I'm now able to run, albeit at a feeble pace and with a slight gimp, but overall not too bad. Yesterday in the morning I did a four mile run without stopping to stretch or walk. I saw that as a major improvement and a bit of a breakthrough. In the afternoon I got a super intense deep tissue massage and went for another run (this time about 4.5 miles) a few hours later. Certainly an encouraging development and something I can build on.
This morning I got up and went out for another slow, easy jog. Yesterday and today I was able to get close to my recovery run pace of around 7:00/mile. This morning started slower while I worked through some pains, and by a couple miles things were feeling good. Mind you, even when things are "good," I'm dealing with some fairly moderate pain in my upper hamstring. I'd give it a 4/10. I know that running through injuries isn't good practice, but I feel I'm in a unique position right now with the timing of the Trials coming up. I'm rapidly losing fitness. I feel that I need to squeeze every bit of running out of myself when my body allows. It doesn't do me much good to show up to the Trials healthy but horribly out of shape. I need to find a balance where I'm limiting my fitness lost but also maximizing my ability to heal. Admittedly, a bit of a balancing act.
Towards the end of my run this morning my right hip started to tighten up and I began to lose some sensation in my whole right leg. My hamstring was so tight, and perhaps traumatized from the massage yesterday that I think it was pinching my nerve and causing a sort of dead leg feeling. I walked it in to the house for the last half mile or so but thankfully didn't feel discouraged. 1) I am doing more running now than I have in the past 10 days. 2) The massage yesterday was so intense that my hamstring needs some time to bounce back. In the longer term (tomorrow and several days down the line) hopefully things will spring back to normal a little bit. I've heard multiple times that deep tissue massages (even when you're used to them, as I am) cause your muscles to only temporarily loosen up--they spring back the other way and get tight again--before ultimately relaxing. It's a process and far from an immediate fix.
So here I am getting ready to head out on another 5 mile easy jog. Ali taped up my hamstring with KT tape this morning and I feel better than I did when I woke up. Hopefully this run will end up better than the first. If not, there's always tomorrow.
AH
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Pain and progress
So much has happened since my last post I'm not even sure where to start. There have been some good things and not so good things. Let's get right to it.
Ali and I drove to California (we're currently in Petaluma, will be in Vallejo starting on Thursday for the next few months). The drive was fun and very rarely felt long or boring. We kept ourselves occupied by listening to The Martian on audiobook, talking with each other, or listening to podcasts. We left on Monday 1/4 and got to Santa Barbara on that Friday. We averaged about 10 hours of driving a day and stopped in hotels/air bnbs every night to keep ourselves fresh.
The night before we left Portsmouth I was out on a 90 minute run. Fairly routine minus the fact that I'd run a hard two hours earlier in the day. That week was one of the biggest of my life. I'd run about 125 miles in 6 days. No doubt I was teetering on "the edge," and whether or not I was aware of that, running that afternoon really tightened up my right hamstring. I stopped and stretched and it seemed to get better as I finished up the run. After the run I was a little hobbled and had a slight limp, but hey I had just run 33 high quality miles in a day. Little aches are customary. I got a massage from Shawn and felt better.
I woke up the next morning and was in a lot more pain. Tuesday was even worse. The ache went from being a general ache in my upper hamstring to a sharp, stabbing pain right where it connects up into my sit bones. Not a very comfortable place to have some pain during a drive across the ol' USA.
By the time Wednesday morning came around and I got up with the same severe pain, a huge part of me had already given up on being able to run the Trials. I even told Ali "I think this is it, I don't think I'll be able to run." I had zero indication that things were going to get better. Walking, I was limping noticeably; running was out of the question-- no amount of will power could have allowed me to run at that point. It was more painful, sharp, and far more inhibitive (is that the right word? maybe, hey, it's a blog.. get what you pay for) than my sports hernia. From experience with deep core injuries, I had the feeling that my symptoms weren't going to improve any time soon. I had gone into mental damage control mode. The sooner I could wrap my head around not being able to run the Trials, the better I'll ultimately be able to cope with the disappointment. As sad and angry as I felt for those couple days, there was nothing I could do to alter the past. My body reminded me of the pain whenever I moved around, which quelled any hopes I might have had to get better. There was no question running was simply impossible at that point.
