Hyannis Half Marathon Race Report

Sunday’s race went as well as it possibly could.

Matt Fanning joined Elizabeth, Raleigh, and me on the drive down to Hyannis, and we arrived about two hours prior to the start.  Arriving early worked out well as we were able to get our numbers and everything else taken care of before the crowd began to arrive.  We were also able to get a parking spot that was nearly ON the starting line so we could stay out of the cold wind and stay warm.

Fanning and I had the same goal prior to the race of aiming to come in under 1:30:00.  We planned on a 7:00 to 7:15 first mile and a second mile that was a few seconds faster - and that would allow us to avoid the typical sprint out of the gate.  Based on our splits we did a good job of sticking with the plan.

We were both feeling very comfortable for the first few miles, but miles 4-8 we were running into a constant strong headwind.

Having someone to maintain pace with was really important for me up to that point.  It’s easy to go out too fast, and then easy to not realize your pace when running into a headwind.  The Garmin is nice, but I don’t enjoy looking down at the pace/distance too frequently.

Once we turned away from Craigville Beach and out of the wind tunnel, we were able to settle into a solid but not too uncomfortable pace of about 6:40.  I’m curious to look at Fanning’s final few miles, because I felt like I was going at a solid clip, but he was able to finish very strong from roughly mile 11 onward.

I zoned out a bit during that time to ignore an untied shoelace and some heartburn, and was able to finish the last quarter mile with a solid kick.  I passed about four people during that time, which, while somewhat pointless - it feels good to finish running like a bat out of hell.

Official time: 1:29:29.  Total distance according to the Garmin was 13.25 – so that makes it a 6:45 unofficial pace.  Good run!

Splits:

1	0:07:04
2	0:06:56
3	0:06:46
4	0:06:48
5	0:06:48
6	0:06:56
7	0:06:47
8	0:06:55
9	0:06:43
10	0:06:37
11	0:06:34
12	0:06:39
13	0:06:45
0.25	0:01:11

Full results:

http://coolrunning.com/results/12/ma/Feb26_Hyanni_set6.shtml

Week #8

This week is definitely going to be an easier week than what's on the schedule.  My knee and achilles have been an issue for me lately, and I'd really like to feel as close to 100% as possible for the race this coming Sunday.  Since they're just overuse injuries, I expect that RICE should work just fine.  We'll see.

I'll also be breaking in a new pair of shoes this week:

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=24086

So far, I like them well enough.  I'll wait a week or so to decide whether to keep or exchange them, but so far so good.

On to the training:

Scheduled

Mileage

Actual

Day

Date

(min)

(max)

Description

Pace

Distance

Notes

Sunday		19-Feb		-		6.0		Or cross training/soccer		0:08:13		5.03		Took an easy lap around Fresh Pond; the achilles did not feel good - this will be my last run in the NB 890's.  Also had soccer.
Monday		20-Feb		10.0		11.0		Split Mileage in AM and PM - Recovery		0:07:21		10.23		Bought a new pair of shoes and wanted to take them for a spin.  The run didn't feel great, but I think I just need to give my legs some rest.
Tuesday		21-Feb		12.0		14.0		Medium Long Run				0		Rest.  Left knee and achilles are both banged up.  Iced both knee and achilles all thoruughout the day.  No ibuprofin.
Wednesday		22-Feb		-		6.0		Recovery		0:07:24		5.53		Iced in the morning then ran a loop from work during my lunch break that inludes three solid hills.  Went hard up the hills, then steady on the downhills.  Felt really good.
Thursday		23-Feb		3.0		8.0		Speedwork				7.89		800 x 4, 200 x 4, not quite as hard as normal due to the race on Sunday.
Friday		24-Feb		5.0		5.0		Recovery				0.00		Rest.
Saturday		25-Feb		4.0		12.0		Very Easy				0.00		Rest.

Thursday Splits:  3:03, 3:03, 3:06, 3:05, 0:38, 0:38, 0:36, 0:31 - was moving at a more comfortable pace up until the last 200 when I decided to get in a solid lap.

With my achilles and knee bothering me for some time and the race on Sunday, I decided to take a lot more rest this week.  Even though I felt good Thursday, it didn't make much sense to risk it.  Total miles: 28.68.

Week #7

So much for getting lucky with 'manageable maladies'...My achilles remains tight/sore/unpleasant, and while I've been able to continue running, it'improving very very slowly.  A few days off would probably be good, but at this point in the training it's tough for me to back off too much.

I have been wearing New Balance 890s for the majority of my training runs up to this point, and I wore the NB 870s for a recent run and the additional cushioning helped my achilles quite a bit.  I need a new pair of training shoes anyways, so I'll start looking this week.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Here's Week #7:

Scheduled

Mileage

Actual

Day

Date

(min)

(max)

Description

Pace

Distance

Notes

Sunday

12-Feb

-

3.0

Or cross training/soccer

0

Tried warming up again, this time inside.  Not happening.  Decided to play it safe.  Rest.

Monday

13-Feb

10.0

10.0

Medium Long Run - Aerobic

0:07:24

13.1

My achilles felt pretty good, and I'm going to take tomorrow easier than presribed, so I took this one a little quicker than I normally would.

Tuesday

14-Feb

11.0

11.0

Medium Long Run - Recovery

0:07:57

6

Pulled back a bit and just did an easy recovery jog.

Wednesday

15-Feb

3.0

6.0

Recovery

0:07:53

11.17

Achilles warmed up ok, but my legs felt shot.  Not one of my best runs, but at least it was fatigue rather than injury.

