General Discussion Race Reports! » tobacco road half marathon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

tobacco road half marathon - Run


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
cary, North Carolina
United States
50F / 10C
Total Time = 1h 16m 52s
Overall Rank = 11/2168
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 1/100
Pre-race routine:

woke up at 5am. Ate a banana and had 2 slim fast shakes. Grabbed a cup of really bad hotel coffee and headed to race site.
Event warmup:

Not my normal w/up. I did some jogging. maybe 3/4mi total.
Run
  • 1h 16m 52s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 05m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Was not really confident of fitness coming in so I decided I needed to not go out to fast. Planned on trying to go 5:55 pace through first half and then see how I was doing.
First mile felt pretty easy but it is more up than not so I thought I would just stick with it. I only hit the mile in 6:02 so quite a bit slow even of my 5:55 plan. Picked it up in 2nd mile and then once on trail starting off hitting some 5:42's. Got a little nervous when seeing low to mid 5:40's but I felt pretty in control. Problem was it was early and the first half of the out and back course is more down.
Got to the turn around in 38:20. Started heading back and then BAM. Got to 8mi and I started to take strain. The downs that made for easy 5:40's were now ups and I was starting to crater. I was like oh crap. It is one thing to hang on for 1 or 2 miles but I was going to have to hang on for 5mi. Mile 10 to 11 was a pretty stiff climb (at least it felt like it) and I looked down and saw 6:10. I am was man this is getting ugly. Sort of stumbled, wobbled to the end and was somehow able to keep going at a reasonable pace. Ended up that I only positive split the race by 12 sec. Went out in 38:20 and ran, exploded, clawed, stumbled my way back in 38:32 for a 76:52 overall time.
Got 11th overall and was 1st master.
What would you do differently?:

Not really do anything different on race day besides maybe w/up like normal so getting to race pace would be easier.
Post race
Warm down:

nothing running wise. Just waited to see d00d and Louiskie finish the marathon

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Coming back from a lengthy lay off and fitness is not coming back nearly as quick now that I am hitting mid 40's

Event comments:

Very solid race all around.




Last updated: 2014-11-25 12:00 AM
Running
01:16:52 | 13.1 miles | 05m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/100
Overall: 11/2168
Performance: Good
Course: Out and back with 8mi on American Tobacco Trail
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

{postbutton}
2015-03-16 5:43 PM

User image

Expert
1394
1000100100100252525
Wilmington, NC
Subject: tobacco road half marathon


2015-03-17 7:34 AM
in reply to: #5101258

User image

Elite
3683
20001000500100252525
Whispering Pines, North Carolina
Subject: RE: tobacco road half marathon
Nice race, D! Strong effort and smart to back it off at the start!
Glad that you walked out of there with a little cash, too!
What did you think of the terrain? Was it a factor for you, or not really?
Fast, bro!
2015-03-17 8:53 AM
in reply to: d00d

User image

Expert
1394
1000100100100252525
Wilmington, NC
Subject: RE: tobacco road half marathon
I could feel the ground was soft and I definately looked for firm tracks to run on. Not sure how much it slowed me but the soft ground saps energy. Maybe on firm ground I would have got to 9mi before tanking. Who knows?
2015-03-17 9:40 AM
in reply to: #5101258

User image

Master
2479
2000100100100100252525
Atlanta, Georgia
Gold member
Subject: RE: tobacco road half marathon
Good Gravy, that's fast...

Congrats on your day!
2015-03-17 10:53 AM
in reply to: d00d

User image

Extreme Veteran
1942
100050010010010010025
In front of computer when typing this.
Subject: RE: tobacco road half marathon
I'm always amazed at your running ability! That's a very strong race, esp. given the long layoff and you being so old! :-) Seriously though, very nice.

Not sure this is relevant or not but one thing my watch tracks is vertical oscillation. I don't normally pay attention to it but I noticed that my vert oscillation dropped when I hit the soft trail, versus the asphalt on the northern stretch. At the same time, ground contact time went up a tad. Now that could be due to fatigue setting in, or it could have something to do with the squishiness of the trail (to d00d's point). Anyway, it may have been a factor, or not. Glad you neg split the race in the end. And yeah, thats a rough course in that the loooong down becomes a looooong up on the way back. Its always a mind F##$^ getting back to Morrisville Pkwy.

See you here next year? I am planning the half. Race ya for that masters prize. Oh no, wait, you could walk and beat me. But do it again- its lucrative for you!
2015-03-17 11:33 AM
in reply to: louiskie

User image

Seattle
Subject: RE: tobacco road half marathon

Awesome job! Happy to see things coming back after the layoff!

Is your focus going to be longer distanced racing? 



2015-03-17 12:08 PM
in reply to: Asalzwed

User image

Expert
1394
1000100100100252525
Wilmington, NC
Subject: RE: tobacco road half marathon
Originally posted by Asalzwed

Awesome job! Happy to see things coming back after the layoff!

Is your focus going to be longer distanced racing? 




Longer is sort of the plan. To tell the truth. I was thinking about going home (I left South Africa 21 yrs ago) to do what I feel is almost mandatory for me and that is run The Comrades Marathon that prompted my little attempt at a comeback.
Comrades will have to wait a few years for a number of different reasons so I am now thinking of trying my 1st marathon in mid November.
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » tobacco road half marathon Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Started by Running_in_NC
Views: 1220 Posts: 2

2011-03-21 11:10 AM maria40nc

Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Started by tjdave
Views: 846 Posts: 1

2011-03-21 6:35 AM tjdave

Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Started by kmatt318
Views: 880 Posts: 1

2011-03-20 4:28 PM kmatt318

Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Started by rwjones
Views: 965 Posts: 2

2011-03-20 4:21 PM golf2tri

Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Started by maria40nc
Views: 2299 Posts: 6

2010-03-22 10:02 AM Running_in_NC
RELATED ARTICLES
date : May 24, 2010
author : Coach AJ
comments : 0
My question is am I playing with fire entering the half marathon this close to my primary goal for this season which is the HIM?
 
date : June 15, 2009
author : Ali Winslow
comments : 0
I just ran the Boston Marathon under nine minute miles, can I run eight minute miles for my half Ironman training runs? Or should I go slower?
date : November 17, 2008
author : mat steinmetz
comments : 7
I just started doing tris this summer and I have two under my belt, both sprints. Is it reasonable to build up for a Oly in early ‘09, with a HIM in Oct of ‘09
 
date : June 10, 2008
author : kns57
comments : 0
Steady is our walk. Ignoring the pain that is radiating from my feet, I continue to place one foot in front of the other. Again I wonder, “Why am I doing this?”
date : July 10, 2007
author : Ontherun
comments : 0
Having three seasons under my belt I thought I knew what I was doing. That all changed with a few new challenges and a bunch of new friends.
 
date : October 24, 2005
author : mikericci
comments : 0
This program should be used for an athlete whose goal is to run a marathon in the 1:30-2:30 range and has a good running base in the past 8-12 weeks.
date : October 2, 2005
author : smeeko
comments : 2
I will assume you have not run consistently more than 6 miles and have never completed a half-marathon. I believe running your first half-marathon is a big task which requires dedication and work.
 
date : January 10, 2005
author : ewkfit
comments : 0
My training was taking off. I had never felt stronger. I was making bigger strides than I ever had. I was stronger and faster than I had imagined myself ever being.