5 Weeks to Go and Two Twenty Milers are in the Books

Simply put, today's 20+ miler was the strongest I have felt on a long run in a very long time. Things just seem to click all around and I just felt "on". I need to remember what this feels like in case I struggle or feel sluggish in the next couple of weeks to remind myself what I am capable of on a good day. The weather was perfect for running, about 50 degrees and cloudy, and I was able to run the entire distance with other people, which helps a tremendous amount. When I run by myself, I tend to run slower and feel more exertion, but when I run with others I usually feel alot more comfortable and I'm able to run a quicker, more consistent pace. That is exactly what happened today.

I was signed up for the 15K race this morning and the plan was to run 11 miles before it at around marathon pace and then run the 15K at that same pace for as long as possible. I met up with Scott C and Jon B and we ran a pretty quick but comfortable pace for the 6 mile loop and 5 mile loop route. The pace was faster than I wanted to go but I didn't want to have the other guys slow down too much just because I was running a race afterwards. About halfway through our run I realized that we were going at around 8:10 pace. I was worried about burning out later in the day during the race, but I was feeling comfortable so I tried not worry about it. I felt strong and wasn't straining too much at all. It is amazing what having company can do for you. Jon cut out at Engineer's Gate to run a loop of the reservoir and Scott ran with me to the start of the race which was about a mile and a half away.

I timed the pre run almost perfectly since I got to the start of the race with only about 3 minutes to go. I was in a good groove already and I was hoping not to mess it up by having to stand still for a long period of time With only a few minutes to go to the start of the race, I mentally regrouped and figured out what I wanted to do. One of the great things about incorporating a race into your long run is the thousands of people you get to join you and help you along as well as the water and people cheering along the course (thanks so much to BH, JM, CK, JG, PD, SD, BC taking pictures and other Flyers - you gave me a huge mental boost!). In addition, the race and the people help carry you along and help motivate you to finish your run. The only worrisome thing about running in a race is that it very often makes you go at a much faster pace than you would like. It takes a lot of discipline to stay at a predetermined pace during a long run with thousands of people around you and I've only been able to do that a couple times during a long run like this. You get sucked into the crowd and your competitive juices start flowing and you want to start passing people. So, the plan was to run at about an 8:20 pace, but I knew right away that that was not going to happen. I was still feeling good from the 11 miles before and I ran with the crowd. Before I knew it I was I running splits in the 7:50-7:55 range. I was trying to slow down which worked for a bit but not for long. I figured why fight it as long as I was feeling good. Even though this was very hilly for a long run, I was able to keep up a good pace and feel strong. For whatever reason, having a Garmin on makes the miles feel quicker. I even was able to pick up the pace considerably for the last mile or so trying to avoid having these two girls pass me at the finish line (mission accomplished).

This was a great confidence booster for me. I felt strong and this gave me an indication of what type of a pace I can stay with comfortably (relatively) for over 20 miles. This also made me think of what my race strategy could be. In my past three marathons I have always started out way too fast and then struggled at the end of the race, with a pace that is all over the place. Over the past year, I have seen that I am capable of doing negative splits in half marathons and today during my 20 miler (ran about 8:12 for first 11+ miles and then a 7:46 pace for the 15K race), as well as seeing my pacing ability get a lot better (but still not great). To try and ensure a steady pace during the first half/three quarter of the marathon, I plan to run with the pace group (I need to stick to this) and even if I feel good, I need to stay with the group for at least 16-20 miles in order to keep a consistent pace and not get ahead of myself. If I am feeling good, then I can give myself permission to pick it up.

Total distance run: 20.55 miles; Total time: 2:43:07, Overall pace: 7:56
Overall pace for 15K race: 7:46.

Game On!

The last two weeks began the start of my training surge and gave me my first 20 mile of the schedule and my first 40 mile week. I was happy to see that I got through both milestones and felt pretty good.

