3/12/18 to 3/18/18: Training & New Bedford Half Marathon 2018 Race Report

As we turned along the coast we began to taste the salt water in the air;
And as we continued onward, a mighty wind rose up.
But so too did our spirits!
Running hellbent and hard into a blisteringly cold headwind must mean one thing;
It is March in New England
and here I am
Running in New Bedford!

The CSU crew met up at the gymnasium for bib pickup and a photo before heading out to warm up.  And that caused things to be a little bit hectic.  The warm up went fine, though it was a challenge to actually stay warm in the 20 degree temps.  What caused some confusion though was getting to the line.  Normally I would do strides off the front of the starting line then walk in, but the volunteers were telling everyone that had to run around the block and enter in from a side street.  That caused a huge commotion and was a bad error on their part.  I was stuck in the "8-min" corral with runners who were not even close to that pace, and I had no chance to push through the crowd.  This resulted in a ~20s difference between my net time and my bib time.  Worse though, is that I had to bob and weave for the first half of a mile.  I'm surprised to look and find that my split was 5:35.  Worth noting, I didn't look at my watch the entire race.  I passed the 5k/10k/10m markers and that was the only feedback I had, and even then I knew that was inaccurate because it was based on gun time..

After that first mile, I was already feeling like I hadn't warmed up enough.  I wasn't gassed, but the elevation changes made me more uncomfortable than they should have.  I expected miles 2-4 to be a bit slower because of the elevation gain, but mile 3 in particular should have been 20 seconds faster.

Once turning into the neighborhoods, essentially every mile through mile 9, I was doing my best to stay running hard.  I could tell that I was moving well, and I felt like I had settled in nicely as I continued to pass runners.  There were two guys who passed me sometime around mile seven or eight, and I did what I could to hang with them and draft - though I knew they would pull away before the coast.

Once I hit the coast, I was happy to not be blown over by the wind.  It was the standard tough, cold, bitter headwind - but nothing will compare to last year's brutality.  Again, I was trying to cling to one group of runners or another and draft.  I passed the 10 mile mark in ~56:40, which meant two things: 1.) a new 10m PR, and 2.) a HM PR was in the bag (I was hurting, but I knew that I'd be able to handle the final 5k).

After drafting for maybe a quarter mile off of a group of three, I thought they would perhaps drop me soon.  So, I wanted to do my part and took my turn breaking the wind while I still could.  And oddly enough, I started to feel good and the three other runners started to fade off the back...I don't think I was picking up the pace, but maybe I just do better at the front of the pack.

I continued to enter the hurt locker...but that is a familiar place, and I enjoy it!  So after turning away from the water and into the city, I continued to pass people.  I don't have splits for the final miles, but I'm pretty sure I was around 5:40/mile.  I hammered the final hill, and started to pick people off as we descended towards the finish.  With no one really in sight for the final straight, I picked it up a little, but didn't search for any higher gears (probably for the best with a tight left hamstring).

I finished in 1:15:02 (chip time), and a big PR.

Strava Data
Results
Scott Mason Photos


Weekly Stuff!

12-Mar		Easy		1:03:28		8.19		AM: 8m commute at around 7:45/mile.  Pretty tired.
		Easy w/Strides		0:58:35		7.11		PM: 7m with first 5 solo before meeting up with Eli and Raleigh.  Finished with 4 strides.
13-Mar		Harvard Track		1:27:17		12		AM: Ran to Harvard in the storm, then skipped warm up and strides (bad idea).  3 x 2m at MP and it didn't feel as easy as it should have.
		Easy		0:35:52		4.26		PM: 4+ in the snow.  Pace whatever.
14-Mar		Easy		1:07:21		8.12		AM: 8m slow in poor traction.
		MLR		1:17:02		10.14		PM: 10m at about 7:35/mile.
15-Mar		Easy		1:03:32		8.19		AM: 8m commute at 7:45/mile.  Feeling tired, wiped, dead legged.
		Easy		0:49:38		6.34		PM: Dang tired.  6+ at 7:50/mile.
16-Mar		Easy w/Pickups		1:00:45		8.1		AM: 8m at 7:31/mile w/15 short pickups.  Legs feel a little better but still stiff and…spungy.
		Easy		0:46:41		6.4		PM: 6+ at 7:18/mile.  Just tried to get home quicker, nothing more than that.
17-Mar		Easy		1:02:12		8.2		AM: 8+ at an easy pace.
		Off		0:00:00		0		PM: St. Patrick's Day Celtic Sojourn!  Fun times w/Kevin & Mariani.
18-Mar		Warm Up		0:26:56		3.16		Warm up.
		New Bedford Half GP		1:15:02		13.1		Ran a PR in less than ideal conditions, but not too bad relative to what New Bedford has been like the past few years.

Splits:

11:53

11:50

11:49

Total: 103.31