Leaf Peeper

I ran the Leaf Peeper half marathon on Sunday, and it was a beautiful day for a race. It was peak season for the leaves, blue sky and temps in the high-50s/low-60's. Perfect for running. It must've been because I ran faster for a longer distance than I ever have.

Here are the splits:
Mile 1 6:54
Mile 2 7:03
Mile 3 7:20
Mile 4 7:20
Mile 5 7:18
Mile 6 7:25
Mile 7 7:13
Mile 8 7:14
Mile 9 7:33
Mile 10 7:24
Mile 11 7:20
Mile 12 7:18
Mile 13.1 7:13
Total 1:35:27, 7:17 pace

I was fortunate in that I fell in behind three strong women separately at various points in the race. Two of them pulled me for parts of the first half, and one warrior pulled me in over the last 6 miles. This chick was strong. I never caught her, but also would not have performed as well without her consistent pace. Linking up with someone with a similar stride and pace worked well for me in the CCM last year, too. I guess there's something about slogging through it together with another runner that keeps me going.

My training schedule called for a 20 miler on Sunday, but I'll take my race experience workout as a step in the right direction. I have my second 20 miler scheduled for the weekend and a friend lined up to share most of the distance.

Between the race and today, I played hockey on Tuesday at lunch. (BTW, running does not get one in shape for hockey. Almost puked.) I got in a quick run of around 25 minutes at lunch today. I'm finding it harder to motivate to run with the darker mornings. As much as I am enjoying the training, I'm looking forward to a change of pace after CCM.

Leaf Peeper Half Marathon

It's really nice when a race coincides with a marathon training schedule, and the Leaf Peeper fit in perfectly for me. I had a 13 mile run on the schedule, and what better way to get it done than surrounded by cheering crowds, other runners, and water stations.

My plan was to use this race to test the whole concept of pacing myself early so I don't crash and burn at the end of my marathon. My pace was going to be 8 minute/miles, and my goal was a 1:45 time. I wanted to see what a consistent 8:00 pace felt like.

I ended up running with a couple of women from town who had a similar goal. We went out at about a 7:45 pace and held that for about 8 miles. It was faster than we wanted, but we all felt good and not stressed, so we kept it up. After mile 8, though, I was feeling antsy. I had seen a couple of friends ahead of me at the turnaround (this was an out and back course), and I wanted to push it and try to reel them in. When I checked my watch at the end of the 8th mile and saw an 8:11 pace, I knew it was time to take off, which I did with my fellow pace-setters' blessings. I ran at a consistent 7:30-ish pace for the final 5 miles and felt strong, knowing that this was the type of push I was "saving" myself for during the first half. In the end, I came in at 1:41:27, which was huge. I confirmed the strategy I want to use during the marathon, I beat my target, and I felt like I could do even better next time around.

In terms of the distance, I really enjoyed the half marathon. It's satisfying, but not as grueling (training or race-wise) as a marathon. It's fast, but not ungodly fast like a 5 or 10K. I'd highly recommend this distance for anyone looking for a new experience out on the roads.

Later boys.