KristenRuns

San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon

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Location:

New York,NY,USA

Member Since:

Nov 19, 2013

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Age Division Winner

Running Accomplishments:

5K PR = 18:47 (Winter 2014)

10K PR = 39:24 (Fall 2012)

13.1 PR = 1:31:24 (Spring 2014)

Short-Term Running Goals:

1:30 Half Marathon

 

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay injury free.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Swimming Lifetime Miles: 43450.00
Race: San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:31:24, Place overall: 63, Place in age division: 19
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.0013.100.0013.10

A slow start . . . My strategy was to run at 6:55 and see how I felt at the 10K split. And hopefully feel great and speed up after that. Mile 1 was according to plan. I was up pretty close to the front of Wave 1, so I didn’t have to waste much time weaving (6:56). Mile 2 had one of the few sustained hills, and I pressed my effort a little here. Only to be delayed by a crossing fire truck! (7:03). Mile 3 was perfectly flat, and I was in the groove (6:52). Mile 4 had a 47 foot climb – which shouldn’t have slowed me down as much as it did. I became aware of my legs this mile. They were not feeling fresh (7:06). (I noted to myself that I need to taper for longer than 7 days when running the faster paces I am training for now.)

The Meb miles . . . Then the plan went out the window. Meb Keflezighi was the 1:30 pacer, and the Meb group caught up with me in mile 5. I got swept into the Meb pack, and it was a blast. The crowds were cheering for Meb, and when there weren’t crowds around runners were asking Meb about his training and life. I felt inspired and decided I could hang with Meb. Mile 6 I was still in Meb-party mode (6:42). When I saw 6:42 display on my watch, I panicked and decided not to look at my watch any more. I was still determined to hang with the Meb pack. I felt good in mile 7 (6:48), but by mile 8, I had fallen behind into the Meb-chaser pack (6:49).

Losing focus . . . Then there was mile 9. I lost sight of the Meb pack, fell out of the Meb-chaser pack at a water station, and momentarily lost my inspiration. The mile was a net 50 feet downhill but I clocked my worst mile of the race. I had started looking at my watch again and did not like what I saw (7:07).

And regaining focus, briefly . . . Mile 10 was more downhill, which allowed me to pick myself back up (6:53). I took focus off of the letdown of losing the Meb pack (later, I found out they finished at 1:29) and focused on getting the 1:30:XX. I did some quick math, and it was going to be close. I honestly don’t know what happened in mile 11, another starting in '7' (7:03).

A big push for the 1:30:XX . . . Mile 12 was my fastest mile of the race and also the biggest downhill. I was making up time for those 7:XX miles (6:37). The last mile was slightly downhill, but felt like I was running uphill. I was trying to will myself into another 6:40 mile . . . but I didn’t have anything left (6:57).

The elusive 1:30:XX . . . I crossed the finish in 1:31:24. Off by just 25 seconds! But still a 2 minute PR, and I’m really happy with my race. I would have loved crossing the finish line with the Meb pack. Or with a 1:30:XX. I’m just not quite there yet.

But I have came a long way since in a pretty short time. My first race back after a 6 month break from spraining my ankle was a 3 mile Turkey Trot in November 2013 where my average pace was 6:50. By design, I didn’t run very many miles this training cycle (averaged 26.5 miles a week), as I needed to build a base and some durability. But now, it’s on. Next time the 1:30:XX is mine!

Split

Time

 

 

 

1

06:56.0

 

 

 

2

07:03.9

 

 

 

3

06:52.8

5K

22:04

(7:07)

4

07:06.6

 

 

 

5

06:50.0

 

 

 

6

06:42.0

10K

43:26

(7:00)

7

06:48.7

 

 

 

8

06:49.1

 

 

 

9

07:07.7

 

 

 

10

06:53.8

10 mi

1:10:01

(7:00)

11

07:03.1

 

 

 

12

06:37.9

 

 

 

13

06:57.1

 

 

 

0.1

01:38.6

    (6:00)

 

 

 

1:31:24   

(6:59)

 

 

Mirage 4 (Black) Miles: 13.10
Comments
From jtshad on Sun, Jun 01, 2014 at 12:27:31 from 69.20.183.178

Good job and can't wait for the report. Have a great day sailing!

From Burt on Sun, Jun 01, 2014 at 19:38:18 from 174.26.201.70

Wow! Super fast! Next time :)

From Jake K on Tue, Jun 03, 2014 at 09:16:40 from 159.212.71.17

Congrats Kristen. You are getting closer to 1:30 and shaving 2 minutes off your PR is a really nice jump.

From Josh E on Tue, Jun 03, 2014 at 09:41:33 from 205.235.104.4

Nice work. Pretty consistent pacing even if you weren't thrilled with it and those faster final two miles show you are not far off. Good luck with your training!

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