I knew last week's 20 miler would be tough to squeeze in due to do all the rain that was scheduled for the weekend. I was checking weather.com and accuweather almost every day to see if there would be any break in the rain all weekend. It was supposed to rain on both Saturday and Sunday, with the worst of it coming on Saturday. I usually don't like to leave my long run to the last day of the week because if something comes up on Sunday than I have no other day to reschedule and I wanted to make sure that I was able to check off my first 20 miler. With the wind and downpours scheduled to come on Saturday, I had no other choice but to go on Sunday. While I was worrying about the weather all week, I was also trying to wrangle together some other runners to go out least part of the way with me. I was really looking to avoid going 20 miles all by myself. I needed someone else to help shoulder the load with me. Luckily, I got Jon B to run with me at the last minute. He was going to run the first 10 miles and then I only had to go 10 miles by myself. The weather held out for the most part. I started at 12:45 on Sunday which is much later that I usually like to start but the other alternative was to run in the rain for most of the run. I ran down to the 72nd St transverse and met Jon on CPW and within about 2 minutes it started to rain hard. We took cover hoping it would stop and luckily it would only last about 5 minutes. Once the rain ended, we headed on over to the WSH and ran along the West Side, along the southern tip of Manhattan and over the Brooklyn Bridge. Having a partner makes a huge difference. We were cruising at a pretty good pace and I was feeling really good - like I could go on like that for miles. Once we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, Jon took the subway home and I was off on my own for the rest of the run. I turned around and went back the same way that I came. Without the help of a running partner, I did feel myself slow a little bit and the soreness in my legs began to get a little worse, but that is pretty much expected at the end of a 20 mile run. Cardio-wise, I felt good but I was ready for the run to be over by the time I reached mile 18 or so. I ran 20.4 miles at approximately and 8:45-8:50 pace. One 20 miler down and two more to go.

After my 20 miler was over, I found myself engaging in my usual post long run routine - sitting back in my reclining chair watching TV, then slowly closing my eyes, and then falling asleep and waking up 2 hours later. This run definitely wiped me out and carried over into the beginning of the next week. I still found myself pretty exhausted on Monday and decided to take a rest day. On Tuesday, I still felt tired but knew that I had to keep going. I gave my body a bit of a rest by going on a 5.2 mile recovery run on the bridle path. I wasn't sure if my fatigue was too due the 20 miler or the fact that my training is catching up to me a bit but I knew that I had to be careful. I still had about 7 weeks to go and the start of 3 consecutive 40 mile weeks had already begun. I felt more awake by Wednesday and went out to Bridgerunners - my weekly kick in the butt. The people who do these runs are considerably faster than me but they push me to go alot faster than I normally would on a weekday and I feel that it has definitely helped me. I use these runs as my interval runs/speedwork and I think they are paying off and increasing my speed.

Since the schedule called for a 40 mile week, and only a 14 mile long run, I knew that I was going to have to run 5 days this week and not be able to do a cross training day. I hate to do that but I want to make sure to always have two rest days during the week. In order to accomplish the 40 mile goal, I ran on consecutive days to end the week - I got in 7 miles on Friday (all on the Bridle Path to give my legs a rest), 14 miles on Saturday with Jamey A (overall pace of 8:31 and I felt good) and 6.6 miles on Sunday (again on the Bridle Path). My first 40 mile week came and went and now I am on to the second one.

I will be able to get in a cross training day this week - I have a 20 miler this weekend and will split the remaining 20 miles over three days. Only six weeks to go! I have a few goals in mind but once put them down on paper until training is almost over and I have a good sense of how I am feeling.

Gearing Up... - Week of 3/1

The week of March 1st is the calm before the storm that will be coming up for the next several weeks. I felt fully back after not running much when I was in Mexico (week of 2/15) and being able to put in a full week of miles, including and 18 miler, during the week of 2/22.

This week was all about preparing myself for the six week stretch that I have coming up which includes three 20 milers and my peak weeks. The total mileage on tap was 35 miles, but with a long run of only 12 miles scheduled I knew that I would have to run 5 days instead of my usual 4 and not be able to get in a cross training day. This worried me a bit since I did not do any strength training or spinning for the past 2 or 3 weeks and I wanted to make sure that the cross training was still an integral part of my training. I let it slide for this week but I was going to promise myself to get a strength day in next week. After 5 days of running in a single week, I knew my body was going to need it.