Time passed, we got to California on Friday, settled in a little bit (and stopped driving for 8-12 hours each day). This, we were hoping, would help my cause. On Saturday I tried a short walk/run, hopeful that I'd at least be able to do something. Running, unfortunately, even at a walking pace, was still impossible. The stabbing sensation underneath me was still horrible. I was, however, able to walk without as much of a limp. Hung my hat on that fact for the day. Hey, it was something!
Sunday I went out for another couple long walks. On one of those walks when I was with Ali, I tried running again, painfully slowly, and was able to do it for a couple minutes. This was literally at a walking pace, but I was lifting my legs in sort of a running gait, as pathetic as it might have looked... it was improvement. I probably looked like a gangly old man post double hip replacement.
Monday I drove out to a park near Petaluma and was planning another walk/run scenario. I was able to run for 4-5 minute chunks, then take walking breaks in between to stretch and do lunges and things like that. The park was beautiful and felt like such a new place, which was exciting. I didn't wear a watch but was out there for 1:15, which included seven or so running segments. I was finally getting somewhere! I also got an amazing deep tissue massage from this place in Petaluma. Suddenly I was feeling really good and some hope began to creep into my consciousness. I got out and did another medium length walk with a short running segment later in the afternoon with Ali.
Today I ran four miles. Again, this was at a brutally slow pace, but towards the end I was getting up to about an 8:00 pace without debilitating pain. This is certainly the fastest I've run since this happened. I did take breaks: I'd run for .7 miles, then walk for .3 and get some stretches in. Repeat that process until four miles was up. It was painful, no doubt, but it was tolerable in a way it never was before.
So that's where I am. If you read all that, bravo-- I hope it wasn't too boring for you. I wanted to write it out day by day to give myself a sense of how I've improved. (Well will ya look at that...) In a couple days I've gone from a quasi-running-esque-old-man-shuffle for a couple minutes to almost a mile at a time of legit "hey that guy is running and doesn't look like total shit" type speed. Nevermind the fact that I'd been doing the majority of my training at 6:00 pace. WHO THE HELL CARES. I am actually getting healthier-- something I seriously doubted would happen at a reasonable rate before.
This puts me in an admittedly weird position. Given that the Trials are a month away, it's hard to say whether I'll still be able to race. Two months out-- I'd say it's likely I could recover in time. Two weeks? No way. A month? .....maybe. I know I'll still go to LA and at least watch the event. Ali and I still have a hotel room booked and a number for the race and I don't want to give up that whole experience, especially considering all the friends and family that I'll be able to see there. I need to give up the idea that I'll be able to run 2:14 or 2:13-- reasonable goals before this injury that are now seemingly pipe dreams. That's OK though, these things happen to runners and it's not the end of the world. Worst case scenario is that I just can't race. If that happens, I'll find another race and refocus myself. It's a big race to miss out on, but it's just a race and life goes on. No sense in making things worse and getting down about it. There are always more to look forward to.
In the meantime, I won't give up. No chance. I'm doing everything I can do get healthy right now and be able to stand on that starting line with everyone else in February.
AH
Ali and I drove to California (we're currently in Petaluma, will be in Vallejo starting on Thursday for the next few months). The drive was fun and very rarely felt long or boring. We kept ourselves occupied by listening to The Martian on audiobook, talking with each other, or listening to podcasts. We left on Monday 1/4 and got to Santa Barbara on that Friday. We averaged about 10 hours of driving a day and stopped in hotels/air bnbs every night to keep ourselves fresh.
The night before we left Portsmouth I was out on a 90 minute run. Fairly routine minus the fact that I'd run a hard two hours earlier in the day. That week was one of the biggest of my life. I'd run about 125 miles in 6 days. No doubt I was teetering on "the edge," and whether or not I was aware of that, running that afternoon really tightened up my right hamstring. I stopped and stretched and it seemed to get better as I finished up the run. After the run I was a little hobbled and had a slight limp, but hey I had just run 33 high quality miles in a day. Little aches are customary. I got a massage from Shawn and felt better.
