#mastersrunner

[cmjhawk86]

I finally got to race day yesterday and it was a tough one. I did the best I could to train for this event, a mountain road half marathon that started at 7800 feet and finished at about 4300. My training really was a typical half marathon plan, with some downhills thrown in when I could add them.

As it turns out, that was woefully inadequate for this day’s course. You just can’t emulate the elevation or even the grade of Utah mountains in Virginia, not even in the Shenandoahs.

I didn’t have a particular time goal for this, and I just decided to see what the day holds. But I also knew from training about where I should have been, which was somewhere in the 1:50s. That pacing lasted until 8 miles, when the constant downhill pounding simply overwhelmed me. First the quads started to hurt. Then the hips. Then the hamstring felt like it was about to pull. My “run” slowed to a shuffle and I bled time away with every tiny step. I staggered across the line in 2:17.

Despite the trials, I am glad I did this and I’m proud to have been able to run a half again after 7 years away. Yesterday was not my day, but I’m on my way to getting better again. That said, I think this fall, I’ll stick to a “normal” HM like Richmond or Philly. Now for some rest and recovery.

[cmjhawk86]

I’m putting the finishing touches on training for next week’s half marathon. Today the long run was just 8 miles, the first 7 of them easy and the last mile at goal pace. I’ve come a long way in this training cycle, and while I am not where I want to be yet, I am pleased with where I am. I am avoiding the temptation to pin a time goal on this race, but I’m feeling optimistic about a good outcome. 6 days until start time.

[cmjhawk86]

4 miles today in the rain to finish out the week at 38 miles. That doesn’t sound like a huge number but it’s the most I have done in very long time and that’s because I recently made a decision to step up my level. After a disastrous race performance a month ago, I resolved that something had to change. The 20-mile or so weeks I was doing just weren’t getting it done, and it was time to stop using age, busy-ness, and work/life responsibilities as excuses. We all have things as amateur mere mortal athletes to deal with, and others like me are making it work. In other words, the problem was me and I can fix that. It was time to be the change I want to see, and I decided to get to work. So far I am glad I did.

[cmjhawk86]

It's not much, but it was my first run since last week’s race. I took a full week off - no running but I did do some cycling - and added a recovery plan from Mcmillan Running. Today, that meant 2 miles, and I threw in 8 x 100 strides on the turf after that just because I felt like it. This little 2-week plan should get me back into the swing of things. The key goal right now is to stay healthy so I can start a buildup in late July or early August for a fall half. In the meantime, some maintenance running and maybe the occasional short race just to keep things interesting.

[cmjhawk86]

I've taken a week off from running since last week’s mountain half marathon. Finally, I am feeling more like my old self. But I know recovery is a process, so rather then jumping into full-speed training, I plan to spend the next two weeks in a slow gradual ramp-up back to the old routine.

I'm leaning right now towards Richmond as my fall target half (11/14/2026). If I do that, I would start training in late July. Until then, I can do a couple months of maintenance, and maybe run some short races to build up speed. It will be nice to just do what I feel like for a while before I have to lock in again. And maybe take a nice summer vacation, too.

[cmjhawk86]

Sometimes life forces you to make constant adaptations. For example, this past weekend, I had to postpone - mind you, not cancel - the Sunday long run. That meant I was slipping out tonight to get the run done. And of course, because it’s a weeknight, I did not have the time to run 13-14 miles. So I decided ”OK let’s just run faster. I started out at threshold effort (4 miles), then pushed it to HM effort. The results were pretty solid overall. At 6.56 miles, I basically had done 6.56 miles, basically a half a half marathon. By the end of it I was going at sub-9 miles pace. Ran 1:01 for the whole thing and felt like I still had at least another gear in reserve. I’m calling it a win on the night. 6 weeks to go.

Also, I forgot how much I really like my Asics Magic Speed. That may very well be the shoe that toes the line next month.

[cmjhawk86]

It was another 10-miler this weekend, actually planned as a 90-minute run with the last 20 minutes at a “faster pace.” The first 70 minutes went smoothly but then when the 20-minute segment started I was at the bottom of a steep hill. So even though I stepped up the effort, I was just not hitting the target pace. I had to settle for the satisfaction of at least getting faster as the segment progressed. Some days go like that. But I’ve been there before and I’m not worried. I know that as long as the effort is there, the performance likely will be there on race day. On to the next workout…race day in 6 weeks.

[cmjhawk86]

I finished up a step-back week in this half marathon cycle today with a long run that a few weeks ago would have felt very long, but today, not so much. I’ll be back to hitting 13-14 miles next weekend. As for today, since it was shorter, I added in some threshold miles to keep things interesting, 3 miles with a half-mile recovery after each of them. The first one was pretty quick but on the next two I slipped back. I guess that just means there is more work to be done. And it will be. I will be fit by race day. 7 weeks to go.