The first of the month was the downtown run as well as AG's and CK's birthday and these were reasons enough for me to get out for a run on Monday night. It was our usual 6 mile(ish) run up and down the Westside Highway, ending up at a bar eating and drinking afterwards. I adhered to my usual downtown run strategy of taking it easier on the Southbound run and then picking it up for more of a tempo run as we run back North on West Street. It allows me to increase my stride and pick up speed for the last 2 or 3 miles. It felt good. Tuesday and Wednesday runs were out of the question due to the fact that I lost my keys and had get to the situation resolved. I was exhausted and couldn't think about my running. Therefore, although I didn't want to do it, I had to run on four consecutive days if I was going to hit my mileage for the week, or come close to it. I ran 6 miles on Thursday (half on my own and half with CK after running into her on the West side) and 6 miles on Friday which was a combination of two loops of the reservoir and 3 miles on the roads in Central Park (if I was going to run 5 days this week, I wanted to get at least one run on a soft surface to allow my legs to recover a bit). As for the weekend, I had already signed up for the Coogan's 5K a while ago and was looking forward to running it. The question was whether I should create a long run around the 5K on Sunday or just do the long run of 12 miles on Saturday and have fun with the 5K knowing that my long run was already over. I chose the latter.

The weather on Saturday was great - in the 50s and sunny. For the first time in a very long time, all I wore was a long sleeve shirt and shorts. It was nice to be in the sun rather than slogging in the cold, snow and darkness. This run was on my own. I did my usual WSH route and added an extra mile each way in order to get up to 12 miles. With my trusted Garmin with me, I was on my way. I was able to keep up a good pace once I navigated the streets of the UWS and got on the Westside Highway. Overall I felt good and was able to run an overall pace of 8:10 for the run.

Split	Time
1	0:08:13
2	0:08:30
3	0:07:52
4	0:07:56
5	0:07:55
6	0:07:49
7	0:08:03
8	0:08:19
9	0:08:28
10	0:08:28
11	0:08:27
12	0:07:56
Summary	1:38:02

I was looking forward to Coogan's for a while since everyone says that it is a fun race and also because I have not run a 5K since high school and it would be cool to see what I am capable of doing. Friends of mine warned me before the race about the hills and they weren't kidding. For a race that is only 3.1 miles and is an out and back course, there are a total of 4 significant hills. Therefore, you are never too far away from one. Even though I was in the second corral, it was very hard to get going in the beginning of the race. It was very crowded, especially since the race was run on a city street that was pretty narrow, so I knew right away that I would probably not be able to get a PR (not for the 5K distance but I was hoping to come close or beat the 6:44 overall pace that I ran in the Run as One 4 mile last year) but I still wanted to go out and get a fast time. I was hoping to achieve a pace of under 7:00 but the combination of the hills and the crowded start prevented that from happening. My overall pace for the race was 7:08. I definitely picked it up over the last mile and feel that I could definitely go under 7:00. I am hoping to find a 4 mile race soon that I can attempt but I don't want to mess up my training in the process. After the race was over, I was able to enjoy Guiness and breakfast at the famous Coogan's restaurant. It was cool to hang with a bunch of Flyers afterwards and enjoy the morning.

The total for the week was 33 miles, which was close enough in my book to the scheduled 35 miles. For the first time, my legs did feel a bit sluggish this past week. I'm not sure if it is because of the lapse in strength training/spinning or just the increase in mileage do to training (this is the most amount of running I have done in almost a year in a half) but it is not too bad. Now starts the hard part - I have my first of three 20 milers scheduled for this weekend. I was able to get in three 20 milers when training for Philly in 2008 and I am hoping to do that again this year since I feel that it really helped me out during the marathon (my pacing was another story).

Onward and upward...

On Schedule - Week of Feburary 22nd

Well, I was a little worried how my body would react after skipping my long run last week and only going on a few leisurely jogs while I was in Mexico. I figured the best thing to do would ease back into the schedule during the beginning of the week so my body would feel pretty good going into my 18 miler during the weekend. This was going to be my longest run in almost a year and a half. My training was going well up until this point, so while I was a bit nervous to be doing such a long run, but I felt that I would do OK.

