2013 Middle Half Marathon 1:45 Pacer report

The weeks before the Middle Half I debated on what I was going to do on race morning. I hadn’t registered for the race. Most of the guys I run with were registered, and the two brothers that I was most competitive with were registered as well.

Brother number one was hindered by orders from his doctor on the pace he could run. Brother number two was capable of running better than my half marathon PR pace. I needed to run 18 miles because I’m in marathon training mode. What to do? Didn’t want to go out to fast with brother number two. Didn’t want to pull brother number one out past the pace he was supposed to run. I always go out to fast in my races and fade in the final miles. Didn't want to stand by and spectate.

Actually had that thought process in my mind finishing up my run on a Saturday before the race. Saw Miles running on the greenway and turned around and discussed the possibilities of being a pacer for the Middle Half. Boom problem solved. I got in the race and hopefully helped some folks reach their goals.

This was my third time to pace a half marathon at this pace. I was more worried this time about the first mile. My ankle and feet are really cranky/stiff and slow to loosen up. I practiced pace all week, but always took at least a mile at around 9:00/10:00 pace to get going. I ran the course the week before as part of a 18 miler and the last few miles didn't go as wanted. Really didn't think a mile or so of warmup was a good idea. It'd be awful ugly for the pacer to crash in the last couple of miles.

Should have known race day magic would make all of that go away. Standing in the corral before the start I was really nervous. Had the GPS watch and a timex watch, just in case. Carried a gel in case I needed it in the final miles. I printed out a band with the locations of water stops. The pace sign wasn't a concern, it's actually lighter than the water I usually carry on long runs.

I'm not much of a cheer leader kind of guy. I explained my job was to keep everyone from going out to fast. Try and think of the race in three sections. The first four miles up to Oakland Mansion should feel really easy. Holding back the pace. The next four miles would be more work to stay on pace up until mile eight. About the point where we would make the left turn on to Rutherford Boulevard. Mile eight is where you see where you where, evaluate start a push to maintain or surge. Mile 9 you get to see who is ahead of you and try to reel them in.

Splits.
1 7:58
2 7:57
3 7:59
4 7:58
5 8:01
6 7:57
7 8:00
8 8:00
9 7:57
10 7:57
11 8:01
12 8:01
13 7:58

Saw my wife and son number one on the rail coming down the track to the finish. She had to shout or I wouldn't have seen them. Clock said 1:45:08 when I went under it. Official chip time 1:45:04.

My wife made the comment about where all of the people I was pacing. I don't know. Big group all of the way up through mile 8. I remember looking back a couple of times and thinking that I was like a roadblock with the big group that was behind me. But, typically in the half marathon mile 8 is where everyone starts stringing out. Everyone gets really quiet the rest of the way home as well. Some pushed ahead and went quicker, some must have started dropping off. Did have several people thank me afterwards for helping them set their goals. That makes it all worthwhile. Great day for a race. The Tate family continues to put on a premier race year over year.

windy morning

Pulled into the parking lot to meet speedy this morning to rain blowing sideways and temps at 44 degrees. We both were really tempted to just go back home, but went ahead and got our run done. Nothing fancy, speedy did a tempo yesterday so we did an easy pace for him which is about marathon pace for me. Wind was pretty fierce when it was in your face and the rain was blowing.

Trying to plan out the next race and plans for the spring. Current plans are to maintain about 40-50 miles per week. Next race is going to be the Fat Ass 50k on January 1. Talk on the strider board about another race on the 11.2 in Percy Warner Park. I'd do that again, but not really racing it. Wonder if anyone is going to step up and volunteer to organize and score it?

Next major race is going to be the Flying Pig marathon in May. Plenty of time to build up with the Daniels program for a fast marathon, 3:10 or 3:15. Need to check out marathonguide.com to get a B race in case the Pig doesn't work out. Maybe pace the 1:45 group at the Country Music half marathon in April.(if Peter will have me back after last years debacle).

pulled along

Gaaawgus sunrise this morning. Didn't even peak until after we had finished running and I stretched out after this mornings run. Last week the sunrise was about 4 miles earlier into our run. Hope that means cooler weather is on the way. Today's run was all about hills. Did the Spain Hill loop, 11 miles with about 4 good hills to climb. Speedy pulled me the entire way and then decided to push 2 of the last 3 miles home. Actually felt pretty good, right about tempo pace. Average pace for the entire run was 7:20 with the average heart rate about where it was for the 8:00 pace for the CMM half marathon pacing effort. (155 bpm)

Carried my water bottle this morning, instead of wearing the usual water carrier. Last few long runs have been a bother with the water carrier. I may try the handheld water bottle for Saturdays 20 miler. Still haven't decided where to go. Somewhere with some hills. Probably be back out either at Spain Hill or the Lascassas loop. This time I'm going to start at 4:30 am, and beat some of the heat. Could always drive into Nashville and go on the Strider training run. Only downside, it kills half the day. At least by starting at 4:30 am and running local, I'm back home at a decent time.

