by ·Comments Off on Running a Half Marathon: What Happens When You Do Things You Aren’t Supposed To

Background

This is an account of a half marathon I did on 01 Nov 2015.  I didn’t prepare for this run.  On top of this, my left foot ankle felt sore, and I put on a pair of shoes I’ve never used in a training run before (i.e. new pair of shoes).  It was Halloween the night before, and so I stayed up late–sleeping past midnight.

All these things didn’t align with running a 13.1 mile course.  In this article, I will share with you the result of this run.

The Result

I completed the run in 2 hours and 17 minutes (2:17:36 to be exact).

The weather was mild, but got hot after one hour of running.  My Nike Air Pegasus 30 actually held up well–meaning that it felt great and its newness was not a factor in my run.  As a matter of fact, it helped keep the soreness on my left foot and ankle under control.  It felt very comfortable, and it felt great over the varied terrain (concrete, asphalt, dirt, and gravel) the run presented.

My lack of training really kicked in at around mile 7.  There my pace started to leave the sub 10 minute pace and into the 10+ and 11+ range.

Mile 6 to 7 Splits

Mile 6 to 7 Splits

Below is my splits chart.  It has more pace data point and provides a visual on where things went south for me.  At point 1 below, my pace just started to go up almost linearly over distance and reached a plateau of 11:40 pace at around 11 miles.  Coincidentally, 5 miles was probably the longest distance I have run recently in my sparse running schedule.

Splits Chart

Conclusion

The are three things you can conclude from my half marathon experience.

  1. It is possible to get a new pair of shoes that would help reduce the effect of some form of injury on a run.  The injury wasn’t bothering me enough that I could not run.
  2. Even without training for a half marathon, you can complete one.  Especially if you are in good heath.
  3. Without training, your body isn’t tuned enough to handle the prolonged run.  In my case, my pace degraded after mile 5, and settled to a pace that I could maintain to the end.

If you think this was useful, let me know.  If you have had a similar experience, please share by commenting below.

by ·Comments Off on Half-marathon: Avenue of the Vines
Avenue of the Vines

Avenue of the Vines

Last Sunday, 16 May 2010, I completed my first run that has the word “marathon” on it.  It was the Kaiser Permanente 2010 Avenue of the Vines 1/2 marathon run.

I have run many races before, but nothing like this one.  Most races I’ve run (5Ks, 10Ks, and 12Ks) would involve tens of thousands of people (like the San Francisco Bridge-to-Bridge or the Bay to Breakers).  The Avenue of the Vines run only had around 650 runners!  Probably because it was held on the same day as the 99th Bay to Breakers run.

Anyway, in the large races I’ve attended, there is a spectrum of runners from the very beginner to the elite.  So, when I find myself close to the finish line, I always was able t find a bit more energy to kick harder at the end by picking off people that were running much slower closer to the end.  A lot of runners typically do this to help them kick at the end.

At mile 8 to 10 of the Avenue of the Vines (AotV) I realized that I was running with 600 plus of the most “die-hard” runners of the Central Valley.  Why?  Because in bigger races I’ve been to many people start to drop off late in the run.  Not at AotV!  As a matter of fact, people in front of me were actually picking up speed, and people behind me were starting to pass me–never mind that this is a 13.1-mile run!

My overall experience in this run was pleasant.  I arrived there at around 6:40 am, parking about 3/4 mile away from the starting line.  I used this opportunity to warm up with a short 3/4-mile jog.  Every runner knows that they need to may a quick pit stop minutes before race start.  So as soon as I got to the starting area, I lined up for the rest room.  It took a few minutes of waiting, and was able to relieve myself with about 5 minutes to spare.  I put myself close to the back of the pack.

When the start signal was sounded, people took off in joy!  In the first 3 miles, it was a bit crowded.  By mile six, people were starting to spread out.  At mile 6.5 people were gauging whether they can get a negative split in order to beat the 2hr time.  Note I was running with the goal of beating a 2hr time.  The guy next to me said that we had 4 minutes to spare.  This same guys would soon pass me and disappear in the pack of people ahead of me.  At mile 12, I started to pickup speed and was able to see the finish line banner.  Having already run 12 miles it was kind of tough to maintain a faster pace since I definitely slowed down on the second half of the run, and my legs were tired.  With about 0.2 miles to go, I did my best to sprint to the finish line–making sure to smile with a thumbs up sign at the camera man.  I wanted to make sure the last seconds of my run didn’t reveal the pains I was suffering!  I was able to pass one person at the suggestions of one of the cheering volunteers, but then a guy came sprinting past me seconds before I crossed the finish line.  I’ve never tried so hard to get to the finish line in my life!  I was breathing hard and moving my weary legs as fast as I can.

As soon as I crossed the finish line and heard the beeping sound of the sensors, I stopped my timer and saw that I had beat the 2hr time!  Woohoo!

One thing stood in my mind in this race…

The runners here are “die hard” runners of the Central Valley.  It was an honor to have run which such dedicated bunch.

At the end of the run, we were guided to some water bottles and some recovery drinks.  I picked up my wine glass and went to get my lunch and fruits.

Next to the announcer, there was a van where they posted the run placement.  I found my name at 214th overall place with a time of 1:58:52.3.  For my age group it showed that I placed 47th.  The official placement and time were posted on the web a couple of days later.  It turns our my real placement was 219th, with the same time split, and with age group placement of 48th.

I’m not sure if I’ll run this again next year.  I might just do the Bay to Breakers since I’ve never done that before.  We’ll see.

by ·Comments Off on Signed up for my first half marathon

On 31 Mar 2010 I signed up for the “Avenue of the Vines Half Marathon” event.  This will be my first running event that has the term “marathon” attached to it.  I’m hoping to do this in around 2 hours.  Depending on how I feel and how my legs are, I may be able to do just that.

Maybe I’ll be able to document the event with my phone and post it here for everyone to see.  Don’t worry, I’ll only show the highlights.

by ·Comments Off on Marathon Training Plan: Week 16

I just finished week 16 of my marathon training plan. My long run for the week is supposed to be 12 miles. Last Sunday, however, I ended up running almost 13 miles–12.95 miles to be exact. This is almost a half marathon!

Anyway, the run was kind of tough, as I didn’t feel strong that day. The route I took would take me almost through all of Manteca. At about 4 miles, I hit my first hill–the overpass over highway 120.

It was busy that morning as I probably had to stop around six times at intersections for a green light to cross.

At around mile 8, I started to feel body aches…mainly around the knee and hip area. Note that I never felt short of breath at all.

At around mile 9 I hit my second hill–the overpass over highway 120 on Union. I normally don’t struggle through hills, but on this run I had slight difficulty because my legs were sore.

With my legs sore, I had to continue to focus on maintaining my runing form just so that I can continue to run efficiently.

At close to the 12.95 mile mark, I had to stop as someone’s pit bull dog was loose. I had to walk so as not to induce the chase instinct of this animal. I waited until the dog left before I continued on to finish my run.

I finished the run at an average pace of 9:30 per mile. Total time was 2 hours and 3 minutes. This means that my marathon time could be around 4 hours and 30 minutes. We’ll see how my training goes and how my body builds up for this endurance test.

Now on to week 17!