Tag Archives: half-marathon

Training for my third half-marathon

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This morning I completed an 11-mile run to prepare to run the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Half-Marathon in 3 weeks. This evening it dawned on me it has been about nearly 5 months since I blogged about running. My blog was taken over by some guy who likes writing about his kid.

This race marks my third half-marathon in 9 months and my first since Owen arrived so it is a pretty big deal. I finally got serious about my training last month since TB and I were getting a handle on the whole new parent thing. She has been very supportive. My training requires lots of juggling and sacrifices on her part to allow me the time to go out for 1/2-2 hour runs several times a week when that time could be directed to giving her a break or us doing something together. As a runner herself—TB is the real runner in our family—she understands how being outdoors on the road helps keep my mind and body from turning to mush.

So, dear readers, do not fret. While I took an extended break from running after the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona in January, I am still on the wagon, in the saddle, racking up the miles with Nike+. I am looking forward to my wife and son cheering me on.

Speaking of cheering, here is a picture of our little guy in a custom Dallas Cowboys jersey from his Uncle Chuku. Team Smith will be cheering for the Cowboys this fall despite the many boneheaded front office decisions over the past year. Yeah, T.O. is no longer on the roster but you already know what I think about that.

Owen in Cowboys jersey - front  Owen in Cowboys jersey - back

Second half-marathon harder than first

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I completed half-marathon number two this past Sunday, running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona in 2:09:39. Below are my official race stats. I finished 6,557th out of 21,990 half-marathoners (3,704th out of the 7,939 males).

Keith's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona 2009 half-marathon results

You may remember I had a much faster time for my first race, the Bellingham Bay, which I ran in 1:56:56. I started this last race strong, on pace to finish in 1:52:00 through mile 8. So, how did I end up averaging a minute-per-mile slower finish than before? First take a look at the following video—courtesy the Nike+ data I collected during the race—to review my splits.

As you can see, things started well enough but quickly fell apart around mile 10. That is when I started experiencing massive cramping in my left hamstring and right calf precipitated by severe dehydration. It got so bad, I ended up walking on-and-off for roughly 10 minutes of the race between miles 10 and 12. I started taking in a lot more fluids at each station and, by mile 12, I was able to run the rest of the way.

How did I get dehydrated despite the equipment and attention I invest in proper hydration during training and on race day? Two reasons:

  • First, it was expectedly warmer in Phoenix than any other place I have run since the summer but I didn’t realize how much the heat would affect me. By the end of the race, it was sunny, mid-70s. Compare that to the 9° temperature in Chicago or the 30-40° temperatures in Seattle these past few months. Also, it was much cooler the morning I ran the Bellingham Bay and the hydration plan I used then did not translate to this race. Oops.
  • Second, I had not fully recovered from the virus I caught over the holidays. Mentally I felt ready to have a good race and physically my body felt strong, though a little hot, until mile 8. That was the point the first signs of dehydration and muscle fatigue set in. I previously explained how getting sick derailed my training. Suffice it to say, getting back to a 7 mile “long” run after two down weeks of being sick didn’t fully prepare me to run 13.1 miles a few days later as I had hoped.

I’m not down about my time. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. I am proud I finished strong. Even more, I’m proud I went from not running at all a little over a year ago to completing my second half-marathon. What’s more, I did it surrounded by Arizona Cardinals fans as the home team spoiled the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl quest. I’m still smarting from the 44-6 shellacking the Eagles gave my Cowboys to end our playoff hopes. Given my recent rants, how would it have looked for the Eagles to make it to the Super Bowl again without T.O.? Yes, even after a 44-6 beatdown, I will continue sprinkling hate flakes on Eagles nation. I digress…

I have already registered for my next race, the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Half-Marathon, taking place right in our backyard on Saturday, June 27th. Training should be interesting with a new baby and all but I’m sure TB will be supportive. Who knows, maybe she will run too.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona half-marathon this weekend

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It has been almost an entire month with no new posts. Besides traveling to Chicago for the holidays, contracting a serious virus to end 2008, being laid out with a 102° fever to start 2009, caring for a pregnant wife I got sick with my germs and driving a few high-priority projects to completion since returning to work last Monday, I have spent this week convincing my body it is physically and mentally ready to run another half-marathon in 3 1/2 days.

Before heading to Chicago on Christmas Eve, my training was going great. I ran three times during the five days we were there celebrating Christmas with my in-laws, despite severe, 9° temperatures and icy road conditions. I was ready for the race and ready to begin gradually decreasing my mileage each week leading up to the race. Decrease mileage I did, but it wasn’t gradual. I got so sick the Sunday after Christmas and ended up on prescription meds and confined to the couch/bed. I went from running 28 miles per week to running 0 miles for two weeks. Not good.