I was trying to recruit some friends to do all or part of the run with me but unfortunately everyone was busy. Therefore, I needed to figure out a plan to get through the run and break it up a bit since I would be doing most of it on my own. I ran the first 6 miles with the Saturday morning Flyer group - they kept me company and made me wake up early in the morning to get my run started. It was a comfortable pace - around 9:10 or so which was slower than I was hoping to go. It didn't really matter that much. I wasn't looking to go too fast on this run anyway...the miles were the most important thing. After the first loop was done, I did the remaining 12 miles on my own on various loop combinations in the Park. I was hoping to run on the Westside Highway but I didn't want to chance the fact that it might rain/snow later on in the run and I wasn't sure how the conditions were along the river after the snowstorm. I had my iPod with me and I wasn't ready to conquer the rest of the run. I picked up the pace once I went out on my own (thanks to the Garmin - I love this thing!) and dropped down to about an 8:35-8:40 and it felt relatively good to me. Although my legs were getting a bit sore towards the end of the run, I felt strong throughout and was very happy overall with this run. I rewarded myself with my usual post long run breakfast...chocolate chip pancakes. The 18 miles was worth.

Total distance: 18 miles; Total time: 2:38:28, Overall pace: 8:48

Split	Time
1	0:09:35
2	0:09:28
3	0:09:17
4	0:08:58
5	0:09:11
6	0:08:37
7	0:08:34
8	0:08:38
9	0:08:42
10	0:08:34
11	0:08:38
12	0:08:32
13	0:08:50
14	0:08:35
15	0:08:14
16	0:08:36
17	0:08:40
18	0:08:34
19	0:00:06
Summary	2:38:28

This weekend is a step down week with a long run of only 12 miles, and then the tough part of the schedules starts. After this weekend, there are three 20 miles scheduled over the next 6 weeks. I will enjoy this week while I can. I'm looking forward to the Coogan's 5K. I always heard it was a lot of fun and how bad can a race be that serves Guiness afterwards?

Back in the States and Back on the Road

Well, there is no time to waste. I got back from Mexico last night after a great trip and it is time to get back on the running schedule. Last week didn't start out as I had planned. Knowing that I would be away for most of the week, I was hoping to get in at least my long run of 12-13 miles before I went on vacation, and hopefully one other run of 5 or 6 miles, but unfortunately neither of those things happened. About a week before I left for Mexico, I started getting a horrible pain in my cheek and then my tooth. I figured that maybe I had a cavity or I flossed too hard and inflamed my gum. I was hoping it would go away on its own but it kept on getting worse as the week progressed. It prevented me from sleeping and I was worried about leaving the country with this lingering over my head. Since it was President's Day weekend, I was not able to see my dentist until last Tuesday - only 2 days before leaving. I felt like crap from lack of sleep all weekend so I wasn't able to run on Monday (but I got a day of strength training in), and I spent all day Tuesday in the dentist's office and then finding out that I needed a route canal before I left, which I got later in the day. It was a pain in the butt, however I was happy to get everything settled before heading out of the country. Needless to say, there was no running on Tuesday either. Wednesday was not to be because I still felt very sluggish and I felt it wasn't worth the risk of getting sick before going away. Therefore, I was resigned to the fact that I would have to skip my long run for the week. I wasn't happy with it, but I was OK with it because my training has been going well so far, and it was still early on in the process. I had over two and a half months to go before the marathon to make up for any drop in mileage.

I was looking forward to the warm weather in Mexico. This would be a good way to recharge my batteries a bit and maybe even give my body a rest before the increased mileage begins this week. I knew that I wouldn't get in a lot of mileage on the trip, if at all, but I was hoping to get in a couple runs of any distance or pace just to keep my legs and body moving and to avoid being dormant for an entire week in the middle of training. If I got in at least two runs, that would be good with me and I figured I would be able to start up again with training when I got back to the States without losing much at all. I was pleasantly surprised to have gotten in 3 runs while in Mexico - 6 miles on Friday, 6 miles on Saturday, and 4 miles on Sunday. It was a bit of a shock to my body to run in 75 degree weather and humidity when I've been running in 30-40 degree weather and snow for the past couple of months. I was happy to see that it was a total loss for the week, runningwise. The trip was great and I had a really nice time.

Now it is back to the schedule. I looked and saw that 18 miles is on tap as my long run for this weekend. This will be my longest run in more than a year and a half. I am a bit nervous about it but I am excited to be moving forward with my training. Due to the rain, I got in a 4.5 mile run on the treadmill tonight.

Well, onward and upward.

30 Mile Week in the Books...

Week 7 of training is now complete and I was able to get in my first 30 mile week since training for the Philadelphia Marathon in 2008. I consider this my first "real" week of this training cycle since the previous ones were only marginally different than my usual running workload throughout the year.

