Saturday, September 15, 2012
Ultra-Half Marathon
So I ran a half-marathon, 13.1 miles, in 1:54:22. My goal last April was to break 2 hours, I killed it. I couldn't be happier. An interesting aspect, is that the course was shared on some parts with the full marathon, and the runners overlapped. An unintended side effect - myself and a couple hundred other participants were sent the wrong way to the tune of an extra 1.4 miles between mile 5 and 6. So I actually ran 14.57 miles in 2:09:01. This made for an interesting state of mind throughout. Luckily I was feeling pretty good when I got to mile 6 (or 7.4) so I stayed positive (a few other people started cursing at volunteers). So the above time for my 1/2 marathon is from my GPS watch, which now feels like a GREAT investment. I like the joke that the Air Force is all about giving 110% (but not advertising the required percentage in advance). Here is pic of me at mile 14.4
The weather was perfect, 50F to start, partly cloudy. I was able to maintain 8:30 splits though mile 10, and finish my 13.1 with an average split of 8:44 (I am VERY happy with that, as it is a faster average mile than I ran in the Big10k). I have blisters, some chafing, and sore knees, but basically I survived unscathed (I went to volleyball practice after). I am officially checking marathons off my bucket list (I spent the whole walk to the car telling Blythe how I am never running one of these again). The next goal, 7min/mi splits on a 5k.
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3 comments:
Awesome! High 5!
At the 2011 Madison Marathon, the bike lead didn't know the course and continually stopped at the aid stations to ask. Undoubtedly, the first runner who was a good mile ahead of the rest of the pack was pissed and started mouthing off at the bike lead. The runner was disqualified for mouthing off. The Madison Marathon doesn't have the reputation of being well run. It's interesting what a difference a well organized race can make.
I'm amused that immediately after your half, you said you'd never do one again. Immediately after the mini, I wanted to sign up for another one.
Probably I would have felt differently if not for the extra 1.4miles. I felt like I was done at 13.1. For the next 1.4, I didn't care about my time anymore. I just wanted to be done. I didn't sprint at the end, and I didn't get goosebumps at the finish, because my finish was 15 minutes earlier. I was actually annoyed that there was a crowd cheering, because it meant I couldn't stop.
rock on, ben! here's hoping all of your toenails remain in place! :)
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