Tuesday, September 11, 2012

2012 River Run Half-Marathon Recap

It's easy to see where I screwed up:


All those sub-10 miles are just too much for me. I just can't believe how much I slowed down after mile 8, which is where I fell apart.

Too bad the River Run wasn't a 10k.

So we started as a group, and I should have held back with the bulk of the group. But - famous last words, right? - I was feeling good and figured I should see what happens.

What happens is I fall apart and have a bunch of 11+-minute miles. The Parkersburg race was done with a better strategy, although that was purely accidental.

On the plus side, I should be able to hit my 10k goal (sub-hour) when I find another one to do, and I should be able to do my 5.5-mile leg of the relay in 55 minutes or less.

But man, this was disappointing. About a minute faster than Parkersburg and about 2 minutes off my goal. Clearly I need to make some changes, starting with:

  • no more long races for 2012 (probably not until April or May) - this also means I will have to motivate myself to keep my fitness
  • upping mileage to about 30 miles per week
  • consistently adding in speedwork
  • doing some long runs with goal-pace miles
The thing I'm not mentioning is weight loss. I know I would likely improve my performance if I dropped 10 pounds or so, but I'm not ready to make that commitment. I will keep my diet more balanced, and since there are no long races planned, there will be no need to carb-load for five days beforehand. 

My wallet asks for a diet, however - meals out and craft beer add up! 

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