I woke up the next morning and was in a lot more pain. Tuesday was even worse. The ache went from being a general ache in my upper hamstring to a sharp, stabbing pain right where it connects up into my sit bones. Not a very comfortable place to have some pain during a drive across the ol' USA.
By the time Wednesday morning came around and I got up with the same severe pain, a huge part of me had already given up on being able to run the Trials. I even told Ali "I think this is it, I don't think I'll be able to run." I had zero indication that things were going to get better. Walking, I was limping noticeably; running was out of the question-- no amount of will power could have allowed me to run at that point. It was more painful, sharp, and far more inhibitive (is that the right word? maybe, hey, it's a blog.. get what you pay for) than my sports hernia. From experience with deep core injuries, I had the feeling that my symptoms weren't going to improve any time soon. I had gone into mental damage control mode. The sooner I could wrap my head around not being able to run the Trials, the better I'll ultimately be able to cope with the disappointment. As sad and angry as I felt for those couple days, there was nothing I could do to alter the past. My body reminded me of the pain whenever I moved around, which quelled any hopes I might have had to get better. There was no question running was simply impossible at that point.
Time passed, we got to California on Friday, settled in a little bit (and stopped driving for 8-12 hours each day). This, we were hoping, would help my cause. On Saturday I tried a short walk/run, hopeful that I'd at least be able to do something. Running, unfortunately, even at a walking pace, was still impossible. The stabbing sensation underneath me was still horrible. I was, however, able to walk without as much of a limp. Hung my hat on that fact for the day. Hey, it was something!
Sunday I went out for another couple long walks. On one of those walks when I was with Ali, I tried running again, painfully slowly, and was able to do it for a couple minutes. This was literally at a walking pace, but I was lifting my legs in sort of a running gait, as pathetic as it might have looked... it was improvement. I probably looked like a gangly old man post double hip replacement.
Monday I drove out to a park near Petaluma and was planning another walk/run scenario. I was able to run for 4-5 minute chunks, then take walking breaks in between to stretch and do lunges and things like that. The park was beautiful and felt like such a new place, which was exciting. I didn't wear a watch but was out there for 1:15, which included seven or so running segments. I was finally getting somewhere! I also got an amazing deep tissue massage from this place in Petaluma. Suddenly I was feeling really good and some hope began to creep into my consciousness. I got out and did another medium length walk with a short running segment later in the afternoon with Ali.
Today I ran four miles. Again, this was at a brutally slow pace, but towards the end I was getting up to about an 8:00 pace without debilitating pain. This is certainly the fastest I've run since this happened. I did take breaks: I'd run for .7 miles, then walk for .3 and get some stretches in. Repeat that process until four miles was up. It was painful, no doubt, but it was tolerable in a way it never was before.
So that's where I am. If you read all that, bravo-- I hope it wasn't too boring for you. I wanted to write it out day by day to give myself a sense of how I've improved. (Well will ya look at that...) In a couple days I've gone from a quasi-running-esque-old-man-shuffle for a couple minutes to almost a mile at a time of legit "hey that guy is running and doesn't look like total shit" type speed. Nevermind the fact that I'd been doing the majority of my training at 6:00 pace. WHO THE HELL CARES. I am actually getting healthier-- something I seriously doubted would happen at a reasonable rate before.
This puts me in an admittedly weird position. Given that the Trials are a month away, it's hard to say whether I'll still be able to race. Two months out-- I'd say it's likely I could recover in time. Two weeks? No way. A month? .....maybe. I know I'll still go to LA and at least watch the event. Ali and I still have a hotel room booked and a number for the race and I don't want to give up that whole experience, especially considering all the friends and family that I'll be able to see there. I need to give up the idea that I'll be able to run 2:14 or 2:13-- reasonable goals before this injury that are now seemingly pipe dreams. That's OK though, these things happen to runners and it's not the end of the world. Worst case scenario is that I just can't race. If that happens, I'll find another race and refocus myself. It's a big race to miss out on, but it's just a race and life goes on. No sense in making things worse and getting down about it. There are always more to look forward to.