Party at the bosses house last night. Lots of good food, beer and wine. Ate to much, but did manage the beer intake.

Country Music Half Marathon race report

Apology. First off I need to apologize to everyone who was waiting for me in corral 4. I was just getting off the bus when the gun went off. I allowed an hour to make it to the start. Next year, I'll either have to stay in Nashville or leave the house at 3:30 am. (I live in Murfreesboro and left the house at 4:30 am)

Weather. Best of any of the Nashville races I've done. This is the second half, plus 2 full marathons. Cloud cover, little breeze, little rain. Excellent, just glad I was finished before the sun popped out.

Race. My chip time was 1:44:26. Got the job done. Did get a group around me almost from the time I jumped onto the course. Crowd support was good this year. Little hoarse from yelling trying to get the crowds to yell when we went by. I jumped in behind the 3rd corral, and tried to stay behind the 3:30 marathon pacer. He got ahead of us for quite awhile, but we caught back around mile 11, just before the split for the marathoners and half marathoners.

Excuses. Only one bottle of water before the start. Plan was to drink that bottle and then eat and drink some more before the start. No food. Didn't get a chance to change shoes. I wore my rain shoes, an old pair of trainers that I wanted to change out of before the race. No Succeed. Planned on one capsule before the start, because of the temperature and humidity.

Traffic. This is the only real complaint, but it lead to me not getting to the start on time and all of the other excuses listed. I can't believe someone can design an egress to a stadium knowing the amount of traffic coming in and have only 1 lane coming into the parking lot. Complete bullsh*t. Last year the traffic coming in from interstate 24 slowed around Hermitage Avenue. This morning, just after the 24/40 split, traffic came to a complete stop. I sat in traffic for an hour. I got to that point at 5:30 and didn't get off the Hermitage Avenue exit until 6:30 trying to get to the stadium. Debate in my mind was go to the stadium and wait for the bus, or try and get to the start with all of the lane closures. Chose the stadium.

All in all I had a blast. I'll be back next year. Good call to wear the regular stop watch to monitor total time. The Garmin was good for seeing where we were distance wise. I didn't feel comfortable with the heart rate. According to it I was running tempo pace the entire race. Actually did what I did last year and ran by perceived effort. Uphills were a little slower than pace and the downhills a little quicker. Seems like more downhill in the final 3-4 miles than I remembered. Next year I need to mark on my pace band where the water stops are located.




Post mortem. Still don't know what to make of the heart rate data. I started out at 172, that's because I sprinted from the buses to the meeting spot for the pacers and dropped my bag and sprinted to the starting line. I saw corral 4 coming to the line and jumped in at the start, but evidently I actually jumped in the back of the 3rd corral. I never could get my heart rate below 155. In training 8:00 pace was 145, add a couple of ticks for the heat. I averaged 163, which is tempo pace and hit 170+ a couple times. Some of it is because I waved the pace stick around and gestured with the other arm to pump the crowds for a little noise. Bottom line, the Garmin is a great training tool but I'll leave it at home on race day.

runner geek

Laying out all of my stuff so I don't forget anything. Got the coffee set to start brewing at 4:00. Should be out the door by 4:30 and arrive at the stadium around 5:30. Should get me to the start line at 6:00 at the latest.

VIP pass


Pacer flag


The Jacket

Sneezing fit

Finished my 4 mile pace run this morning with a sneezing fit. Seemed to last forever, but I'd rather put up with the occasional allergy reaction versus taking meds. I stopped taking the prescription meds for allergies back in 1996 when I started running marathons. I felt they dehydrated me to much. Also, I've read and firmly believe the more I run in the elements the more my body becomes adapted to the allergens.

My oldest son Darrell went through the allergy testing and shots about the same time I stopped taking the meds. He doesn't appear to have to much trouble with his allergies. Dylan on the other hand takes a over the counter med for his allergies.

Leaving work early this afternoon to go to the Country Music Marathon expo.

Sobering run

Started hearing the sirens as I was getting ready for my run this morning. The entrance to our subdivision was blocked and I continued on around Thompson Lane. The first vehicle I saw was a pickup truck with a flat tire and the rear differential gone. I thought it must have been a drunk driver, especially from the marks it left in the road. Farther down the road was the other car. First time I went by before dawn, it looked like a SUV. Coming back the second time, I could tell it was a maybe a 4 door Altima. Both passenger doors gone and the drivers door as well. Terrible wreck. One fatality and another person life flighted.