Earlier this week, I went for my first run since falling ill. It wasn’t pretty. While I managed 4 miles in just under 39 minutes, at the end my legs felt like linguine and I nearly coughed up a lung. I took a break to let the shock wear off and my next run was 5.1 miles in 45 minutes. I felt much better during and after that run but didn’t feel like I could run another 8 miles, which is what I will need to do this Sunday. My plan is to work up to at least a 60 minute run this week and hope everything comes together in the desert. Thankfully the course is flat and the weather should be mild at 60-70°.

Just how big is this race? Over 35,000 registrants, about 100 bands performing live along the course and national television coverage on FSN (schedule TBD). I pinched the video below from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona site. They make running 26.2 and 13.1 miles look so fun.

Rocking and rolling in Arizona for MLK Day

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In January, TB and I are heading to Phoenix for the annual P. F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona race. It will be my second half-marathon and a race that seems popular with our family: TB ran the full marathon in 2006 and returned with her mom and sister in 2007 for the half. The course map below.

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I’m looking forward to experiencing the adrenaline of race day again. This time there will be a lot more runners on a much warmer and flatter course. This being only my second race, I am not quite ready to set a time goal although I am still ecstatic about finishing my first half in 1:56:56.

Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Course MapThe short spurts of daylight are at the top of the list for worst parts about training this time of year. The cold and rain are manageable but running long distances in the dark is generally bad news, particularly when sharing the road with Seattle drivers. Endurance isn’t as much a problem as when I began training for the Bellingham Bay half so now I’m working on getting stronger and running more efficiently.

Off to the races…

Long distance runner? Yes, I am.

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Update (10/3/2008): The official race results were posted yesterday. Even more surprising is the time below of 1:58:30 was my “gun time” not my finish time. Gun time is the time from the point the gun fires to start the race until I cross the finish. I am a rookie. Veteran runners know what matters is “chip time” or the amount of time from the point I cross the start until I cross the finish. Gun time and chip time are the same for those runners who start the race at the very front of the pack. I was near the back. This is a long-winded way of saying, as incredible as it seems, I ran faster than 1:58:30. My chip time was 1:56:56! That means I ran a sub nine minute mile pace. Sweet!

A picture is worth a thousand words and, in this instance, 13.1 miles.

Keith's first half-marathon time

I had 3 goals when I set out to run my first half-marathon. In priority order they were:

  1. Have fun
  2. Finish
  3. Finish under 2 hours

Goals one and two were required. Why subject myself to the hours of training, a $55 entry fee and pricey running supplies if I wasn’t going to have fun or finish once I started? I didn’t take finishing for granted. In fact, goal three was a pipe dream as far as I was concerned since I planned to run the first six miles at 10’00” per to warm up and average 9’30” per for the last seven and change to make sure I could finish. That would put me at one hour for the first six miles and 1:07:27 for the remainder, meaning I would finish in 2:07:27—perfectly respectable for my first race.

So, what happened? I received a package from BALCO on Friday. Just playing. :grin:

Actually, I felt great, the weather was great, I was surrounded by faster runners and I had TB there cheering me along at the start, 7.5 mile mark, 9.5 mile mark and finish. Everything came together better than I imagined and I surprised myself with how fast I ran both halves of the race.

I ran the first four miles at 10’00” per mile, as planned, but demolished miles 5 through 7 which were either downhill or flat and in the shade. Just before the 7.5 mile mark there was a brutally steep hill, but once I made it to the top I saw my girl cheering which made everything better. Miles 7 through 10 I ran like a man on fire compared to my normal pace. There were hills but nothing terrible. I think all the runners around me kicked it up a notch and I felt good enough to stay with them. Miles 10-12 were tough, I can’t lie. One thing that saved me was jettisoning my CamelBak at the 9.5 mile mark by passing it to TB. That probably cut 2 pounds (including the liquid inside) which is very noticeable when you’ve been running 90 minutes.

The mile points weren’t posted clearly over the course and my Nike+ sensor was way off (for example, it thinks I only ran 11.22 miles instead of 13.2) and I started regretting my “man on fire” moment when I began sucking wind somewhere around the 11.5 mile point. I knew I had enough in the tank to finish but I wondered if I could push myself to finish under 2 hours. There was a guy about 15 feet in front of me who seemed to be running a flat 2:00:00 pace so I figured I would just make sure he didn’t get too far ahead and rely on my Lagat-esque kick at the end. (Ha!)

Then something magical happened. I saw a sign that indicated we had reached the 12 mile mark. What!? For real? It was on.

I turned on the afterburners and began pumping my arms hell-bent on finishing strong. I quickly overtook my unofficial pacesetter thinking to myself, “You’re almost there. You’re almost there.” I turned a corner and saw the finish about 1/4 mile in the distance. I was running hard but not in an all-out sprint…maybe I was sprinting since it’s doubtful I could have run much faster. I saw TB there cheering as I approached the finish chute and almost passed out when I saw the time posted on the official clock flashed 1:58:30. I had done it.

It’s always fun to see different perspectives of the same event. So, as a special treat, I convinced TB to write about her experience as a first-time spectator for my first-time race. Continue reading below.

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