In the meantime, I won't give up. No chance. I'm doing everything I can do get healthy right now and be able to stand on that starting line with everyone else in February.
AH
Friday, January 1, 2016
Driving to California + Last day at RA
Happy New Year everyone! 2015 was a big comeback year for me. I'll look back on it fondly as the year I got healthy again and rediscovered my running.
Things are still going great. I am cranking out the miles and hitting some more speed workouts as I get a little closer to the Trials. I'm more confident than ever. More details to come on this later.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is my last day at Runner's Alley before Ali and I head west to California. We are leaving on Monday morning first thing and driving out there. Running won't be great for those five days or so, but I'll get through it somehow. We'll be out there for at least a few months, living in Vallejo, which is just north of SF/Oakland/Berkeley. Ali will be working as a traveling OT while I focus for the first time in my adult/post collegiate life solely on running. We're both super excited for it.
Cheers everyone! Good to be back on the blogosphere after a brief hiatus. I'll be checking back in with more details on training in the weeks to come.
AH
Things are still going great. I am cranking out the miles and hitting some more speed workouts as I get a little closer to the Trials. I'm more confident than ever. More details to come on this later.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is my last day at Runner's Alley before Ali and I head west to California. We are leaving on Monday morning first thing and driving out there. Running won't be great for those five days or so, but I'll get through it somehow. We'll be out there for at least a few months, living in Vallejo, which is just north of SF/Oakland/Berkeley. Ali will be working as a traveling OT while I focus for the first time in my adult/post collegiate life solely on running. We're both super excited for it.
Cheers everyone! Good to be back on the blogosphere after a brief hiatus. I'll be checking back in with more details on training in the weeks to come.
AH
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Long runs
Yesterday I popped off a 30 mile long run in and around Jackson NH. Potentially one of my best long run efforts to date. 152 HR, 6:00 average pace. It actually felt somewhat routine, and yet I don't remember ever doing a run that long that fast before, and with a heart rate that low. I'd done a 30 mile and a 32 mile long run in the spring of 2014 leading up to Grandma's... but I really think this was a new level of quality. Even if it isn't in reality, I'm convinced it is so we're going to leave it at that. Be happy and move on because there's always another day to look forward to.
I got back to my car, sat down on the dirt to do some light stretches and looked around.
Take a second and really look at this picture. There's nothing hidden in it, just give yourself 8 seconds to try and put yourself there.
Grey sky, leafless trees, road curving slightly away from me-- on one hand it seems empty and isolating. It sure looks empty and isolating. As I sat there on the cold ground reveling in my body's soreness and looking as haggard as you'd expect, the typical fall scene around me started to feel especially...inviting... or.... approachable... almost comfortable. That packed dirt on the side of the road tapering off in the distance, the wind buzzing around me... it was all the way it was supposed to be and nothing more. I was who I was in that moment-- again--nothing more. The hard road and the freezing wind can be unforgiving at the best of times, but right then, BAM, it was like we got each other. That's what I'll always remember about this picture.
These are the things that happen to your brain after running for 30 miles straight.
AH
I got back to my car, sat down on the dirt to do some light stretches and looked around.
Grey sky, leafless trees, road curving slightly away from me-- on one hand it seems empty and isolating. It sure looks empty and isolating. As I sat there on the cold ground reveling in my body's soreness and looking as haggard as you'd expect, the typical fall scene around me started to feel especially...inviting... or.... approachable... almost comfortable. That packed dirt on the side of the road tapering off in the distance, the wind buzzing around me... it was all the way it was supposed to be and nothing more. I was who I was in that moment-- again--nothing more. The hard road and the freezing wind can be unforgiving at the best of times, but right then, BAM, it was like we got each other. That's what I'll always remember about this picture.
These are the things that happen to your brain after running for 30 miles straight.