The weather gods treated all of us a little better this week with plenty of sunshine and relatively milder temperatures (but still cold).

I was happy to see that I felt really good and strong for the week. The Garmin is definitely helping me out. I haven't used the heart rate monitor yet, but being able to get a real time view of my pace throughout the run is a big plus. It allows me to adjust my pace on the fly and lets me know that I am usually going a little faster than I think I am. I started off the week with a 6.4 mile run as part of the downtown Flyer group. I like getting this run in since it gives my running week a jump start and allows for great flexibility later in the week. As usual, the first half of the run was a bit slower than the second half. Negative splits usually happen on this run which I am totally fine with. The straightaway along the Westside Highway gives me a chance to lengthen my stride and get in some tempo runs for a couple of miles. My pace drops considerably on this backstretch and it feels great.

I got in a 5 mile run on Tuesday and a spinning class on Thursday before preparing for my 15 mile run during the weekend. I was a little anxious for this run since it was going to be my longest one in almost a year and a half. I wanted to see how my body held up and I was happy to see that it felt great. It feels kind of weird to say that but the run seemed to go by pretty quickly with very few rough patches. I was watching the Opening Ceremonies late the night before, so I knew the only way that I was going to get in my long run in the morning was to meet the Flyer group at 9AM. Although it would be tough to wake up, I knew that it posed my best chance to get out of my apartment. I ran with the Flyer group for the first 6 mile loop, mostly with JB, and then did a 5 mile loop and 4 mile loop on my own. I even did most of the run (11 miles) without any music - that's a first. I did the run in about 2:12 (total mileage of 15.3 miles for a pace of about 8:40) and felt pretty comfortable throughout the entire thing. Again, the Garmin was a great companion to have and let me know when to speed up and slow down. Sunday was just a 4 mile recovery run at about 8:50 pace.

This week will be a little bit harder to get in all of my runs since I am heading down to Mexico for a friend's wedding on Thursday. The plan is to get a weights day, 5-6 mile run, and my 13 mile long run out of the way before I leave. Therefore, if I am not able to do any runs at all during my trip, my long run will not have suffered. The training schedule calls for 30 miles this week, so if I do what I planned before I leave, and get in at least one 5 or 6 mile run while I am away, my training will not have suffered much at all.

Year End 2009 and Back on the Marathon Trail

I am keenly aware that my blog entries have been sincerely lacking over the last couple of months. This is due to a combination of blog fatigue, lack of notable things to write about, and lack of a marathon or important race to train for and document. Things have changed now that I am training for the New Jersey Marathon on May 2, 2010. This has given me focus and direction and a race to look forward to.

Looking back on 2009, it was a great running year for me. I was able to stay healthy for nearly the entire year, my race times came down considerably, my pacing was starting to get under control, and I was able to PR in every distance that I normally run, except for the marathon, including my first venture into running the mile (6:00 - Fifth Ave Mile, although this doesn't count as a PR), 4 mile (26:56 - Run as One), 5 mile (34:48 - Club Team Championships), 10K (44:23 - Healthy Kidney 10K), 15K (1:07:37 - Colon Cancer 15K), 10 mile (1:15:09 - Cherry Tree 10 Miler) and half marathon (1:38:20 - Long Branch Half Marathon). Everything seemed to be clicking at the right time and I was feeling really good. The bar is now set pretty high for future years. It might be a while until I approach a lot of these accomplishments. For the first time, I felt that I had a chance at a PR for every race that I entered. My "off season" regime had a big role in that (running three days, spinning/weights, long run of at least 10 miles every week), as well as my increased confidence, and importance that I placed on improving my pacing as a big priority. While my pacing ability still isn't great, it has gotten a lot better and it is something that needs to continue to improve if I am going to reach my goals in New Jersey (which will remain under wraps). I am probably most proud of my half marathon times from this year. I made a huge jump in this distance and was able to bring down my time on a consistent basis, and not just as a one time event. Prior to this year, my best time was around 1:42, and I had to make a concerted effort if I wanted to even approach that time. In 2009, I ran 5 half marathons, all of which would have beaten (or come within a few seconds) of my previous PR and I feel that I can now call myself a sub 1:39 half marathoner with confidence and feel good using that time as a basis to come up with a marathon goal for this year.

