I love race day. There is always the chance that SOMETHING amazing can happen. Everything seems possible in your mind’s eye. You are hyping yourself up and getting ready to put your plan int o action. For me, the plan was to hold 7:30 at the Giant Race on Sunday for the first 10 miles and see if I could FLY HOME to a half marathon PR. It was an ambitious goal since I don’t regularly do speedwork, but if everything went according to plan, it was possible.
Let’s get ready to RACE!
I arrived at the stadium early… arriving for plenty of time to stretch, use the potty, do a couple of strides to make sure the legs were ready to go. I talked with a couple of friends at the start and exchanged in well wishes and good vibes. It seemed like everyone was excited. The weather seemed almost perfect, overcast with a slight chill. The orange and black PRO Compression socks were fun to wear and I saw a lot of other people wearing MLB eye black
Orange and Black PRO Compression socks and the Giants EYE BLACK were a huge success.
Mile 1: 7:13
Mile 2: 7:24
Mile 3: 7:24
Mile 4: 7:48 (hills)
Mile 5: 7:30
Look at that… I knew the first mile felt a little fast. Not by much, but I knew I went out of the gate a little quickly… but after a half mile or so, I calmed myself down to settle into a nice pace. Mile 4 had a section of 3 separate inclines with straight-aways in between. I made the conscious effort not to “storm” the hill and keep my pace, but to slow down and keep my stride short and consistent to climb steadily. It was probably the best decision I made all day.
Mile 6: 7:29
Mile 7: 7:25
Mile 8: 7:22
Mile 9: 7:21
Mile 10: 7:59 (hills)
I’m looking at these numbers and I can’t believe it. When I’m running, I don’t pay much attention to how fast EACH mile is run, I look at it more of a consistent check-in every few miles. I did the math and for a 7:30 pace, each EVEN number is 15 minutes. So mile 2 is 15 mins., mile 4 is 30 mins., etc. I kept looking at my watch surprised that I was still on pace. I was tired… I knew that I had been pushing it, but felt really consistent. I had found a nice rhythm and was running “in the moment.” Mile 10 was a pretty good climb and, again, I made the conscious effort to slow down the pace. There was also a steep decline right after the UP and running DOWN hill is not my strong suit, so again, I kept it at a comfortable pace.
Mile 11: 7:35
Mile 12: 7:22
Mile 13: 7:05
13.1 miles: 1:38:05
(49:22/48:43 split)
My half marathon PR is 1:37:54… I missed it by 9 seconds, 10 to beat it. I’ve never been that close to a missing a PR, typically missing or beating it by minutes. I always wondered what it felt like and now I know. It doesn’t actually feel as bad as I thought it would. Probably because it was just a goal and not a BQ (that might make me cry). I guess because my ultimate goal was to come in around 1:35-36 it doesn’t feel as bad. But to think, if I had run a each mile a half of a second faster, then I would have PR’d — CRAZY!
#werunsf
Where I Missed It
I thought that when I looked at the numbers, miles 7-9 might have been the culprits, but I’m surprised that those were strong. Actually, the whole-darn race was pretty consistent. If you take away the miles with hills, I range from 7:05-7:35 — my target pace. But I’m looking RIGHT at mile 11. That’s where it happened. I remember hitting mile 10 and thinking “okay, now is the time to drop the hammer,” but I didn’t have it. I knew that if I picked up the pace at mile 11, I would be toast after mile 12… I decided to keep the pace and pick it up for mile 12 and 13. In doing so, I must have slowed down “too much.” I lost focus for a single mile and was THINKING about it too much. Is it gonna happen? Do I have it? Lost in my mind. If mile 11 was 10 seconds faster, closer to the 7:25 pace I had been keeping, THERE is the PR. I ran mile 13 as fast as I could, I’m surprised it wasn’t a sub-7, but I know that I was “willing” that pace to happen. I knew that I had a matter of seconds if the PR was going to happen. At mile 12, I looked at my watch and it was around 1:30 — and I thought: MAYBE.
But I am so freaking happy with the time. I was nowhere near sub 1:35, which is my ultimate goal for RnR Philly, but keeping an average pace of sub 7:30 is a HUGE confidence builder. I’m now really excited for Philly in two weeks. It’s a flat course and if I run the same race, I have confidence that there will be more energy for the last couple miles. Confidence is high with REAL results to point to… something that has been lacking this year. THIS is why I LOVE to race and race OFTEN.
On field finish, with Lou Seal (the Giants mascot) on the medal, along with Matt Cain’s signature.
Do you love the magic of race day?
It is crazy to think about how a few seconds can make such a difference. I often think about this after a race….could I have gone just a few seconds faster…then maybe I would have…….? But I think we are so hard on ourselves all the time, that we will always find a “just a few more seconds”. I tend to go “eyeballs out” in my races, so often I really couldn’t give a few more seconds, but I sometimes think I can. I think you did great, and with all that you do, you are a rockstar! Keep up the good work, you inspire a lot of people :)
Be proud. You keep getting stronger and stronger. sub 1:35 is in your future. I can taste it!
Whoa ho ho! SO close. That’s nuts. Sounds like you learned a valuable lesson about keeping your mind in the game for every.single.mile. Also it seems like a million different little could’ve gone differently and ended up in a PR. And yeah, you’ll definitely hit sub 1:35. Good job, Pavey!
so happy for you. i’m sure it’s frustrating…but i love your attitude and it sounds like you have a great mindset and are using it as a learning experience and a chance to celebrate! love it!
Strong work Pavement Runner!
Good Work!!! Man that is a great half marathon race, spot on! You nailed it!
Nice run Pavey!! I was wondering how it went! You will definitely rock flatness in Philly!!
You rock!
Congrats on such a great race, even though it wasn’t the PR. Your splits are awesome! I love the medals, I might need to do this one next year…
Great work! Retweeted too!
So close!!! You were spot on with your paces though…great job!!!
ug! Sometimes it’s worse to be really close than really far away! Heart breaker!
You are a FREAKIN’ rockstar!! You left it out on the course and that’s what you ask of yourself during those races!
Those are still some speedy legs no matter how you slice it. Kicking ass and taking names – You go Pavey!! xox
you rocked it dude! pr -smee r.
Speedy half! My PR is 1:39 and I tied it this year at the same race which was weird for me! RNR Philly was my first half-enjoy it and have so much fun!
Congrats!! I have been 5 seconds off a half marathon goal and thought the same things! Either way it was a great effort and a great time – congrats!!!
Way to go! Awesome time!
Great race! Great time too. I don’t know this course, but I know it can be tough to PR on any SF course. You’ll do great in Philly!
It must feel good to know that you were running at your PR pace without being obsessed with it ;)
It was still an amazing run despite not quite hitting your goal. Way to run well on such a hilly course!
Good job! I once missed a time goal in a marathon by seconds – this particular PR would have been a life experience changer (OTQ) and I had been chasing it around all over the country.Like you mentioned, it wasn’t as bad as I thought either . . although it stung bad at the finish line
oh how we get that. the hammer was dropped, but.. you still raced great. Bigger picture, right?
Those pesky few seconds!! But you ran a super strong race. Congrats!
You are awesome! I’m thinking fast thoughts for Philly!
likin the way you think!! if you kicked this much ass on an uphill final 3-4 miles, you’re gonna ROCK a goal race with a flat course. kick ass at rnr philly – i’m planning to do it next year along with rnr va beach :)
That just means you’ll get it next time.