AH
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Putting in the work
This week I've run over 100 miles without even thinking about it. Like I've said in previous posts, I barely think about mileage anymore. Here's a quick snapshot of what I've done this week. You know, nuts and bolts stuff. I'll delve into the details later.
Monday- No running; 40 minutes of hip and glute strengthening on my own
Tuesday- 2:45 of low zone 2 running (~27 miles); 2.5 mile shakeout in the evening
Wednesday- 5x10 minutes at tempo (high zone 3, roughly 5:10 pace) with 3 mins rest between each
Thursday- 8.5 miles easy
Friday- 8.5 miles zone 1/zone2 early AM; 3x5:00 @ zone 4-5 (4:45-5:00 pace) at noon; 5 miles easy in evening
Saturday- 5 mile tempo time trial on track at 167-169bpm followed by long cooldown totaling 16 miles. 26:32 for 5 miles
Sunday- Easy 1:30 on trails
Total mileage = 103 (6 days)
Holy moly. That two day stretch with a 27 mile long run followed by 50 total minutes of tempo the next morning felt borderline suicidal at the time, but I did it and kept myself in one piece for the most part. It was an empowering two day stretch-- I knew I was pushing myself in a way I never had before. Sometimes risks need to be taken to find that next level, and I was very aware of my body's desperation as I pushed through the 10 minute repeats.
With the addition of more up tempo stuff this week, especially the 3x5:00 in zone 4-5, I'm feeling stronger and notably faster. Interestingly, too, and probably related, I am finding it easier than usual to push myself to a high heart rate zone and hold it there. Last year I remember finding it hard to hold a heart rate of, say, 172+ for an extended time. I was surprised and happy that 5 minutes with my heart rate north of 175 didn't feel particularly hard.
Little aches and pains continue to be ever present in my life. There's always something new that pops up. Managing these issues, even when they're small, has to be one of the hardest things for me to deal with. As gratifying as highly competitive training and racing can be if things go well, worrying about and dealing with injury dominates the overall timeline. The end goal usually justifies these hardships, but they are ever present in the daily grind. As an example, on Tuesday and Wednesday I felt like my training thus far had come to a mini peak. I was feeling tired but undeniably strong. My long run had gone supremely well and I finished it with more energy and vigor than my previous long runs. Even when it seemed impossible to dig down and run tempo pace the next day, I did. I felt accomplished and ready to take anything on. Then on Saturday (following the 5 mile tempo run on the track), the soreness I'd felt at times on the top of my right foot felt more painful than usual. I dragged myself through that 16 mile run, soaked in the cold, driving rain with very noticeable pain on my foot at times. It varied, but there's no doubt it was a scary pain. Pains like that, even if they last an instant, can rip confidence away from you pretty quickly. As well as things had been going, and as insignificant as that pain will likely end up being, it was there. It reminds me of The Matrix when Morpheus says something about a "splinter in your mind," ie something that you can't help but obsess about a little more than you should. I try as hard as I can to not let it get me down, but it's easier said than done. Staying even-keeled is the key. I find myself wondering how truly elite level people who run for a living handle problems like this and if it's just a part of the gig.
Coming off a semi-dark 24 hour period where I was wondering how serious the foot problem was, the trail run I did this morning at Stratham Hill Park was rejuvenating. The pain wasn't sharp and was a total non-issue most of the time. I ran slowly and reveled in it. And even though I still feel some pain there, just like that, I feel like I've figured it out and am on the other side of it. At least from a mental standpoint I am, which is sometimes the most important one.