Philadelphia -1:38:23
Staten Island - 1:38:44
Queens - 1:40:14
Brooklyn - 1:42:29 (only 3 weeks after Long Branch)
Long Branch - 1:38:20

I continued the half marathon trend by running the Manhattan Half a couple weeks ago as my first race of 2010, and as a gauge to see how my body is doing at the beginning stages of marathon training. It was a pretty frigid day, but it was not too bad for running. I knew that I was not in a position to go for or even approach a PR due to the hills of Central Park, the cold weather, and also no desire to, but I was hoping to run around a 1:42-1:44, which is exactly what I ended up getting. I felt good and I was hoping that this was a sign of good things to come. I was able to run a 1:42:14, for an overall pace of 7:48. This would have tied my PR prior to 2009.

Mile 1 - 8:06
Mile 2 - 7:57
Mile 3 - 7:41
Mile 4 - 8:03
Mile 5 - 7:55
Mile 6 - 7:43
Mile 7 - 7:48
Mile 8 - 7:51
Mile 9 - 7:36
Mile 10 - 8:12
Mile 11 - 7:32
Mile 12 - 7:38
Last 1.1 miles - 8:08 (7:24 pace)

The other significance of this race was the fact that it was my last one without a Garmin. I finally took the plunge and bought one. Many fellow bloggers and friends have had great things to say about the Forerunner 305, so now I have one as well. My main reason for getting one was to be able to accurately see how my pace fluctuates during races, adjust accordingly, and also to not have to map out my long runs to the tee in order to run a certain amount of mileage. Now I can allow my Garmin to lead the way. I have been using the last couple of weeks to get used to the Garmin and learn all of the basic features. So far - mission accomplished. The heart rate monitor is still in the plastic and will come out at a later time.

I am now in the seventh week of marathon training and this will be my first week of having a long run with significant mileage (15). The first six weeks didn't feel too much like training since they weren't that much different from what I've been doing over the last year. The longest run has been 10-13 miles and has felt good. The 15 miler coming up this weekend will be my longest run since I was training for the Philadelphia Marathon in 2008. The schedule I am using has a max week of 40 miles and three 20's. I am excited for the upcoming marathon and am looking forward to it.

Ted Corbitt 15K - 12/19/09

Last race of the season - great year for me
Not looking for a PR but wanted to run hard leading up to the beginning of training for the NJ Marathon in May and I wanted to make sure that I am in a good place
First race since Philly Half a month ago
This was a strong race for me and a good time - I got a huge PR in the 15K distance in March 2009 and I knew in the cold weather and lesser training that I was not going to go after it. But this would have been my best time by almost a minute if not for my time earlier this year. I think this shows how much my times have improved. This was just such a strong year for me and one that involved enormous improvement for me for distances ranging from 4 miles to the half marathon. The next distance to tackle is the marathon. Training starts next week.

Mile 1- 7:49
Mile 2- 7:23
Mile 3- 7:27
Mile 4- 7:36
Mile 5- 7:30
Mile 6- 7:42
Mile 7- 7:13
Mile 8- 7:19
Last 1.3 miles - 9:15 (pace of 7:07)

Overall time: 1:09:18; Overall pace: 7:27

Philadelphia Half Marathon - 11/22/09

Notes from the Philadelphia Half Marathon - I'll put in a more concise written form later on.

-Overall time - 1:38:23; Overall Pace - 7:30
-Second fastest half marathon time - Missed a PR by only 3 seconds (1:38:21 at the Long Branch Half in 5/2009)
-The weather was absolutely perfect - in the 50s and sunny
-Ran with the 1:40 pace group - the beginning was a bit crowded and we did not get back on pace until about mile 9. I took off from the group in between mile 9 and mile 10 since I wanted to make up time that was lost in the beginning
-This is the third time I have run sub 1:39 this year (Philly Half (1:38:23), Staten Island Half (1:38:44), Long Branch Half (1:38:20)), and the fourth time of 1:40 or better. My half marathon time is now consistently under 1:39 and now makes me rethink what I am capable of for my next marathon.
-I felt great today - again negative splits (7:44 pace for first 6 miles and 7:20 pace for the last 7.1 miles) and ran strong at the end - never really felt tired or strained. Again, I felt on cruise control with the pace group and even found myself slowing down a bit with to stay with the group. Before I knew it I was at mile 9 or 10 and I didn't blink an eye. I think I can now try to drop my pace in the half - maybe run with a 3:15 pace group. I think I can handle a faster pace as long as it is consistent. I feel that maybe I am getting too comfortable with the 1:40 group and should try the 1:35 group and see how I do. It will definitely be a stretch for me but I need to try it a couple times if I am going to get faster.
-The pace group keeps me on pace and allows me not to vary my pace considerably
-The weather was obviously a lot more comfortable than it was last year, but I feel confident in knowing that I probably wouldn't have run a marathon time that was too much different than last year's. I am a much smarter and (I think better) runner than at this time last year. My half time has come down considerable and consistently (while feeling good) and pacing has been a much more important part of my race and something I have been working on.

