I spent 6 weeks vacationing in the Pacific Northwest this summer, enjoying the amazing food, spending a lot of time riding on boats and driving cars, and so training much less than usual.
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| We're on a glacier! |
It was a fantastic trip and I saw some incredible sights, but I also gained about 8 pounds. When I returned home in September, I saw that a bunch of friends had signed up for the Richmond Marathon / Half, so I decided to sign up for the half, as motivation to shed some weight and get back into shape. I set a goal of losing 13 pounds, and decided to shoot for a time of 1:40 in the half marathon.
Two months later, I had managed to lose 12 pounds, and my training was going well enough that I bumped my race goal to 1:38:20 (which not coincidentally is a 7:30/mile pace). I headed up to Richmond with buddies Carl, Joey, Lindsay, Lindsay, Tim, and Barrie. On race morning we all met up for a pre-race photo:
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| Ready to go! |
Then it was off to the starting line. For some reason I was placed in Wave B, corresponding to race times of 1:40 to 1:50. I figured that was close enough; we would start 2 minutes after Wave A, and if everything went to plan I'd be chasing some of those runners down before we finished. I could see the 1:40 pace group lined up just ahead of me in Wave A. Maybe I'd catch them at some point during the race.
Soon, the race started and Wave A was off. Our group moved up to the starting arch and waited impatiently for our turn. We were actually started just one minute after Wave A, so I'd surely catch some of those runners by the end of the race. I was about 10 rows back in Wave B, so most of the folks around me were running close to my planned pace. I told myself I would stick as close as possible to a 7:30 without going faster for at least the first half of the race. Then if I felt good at that point, I could pick up the pace.
I was breathing easy, and the course was quite flat, so a 7:30 pace didn't feel bad at all. Mile 1 went by in 7:26. I tried to back off the pace just a touch. Mile 2: 7:24. Again, this pace was feeling very comfortable. On Mile 3 we had our first hill -- an overpass over a railroad. I told myself it would be fine to run the hill by feel, even slowing below the 7:30 target pace. I ended up running the mile in 7:22.
Normally I'd be concerned about running every mile a little faster than my goal pace, but in this case I was feeling good and not even really breathing heavily, so I wasn't too worried. Occasionally I'd have to slow down to pass a group of runners, but then I'd easily pick up the pace again afterwards. The next three miles went by quickly: 7:22, 7:23, 7:13. That third mile (Mile 6) included a healthy downhill as we ran into a park. The course looped around the park and then exited via the same entrance, so we could see the race leaders exiting as we entered the park.
As we wound through the park I could see the 1:40 pace team ahead of me. This made sense: They would be running about a 7:37 pace, so since they had started 1 minute ahead of me, this is about where I'd expect to see them. Mile 7 took us back out of the park, which I knew was going to be the biggest climb of the race. As it turned out, it wasn't a single climb, but a series of short hills with little breaks between them. It was easy to stay motivated as I went because I could reel in the 1:40 pace team. I passed them about halfway through the mile. Then I was motivated to stay ahead of them, so I kept my pace up, finishing Mile 7 in 7:23.
Next we did a little out-and-back, and I figured I might see Carl, Joey, or Lindsay H, who were all shooting for a 1:30 half-marathon. I saw Carl looking strong, exiting just as I entered this section. I yelled his name but I think he was in such a groove that he didn't hear me. Joey told me he saw me but I didn't see him, so I guess we were all pretty focused on the race!
The next three miles were nice and steady, 7:17, 7:20, 7:20. 10 miles done, and all of them faster than my target pace. I could probably even slow down to my old 7:37 pace goal and still finish ahead of my race goal. But I didn't want to slow down. If I kept this pace, I could certainly break 1:38. Could I go even faster? Sub-1:37? Sub-1:36? I did notice that my watch wasn't quite in alignment with the mile markers on the course. My Mile 10 clicked about 25 seconds before I actually passed the Mile 10 marker. This was too much math for me, so I just tried to maintain my pace. I knew there was one more hill before the downhill finish, but I didn't remember exactly where it was.
It wasn't in Mile 11, which I finished in 7:15. Keep it going, Munger! I could feel myself begin to labor in Mile 12. Breathing was harder, and every step came with a little pain. This was also where that last hill was. Keep it going! Mile 12 clicked through in 7:17. Now where did the downhill start? The race finishes on a 100-foot descent, and I knew it was less than a mile long, but how much less? I tried to look ahead and see where the course turned. I stifled the urge to slow down. This pace was definitely not sustainable for much longer, but if I could just get to the final downhill, I could coast in.
Finally we made a sharp right turn and almost immediately headed down. My Mile 13 clicked in at 7:14, just as I passed the Mile 26 marker from the marathon. So I actually had 2 tenths of a mile to go. I was striding out as fast as I could. A couple other runners strode past me. Where's that finish line? Finally I passed the 13-mile marker. We were going around a gradual corner so I couldn't see the finish yet. The finish arch seemed to appear in slow motion. I cruised through and stopped my watch. My time was 1:36:38 -- nearly two minutes faster than my goal! Can't complain about that! Joey and Lindsay H. spotted me from the crowd and told me they had both beat their 1:30 goals as well. A great day for everyone. I later learned that Carl also broke 1:30 (PRs for all three of them) and Barrie finished just behind me in 1:39. Lindsay M ran a 3:17 for the full marathon, and Tim ran a 3:11, all exceeding their pre-race goals!
Now it was time to party! After a big post-race lunch, we went bar-hopping and drank the night away! (Who are we kidding, we are runners. The partying was over by about 8 pm)
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| This was about 6:30 p.m., so most of us were already thinking about calling it quits |
All in all a great race day at Richmond. I'm really glad I signed up and got myself back into shape. For more details, check out the Strava record of the race.