AH
PS- Ali and I got a Christmas tree today! The cat is clearly excited
Monday- No running; 40 minutes of hip and glute strengthening on my own
Tuesday- 2:45 of low zone 2 running (~27 miles); 2.5 mile shakeout in the evening
Wednesday- 5x10 minutes at tempo (high zone 3, roughly 5:10 pace) with 3 mins rest between each
Thursday- 8.5 miles easy
Friday- 8.5 miles zone 1/zone2 early AM; 3x5:00 @ zone 4-5 (4:45-5:00 pace) at noon; 5 miles easy in evening
Saturday- 5 mile tempo time trial on track at 167-169bpm followed by long cooldown totaling 16 miles. 26:32 for 5 miles
Sunday- Easy 1:30 on trails
Total mileage = 103 (6 days)
Holy moly. That two day stretch with a 27 mile long run followed by 50 total minutes of tempo the next morning felt borderline suicidal at the time, but I did it and kept myself in one piece for the most part. It was an empowering two day stretch-- I knew I was pushing myself in a way I never had before. Sometimes risks need to be taken to find that next level, and I was very aware of my body's desperation as I pushed through the 10 minute repeats.
With the addition of more up tempo stuff this week, especially the 3x5:00 in zone 4-5, I'm feeling stronger and notably faster. Interestingly, too, and probably related, I am finding it easier than usual to push myself to a high heart rate zone and hold it there. Last year I remember finding it hard to hold a heart rate of, say, 172+ for an extended time. I was surprised and happy that 5 minutes with my heart rate north of 175 didn't feel particularly hard.
Little aches and pains continue to be ever present in my life. There's always something new that pops up. Managing these issues, even when they're small, has to be one of the hardest things for me to deal with. As gratifying as highly competitive training and racing can be if things go well, worrying about and dealing with injury dominates the overall timeline. The end goal usually justifies these hardships, but they are ever present in the daily grind. As an example, on Tuesday and Wednesday I felt like my training thus far had come to a mini peak. I was feeling tired but undeniably strong. My long run had gone supremely well and I finished it with more energy and vigor than my previous long runs. Even when it seemed impossible to dig down and run tempo pace the next day, I did. I felt accomplished and ready to take anything on. Then on Saturday (following the 5 mile tempo run on the track), the soreness I'd felt at times on the top of my right foot felt more painful than usual. I dragged myself through that 16 mile run, soaked in the cold, driving rain with very noticeable pain on my foot at times. It varied, but there's no doubt it was a scary pain. Pains like that, even if they last an instant, can rip confidence away from you pretty quickly. As well as things had been going, and as insignificant as that pain will likely end up being, it was there. It reminds me of The Matrix when Morpheus says something about a "splinter in your mind," ie something that you can't help but obsess about a little more than you should. I try as hard as I can to not let it get me down, but it's easier said than done. Staying even-keeled is the key. I find myself wondering how truly elite level people who run for a living handle problems like this and if it's just a part of the gig.
Coming off a semi-dark 24 hour period where I was wondering how serious the foot problem was, the trail run I did this morning at Stratham Hill Park was rejuvenating. The pain wasn't sharp and was a total non-issue most of the time. I ran slowly and reveled in it. And even though I still feel some pain there, just like that, I feel like I've figured it out and am on the other side of it. At least from a mental standpoint I am, which is sometimes the most important one.
AH
PS- Ali and I got a Christmas tree today! The cat is clearly excited
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Seacost Half race recap
My legs are totally dead today as I write this. I rarely question SC and his coaching, but I found myself wondering why I was doing a 2:15 minute run this morning at a 150 average HR over a hilly course. My legs felt pretty shredded for the last 30 minutes. I covered 21.9 miles @ 6:12 per mile. Coming off a hard run half marathon two days ago, I'll take it! Hopefully my body won't break into a thousand pieces now. Here we go-- as I try and break down the finer details of my race at the Seacoast Half on Sunday in Portsmouth.
Ali and I at the finish. She's usually stuck with holding something of mine at the end of races
My mom came to watch! Loved seeing her there
I knew it would be between myself and Leuchanka for the win. I also knew we were both readily capable of breaking the course record, it was just a matter of who would come out with the win. A week prior to this race, on Saturday morning, we met up at the Newfields-Manchester rail trail and did a 5x6:00 tempo workout with 2:00 rest between each repeat. We were both running pretty hard, potentially testing the limits of each other and our respective "tempo" zones, but regardless, I got the sense that we were pretty evenly matched in our current fitness levels. I got the feeling that he'd be a tough guy to beat in a race-- someone who can latch on and just hang for dear life, and for a long time if need be. I took a lot from that workout both mentally and physically-- I enjoyed the element of having someone else there alongside me as we cranked through the minutes. It was an otherwise cold, thankless early morning (7:00) workout in the woods. From a training perspective, that was my last hard run before taking a few easy days to get myself ready for the race.