Mile Splits:

Mile 1- 8:14
Mile 2- 7:47
Mile 3- 7:30
Mile 4- 7:47
Mile 5- 7:38
Mile 6- 7:25
Mile 7- 7:21
Mile 8- 7:36
Mile 9- 7:20
Mile 10- 7:36
Mile 11- 7:18
Mile 12- 7:11
Last 1.1 Miles - 7:37 (6:55 pace)

First 6 miles - 46:22 (7:44 pace)
Last 7.1 miles - 52:01 (7:20 pace)

Overall time - 1:38:23 (only 3 seconds off of a PR) ; Overall pace - 7:30

Staten Island Half Marathon - 10/11/09

Here are the notes I wrote down right after the race, but haven't have the motivation to put it into a full post yet:

Total time: 1:38:44; Overall pace: 7:32
Second fastest half marathon time (only about 20 seconds behind the Long Branch Half in May 2009 when I had the comfort of a pace group)
Second time I've gone under 1:39
Three of my half marathon times in 2009 have been 1:40 or better

I ran a great race here last year and had another one today. The weather was perfect for running - in the 50s and sunny
I had a goal of running under 1:43 - I was running about a 7:45 pace for the first five miles and felt a little bit strained, but I got alot more energy during the turnaround miles in which I was able to see other runners in both directions. After hitting a 7:12 pace at mile 6, I started to feel good and decided to pick up the pace. I felt really good for the next two miles when seeing the runners in the other direction There were several hills coming up that I knew about from last year and slowed down a little bit to conserve my energy. Except for mile 8 which I ran a 7:54, my pace was definitely quicker than the first half and my goal when from a sub 1:43 to going under 1:40.

Several big thoughts from the race: After the Long Branch Half when I blew by my PR, I relied on a pace group and thought that I wouldn't be able to approach the 1:38 time again running by myself without a group. This race showed me that by going out at a faster pace and adjusting throughout, I was proud to do this on my own

Besides running my three fastest times so far in 2009, even better was how I feel after the race. Although tired, I feel good, I'm not "wiped" out. While I am a little bummed that I am not doing a marathon this year, due to the fact that my running has significantly improved, there is a big part of me that knows that probably the big reason I am running well and was able to improve my times in 2009 was because I am not putting my body through the strain of training but rather keeping to a comfortable schedule of a long run every week (since February) and running about 25 miles per week. This year so far has given me the confidence that I can get a lot faster and still feel good and strong while doing it.

My half plateau has come down a lot this year. In 2008 and the beginning of 2009, I felt that I had a good chance of running a 1:45 or better each time out. Since May 2009, I have confidence that I can do a 1:42 or better and have a shot at around 1:40. Big boost for me and a big step up.

Consistency and pacing is key throughout the race and that is my goal going into each race

Mile 1- 7:52
Mile 2- 7:38
Mile 3- 7:42
Mile 4- 7:41
Mile 5- 7:47
Mile 6- 7:12
Mile 7- 7:27
Mile 8- 7:54 (big hill)
Mile 9- 7:19 (average of mile 9 & 10 - I forgot to stop watch after mile 9)
Mile 10- 7:19 (average of mile 9 & 10 - - I forgot to stop watch after mile 9)
Mile 11- 7:29
Mile 12- 7:36
Last 1.1 miles - 7:45 (average pace of 7:03)

My fastest three half marathon times so far: 1:38:20 (Long Branch Half - May 2009); 1:38:44 (Staten Island Half - October 2009); 1:40:14 (Queens Half - September 2009)