that was the wind!
For those interested, my nutrition/hydration plan is pretty simple: I carried a bottle of skratch with me and consumed 2 gels, one at about mile 4.5 and the next at about 10.5. I walked all aid stations to get some plain cold water.
My 5th Super Half Marathon is done! Congratulations to all who were out there running. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers and to race director Tim Bergsten for putting on another great event. Hopefully you got the long nap you earned! (And thanks Tom Dewane for the photos!)
Nicole