Coming back through the crash scene was very sobering. I could feel myself about to lose my breakfast. I've seen enough death, dying and car crashes, but it still really makes you think when its back in your face. My heart rate jumped 10 points, coming through the first time and back through the second time. Just thankful for the police officers, medical personnel and their families that have to deal with this stuff on a daily basis.

Run this morning was supposed to be a 6 mile pace run. I wanted to see how close I could get to pace on the first mile. Ok, for the first half mile, until I saw the first police car. First mile was a 7:38. Settled down after that and came in on pace for the rest of the run. Couldn't really go by heart rate, only by perceived effort for the first 2 miles and the last 2 miles. I could see the police car and lights as soon I turned the corner for the stretch down Thompson Lane to the house.

Four miles easy tomorrow. Thought about doing the golf course, but why even risk another sprained ankle.

Phishers

Got sucked into one of those damn virus protection software scams this morning. I was uploading a image onto my new photobucket account and got suckered. Pisses me off! Now I've got to go out and download Norton and get this crap off my computer. What a waste of time. I don't know if photobucket is to blame or me letting my guard down.

Run went great this morning. Beautiful day! 10 miles at half mary pace. First mile was 8:53 to warm up and then into pace. Last year I only practiced pace for 5-6 miles total at a time. This year I'm in much better shape.

taper, why?

Dug out the training logs to see what I've done before other half marathons. Usually just cut down mileage the week before the race. Take an extra day or two off at the most. Mostly the halves I've done have been in the build up phase for a marathon. I've only trained specifically for the half twice. First time netted the same 1:28 I've done two other times. The most recent 1:28 was after doing a 17 mile long run a week before the race.

The last training specifically to race the half was a disaster. Ran a 1:32. Went out at a sub 1:28 pace but couldn't keep it going. It was way to warm for me, 72 degrees to start and 82 degrees at the finish. Should have adjusted the pace slower from the start and then picked it up closer to the finish.

This training cycle started out with two goals, a sub 19:00 5k attempt and pacing the 1:45 half marathon group at the Country Music Marathon. Scrapped the sub 19:00 goal after spraining my ankle a few weeks ago. Don't know why I thought a taper was needed this cycle for the half. Last year I was forced to taper because of the broken big toe. Really had doubts on whether I could pull off the pacing job.

This years buildup was really going well. The 6 days a week and twice a week speed workouts were going very well. Last year I weighed 162 the week before the race, this year 154. Guess the sprained ankle just set me back more psychologically than phyically. I did lose some fitness. Todays' tempo should have been easier. I was up to 6 miles at just a touch slower pace. Guess that's why I thought a taper was needed.

Damn, I'm becoming Stryped.

who moved my cheese

Cheesey, huh. That's what I though the second time I encountered that book in the corporate world. Of all of the strange things I've found on the side of the road, a copy of "Who moved my cheese". First read that book 10 or more years ago, in a corporate restructure at Verizon Wireless which eventually cost me my job. Second encounter was when Gannett bought the Daily News Journal, and again I lost my job. Cynical me, that book............. I could see why someone would throw it out the window in disgust.

Perfect running weather this morning. Hope race day is the same. Clear skies and 40 degrees. Little bit of wind, but no problem. Planned on doing 10 miles nice and easy. Got carried away after 3 miles and clicked into half marathon pace rather easily and kept it going all the way home.

Country Music Marathon packet arrived in the mail yesterday. Bib number 4549, puts me in corral number 4. Same place as last year I believe. This is where I start getting ansy, from here until race day.

Allergies have hit me full bore. Had a sinus headache for 3 days which finally went away Monday evening. Now the sinuses are flowing free, as well as the eyes and the sneezing fits have started. Running helps to keep my allergies in check.

Injuries

Day 2 for the sprained ankle. Got home from work last night and the swelling was grapefruit sized on the lateral side, mild swelling on the medial side. Iced for awhile and went to bed. This morning the swelling is down significantly. Not near as bad as when I broke the 5th meta-tarsal. PJ is mocking me, asking when I'm going for a run again. She'll get hers when I start getting grumpy because I haven't been for a run. I was in a pretty foul mood at work, yesterday. Mainly, because I hate being hurt. Even Dylan is picking up on it. His ankle hurt last night to. So he had to ice his as well. I try not to, but I'm a grumpy old SOB when I'm hurt.

I was afraid something like this would happen to jeopardize my pacing attempt at the Country Music Half Marathon. Last year I broke my big toe 2 weeks before race day. I took off every day except for the last couple before race day. I was able to pull that off without any problems. This time arouond, I have a better base and more time before race day. Shouldn't be much of a setback, only a frustration.

Looks like I missed a great day for a training run on the course with the Nashville Striders. Damn.