I must apologize as I have been remiss is posting any musings about running. I was extremely busy the past 2 months playing King Arthur in Desert Stages Theater's production of "Spamalot". Because of this show my running and training was a little sporadic. I found that I was pretty tired after rehearsals and shows that ran late into the evening. I got in mileage and workouts when I could. I just wanted to try and stay in shape so that when the show was over I could get right back into training mode.
While I was in "Spamalot", I was asked if I wanted to run the Mesa-Phoenix Half Marathon which is part of the marathon weekend. Sprouts was the title sponsor for the race this year. How could I pass up a free entry to the race and have the chance to go out and run as a representative of my company. The thing is that I was not really training for a race at all. In fact, after signing up, I became a little bit concerned that I wasn't going to be ready when race day came. I knew my show would be closed by then but I would not have put in the proper effort to get ready to race this distance.
I signed up even before "Spamalot" opened. But I figured well, "What the heck, let's do it!" I have run 9 marathons and numerous halfs. I figured I could cover the distance. I definitely didn't get out as regularly for those training runs as I should have. All I could do was squeeze in a few gym workouts, treadmill sessions and runs each week. Then next thing I knew, race day had arrived and I was up at 3:00 a.m. to meet my running partner Brad for this race and heading over to the start. I had no idea how it would go. I have to admit that it was actually a little exciting to have a challenge in front of me without knowing how I would respond.
As I stood in the bitter cold that Saturday morning, I realized a few things that I needed to be prepared for when the gun sounded. I knew that I have a history of running so I could just go for it as long as I remained cautious with my pace. Since I hadn't trained properly I didn't set a time goal instead I would focus on finishing the course with a smile on my face. That's it. And I needed to remind myself during the race that this is not the time to push myself. The distance would punish me if I tried.
The gun went off and we headed out. I figured that I could comfortably run between a 9:00 and 9:15 per mile pace. This would allow me to take it easy and not cause any injury. The first 3 miles were pretty easy. This gave me a little mental boost. We picked up the pace slightly so that we were closer to a 9 minute pace. When we hit the half way point, we were still going pretty strong. It was at this point that Brad told me that he wanted to break 2 hours. He had trained even less than I had. I timidly agreed thinking to myself that if I started to breakdown in the last few miles I would let that goal evaporate. Finishing with no injury was my ultimate goal.
Miles 7-9 was where we both were starting to hurt a little bit. Brad was having trouble with his hip and knee from prior injuries. I was just feeling a little bit of a twinge in my right hamstring which I had injured in the 2014 Boston Marathon. Remembering how hard it was to come back from that injury, I started to slow my pace a bit. We took a couple of short walk breaks to allow the pain to die down and for Brad to stretch a little bit. We kept pushing onward. It was at this point that I became a little uncertain of whether or not we would come in under 2 hours. Not that I truly cared.
When we past the 10 mile mark, I set a mental goal to beat my first half marathon time (2 hours and 10 minutes). I figured this was realistic because I had put in many miles of training over the years since that time. I had run a sub-4 hour marathon and a 1:50:48 half marathon. I was sure my legs would get me there. I didn't say anything to Brad. We just stayed on the course looking for the next mile marker. Surprisingly, the slight pain in my hamstring went away and I actually started to feel strong.
I finally crossed the 12 mile mark and knew that I had only 1.1 miles to go. I looked down at my watch and saw that I could break 2 hours if I could run the last 1.1 miles in under 10 minutes. I dug down deep and picked up the pace. I made the final turn to the finish line feeling really good. I had run mile 12 in 8:30 and the last 1.1 miles in 7:40 allowing me to cross the finish line at 1:58:08. This was totally beyond my wildest expectations. I had averaged exactly a 9 minute pace and run a negative split in the race. Even better, I was feeling really good. Wow!
So what did I learn from this experience that I can pass on to my fellow runners. I think the best advice I can give is the following:
- Don't attempt to run a half marathon without any training if you have never run this distance before. I cannot stress this enough. The reason I was able to run this race without any injury was because I had a strong base of mileage behind me. I had run this distance numerous times in the past and knew what I was getting myself into. Most importantly, my past training allowed me to pick a pace that I could run the entire distance without causing me mental or physical stress.