Thursday

16-Feb

6.0

8.0

Speedwork

8.08

1200/800/400/400/800/1200/4x200 with warm ups and cool downs.  Felt great.

Friday

17-Feb

4.0

8.0

w/10 100m strides

0

Rest.

Saturday

18-Feb

18.0

21.0

Medium Long Run - Aerobic

0:07:46

13.05

I was hoping to put in a few more miles, but decided to finish up early.  Achilles felt pretty good.

Thursday splits: 4:19, 2:59, 1:22, 1:19, 2:54, 4:27, 0:35, 0:35, 0:34, 0:32.

It's been pretty frustrating not getting in a long run, but I'm not too bummed out.  I think the speedwork has been going very well, and getting in multiple 10m+ runs feels good.  After the race next Sunday, I'll have four solid weeks to train before I taper.  I'm going to be a lot more conservative next week to make sure the legs feel fresh for the week, and with any luck - I'll come out of the race feeling healthy, strong, and ready for more.

Total miles for the week: 51.4 

Week #6

Last week I was dealing with a mild case of shin splints and some lingering soreness in my left knee.  I was able to train through both without causing the symptoms to worsen, and neither have been an issue for a few days now.

Instead now the pain has traveled further down the leg...I noticed some tightness in my Achilles after the run Saturday, and that will be something I need to monitor this week.

Aches and pains are normal, in my opinion, and so far I've been fortunate to have manageable maladies.  That being said, I was recently forwarded the following article:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/why-runners-get-injured/

Interesting stuff.  On to the training:

Scheduled

Mileage

Actual

Day

Date

(min)

(max)

Description

Pace

Distance

Notes

Sunday

5-Feb

-

3.0

Or cross training/soccer

0.00

Rest.

Monday

6-Feb

10.0

10.0

Split Mileage in AM and PM - Recovery

10.06

Same as last Monday - just under 4m in the morning, the rest after work.  Achilles has a distinct pinch…something to keep an eye on.

Tuesday

7-Feb

11.0

15.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:15

11.07

An easy 2 miles to warm up, then 7 a a 6:51 pace, and finished it off with Raleigh the dog.

Wednesday

8-Feb

-

5.0

Recovery

0:08:35

1.26

An easy jog to Trader Joe's - Achilles feeling pretty tight.

Thursday

9-Feb

3.0

8.0

Speedwork

8.55

800/400 x 4, 200 x 3 - much quicker rest lap between each interval than usual.

Friday

10-Feb

4.0

7.0

w/6 100m strides

0:07:43

10.37

Achilles is still feeling uncomfortable, so I'm going to try and increase the mileage today and run a little less tomorrow to lessen the pounding.

Saturday

11-Feb

18.0

22.0

Long Run

0:08:38

4.08

Achilles would not warm up, scrapped the run.

Thursday night splits: 2:57, 1:22, 2:51, 1:23, 2:57, 1:22, 2:59, 1:23, 0:36, 0:37, 0:34 - felt pretty good throughout.  Decided to do the workouts on my own separate from the group so I didn't get caught up trying to keep up with anyone else, and I also wanted to shorten the recovery time between each interval.  Overall it was a very satisfying workout.

Saturday:  This portion of the schedule was originally 15m with 12m at mp, but I changed the mileage so that I could do a long run this weekend, and the fast run would be the Hyannis Half in two weeks…didn't matter anyways - my achilles would not warm up.

I have mixed feelings on how this week went.  I'm obviously not happy to have had to scrap the long run on Saturday, but the workouts on Tuesday and Thursday went really well.  Whatever.  A total of 45.39 miles for the week

Week #5

At this point I'm getting into a good rhythm with the training.  My body is still adapting to the increasing weekly mileage, but each week brings something new to focus on and I'm really enjoying the process.

This week looks to be similar to last week.  Primarily focused on distance, and not so much on pace.

Scheduled

Mileage

Actual

Day

Date

(min)

(max)

Description

Pace

Distance

Notes

Sunday

29-Jan

-

3.0

Or cross training/soccer

0.00

Did about 40 minutes worth of body weight exercises in the afternoon and had soccer at 8pm.

Monday

30-Jan

6.0

10.0

Split Mileage in AM and PM - Recovery

0:07:54

10.09

Just under 4m in the morning, the rest after work.  Knee and shin sore from the run, and hamstrings very sore from the workout yesterday.

Tuesday

31-Jan

10.0

14.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:31

12.38

Hamstrings still sore - was able to run miles 6-9 at a solid pace, but didn't have the same bounce as last week.

Wednesday

1-Feb

-

5.0

Recovery

0:08:13

2.78

An easy couple of miles with Raleigh the dog.

Thursday

2-Feb

3.0

8.0

Speedwork

7.39

800/1000/1000/1200/4x400 - knee was bothering me quite a bit on the 400's.

Friday

3-Feb

-

5.0

Recovery

0:08:28

1.09

Just wanted to get out with Raleigh and take an easy 10 minutes to see how the knee and shin felt - not bad.

Saturday

4-Feb

18.0

24.0

Long Run

0:07:52

19.15

I was able to pull back a bit and maintain what I think is a more appropriate training pace.  Overall, the run felt great.

Thursday night splits: 2:58, 3:43, 3:44, 4:25, 1:26, 1:27, 1:22, 1:23.  Times a little bit slower than usual, but I was able to maintain the appropriate paces.  Iced the knee afterward - both the shin and knee felt great on Friday morning.

Knee and shin issues responded well to ice and ibuprofen this week.  I didn't have any problems with either on my Saturday run, and overall I continue to feel good after each week of training.  Total miles 52.86.