In the week leading up to the half, post workout with Leuchanka I felt less than ideal. Let's say garbage actually. I had seemingly strained a muscle, albeit very slightly, in my glute doing hill repeats the week before the race. I took two days off to let that heal, then did some shorter distance runs with pickups to try and keep my legs ready for the race. My legs felt heavy and soft. Going from running 110+ miles a week with multiple workouts to single runs of 5-8 miles a few days later is a huge change and makes it a nightmare to stay positive, especially going into a race that you know won't be easy. The physical and mental shock to the system was hard for me. I was having doubts and plenty of weird aches. Deep down, I knew I needed it though, both from a mini taper perspective and a health perspective, and I tried to focus on that aspect of it. Sometimes you have to go through those weeks when there's a bigger goal down the line. I was glad once Friday came around that things were starting to come together for me.
I knew going into the race that I had been doing a lot more volume that Leuchanka, which gave me a sense of confidence that I didn't quite have when we raced Great Island 5k a few weeks prior. I also knew my overall fitness had improved since then. Were those two things enough to beat him? That's where the race starts.
As the gun went off, Leuchanka and I sprinted down the hill from the high school and basically kept sprinting (or what felt like sprinting) until we hit the mile mark. We went through that mile in 4:57 if I remember correctly, which was certainly helped by the downhill and overall excitement of the race going off. Over the next few miles we clicked off some 5:00-5:09s and I was starting to felt pretty confident about how I stacked up. He seemed to be working a little harder than me at that moment, although that's impossible to gauge with real confidence. As I said before, I felt that racing a longer distance played into my strengths, and I wanted to play up that perceived advantage as best I could. I wanted to press the pace early and often, and just hope I had enough in the tank to make it home. Around mile 4 as we took a turn along the beach, I sensed our pace slow down almost imperceptively, at which point I picked it up to test Alex and see how he responded. I grabbed a slight gap, and knowing the wind was brutal I kept pressing on and tried to establish a little more real estate so he wouldn't be able to draft off me. Before I knew it I was running by myself. I didn't have a great idea of how much distance I had put on him, and not wanting to look behind me, I kept pressing the issue and pushing forward. People told me I had 50-200 meters on him at different points, but I think he stayed pretty much 10-20 seconds behind me for the rest of the race. Not enough to relax by any means.
My race plan was to run roughly 5:05 pace for the first few miles, check my pace slightly going through New Castle at about the 7-8 mile mark (gets a little hilly), then crank it home back around 5:00 pace for the last couple miles. I think I'm probably fit enough to run a half in the 66-67 minute range but the issue I had at Seacost (that was shared by everyone) was that very windy conditions prevented any super fast times. In a way, the race plan faded out of my mind once I was crossing the causeway in New Castle and felt like I was getting punched in the stomach by the wind.
Things got a little desperate feeling at that point as I wondered how much cushion I had. My legs were screaming at me and I felt like I was running sideways. Luckily we both slowed down at basically the same rate-- I had a couple 5:20+ miles in there that felt particularly awful around miles 9-12. I checked behind me taking that final turn toward the high school and was finally able to relax. I saw Ali as I turned up the hill and seeing her standing there smiling was the best feeling of the day. Crossing the finish line was great, but not as good as seeing her and turning up the hill. Even though my time was a minute or two slower than I was hoping, the effort was there and my body responded when it needed to. There's not much to be disappointed about.
I know I just posted this photo, but I couldn't resist
On a side note, I felt so happy to hear so many volunteers and racers cheering me on. Seeing so many people I knew made the race that much more enjoyable. Definitely a positive to running a local event!
As I'm coming off this race and looking ahead, the real training begins.
Onward!
AH
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