- If you have the above covered and this is not your first race at this distance, then go for it. However, you should have realistic expectations as to how fast you can run. You need to choose a pace at which you run your normal easy long training runs. And don't be afraid to walk if necessary. The goal is to finish. You will not be setting any PR if you have not properly trained for the race.
- Most importantly listen to what your body is telling you. Do not push yourself. The distance itself is hard enough. If you feel any sharp pains anywhere like Brad and I felt, take a second to recover and walk for a couple of minutes. Your finish time is irrelevant. Do not push through pain. Remember though that you are going to have some soreness as the miles pile up. This is normal and okay to ignore. But that’s about it. Never forget that pain is your body's way of telling you something's amiss. If you ignore that, you do so at your own peril.
By the way, don't take this as my endorsement of running any race distance without the proper preparation and training. It is just a little bit crazy to run a race without training for it. But if you are like me and have a strong base of mileage, have run more than one race at this distance and know your go to comfortable long runs pace, go for it. I suspect that like me you will get through it and feel like a badass! But seriously do yourself a favor and train properly next time!
Jan 1 – 5.30 miles (1:01:38, 11:38 pace)
Jan 2 – 6.20 miles (54:13, 8:45 pace)
Jan 7 – 5.10 miles (45:04, 8:50 pace)
Jan 8 – 4.10 miles (47:08, 11:30 pace)
Jan 15 – 4.20 miles (51:10, 12:11 pace)
Jan 16 – 6.20 miles (54:13, 8:45 pace)
Jan 18 – 7.20 miles (1:03:43, 8:51 pace)
Jan 20 – 6.20 miles (56:07, 9:05 pace)
Jan 21 – 4.20 miles (36:21, 8:39 pace)
Jan 22 – 4.10 miles (46:36, 11:23 pace)
Jan 23 – 6.20 miles (54:10, 8:44 pace)
Jan 25 – 8.20 miles (1:11:16, 8:41 pace)
Jan 27 – 7.10 miles (1:05:21, 9:12 pace)
Jan 28 – 7.20 miles (1:07:02, 9:19 pace)
Jan 29 – 4.50 miles (50:39, 11:16 pace)
Jan 30 – 6.20 miles (54:51, 8:51 pace)
Feb 1 – 8.20 miles (1:11:05, 8:40 pace)
Feb 3 – 9.00 miles (1:27:21, 9:42 pace)
Feb 6 – 6.20 miles (54:10, 8:44 pace)
Feb 8 – 8.20 miles (1:13:11, 8:55 pace)
Feb 12 – 5.10 miles (57:47, 11:20 pace)
Feb 13 – 6.20 miles (54:12, 8:45 pace)
Feb 15 – 8.20 miles (1:13:16, 8:56 pace)
Feb 16 – 5.10 miles (46:06, 9:02 pace)
Feb 17 – 9.10 miles (1:24:20, 9:16 pace)
Feb 18 – 8.30 miles (1:19:21, 9:34 pace)
Feb 19 – 4.10 miles (39:00, 9:31 pace)
Feb 20 – 3.10 miles (27:57, 9:00 pace)
Feb 22 – 3.10 miles (27:40, 8:56 pace)
Feb 23 – 2.10 miles (19:13, 9:10 pace)
Feb 24 – 13.10 miles (1:58:08, 9:99 pace) -Mesa-Phoenix Half Marathon
Feb 25 – 6.30 miles (1:00:20, 9:35 pace)
Feb 26 – 3.10 miles (36:34, 11:48 pace)
Feb 27 – 3.10 miles (46:52, 7:47 pace)
Mar 3 – 7.10 miles (1:06:21, 9:17 pace)
Mar 4 – 6.30 miles (59:51, 9:30 pace)
Total Miles: 217.1 miles
2018 Total Miles: 217.1 miles
When I now tell friends that they too can find joy in running, I explain that if they take it slow their body and mind will change and grow stronger. Anyone can become a runner. All they need to do is take that first step. Shortly thereafter they realize that running is like life. There will be days when they feel like an Olympic champion as well as workouts or runs that humble them to their core. If they stick with it, they will get better with time and effort.
