Mercer Half Race Report

Today was a good day for racing. The temperature was cool (mid-40's) and rain didn't come until after the race started, making the warm-up pleasant. The rain also stopped just as we were finishing so that the warm-down and post race gathering was much nicer than huddling in the cold. It was relatively easy to get to the course from the house, though I didn't get off at the correct exit, causing some stress. The start time was a very reasonable 9am -- allowing me to get plenty of sleep. The venue was also much more conducive to congregating at the start/finish (at the Mercer Island Community center) the Seattle Half, which made it great for meeting the team before and after the race.

Lots to Learn: It was also a great day to learn more about racing. I haven't been truly racing for at least eight years, so there hasn't been much need to re-learn racing techniques, preparation and nutrition during the race. Given that today was a "C" race, I went into it with almost no taper . I think Jill also wanted me to experience racing on relatively tired legs, while also regulating my ride so that the run wasn't completely shot. I'll need to develop this psychology over the coming months, as it seems I still haven't completely internalized it yet (Saturday's 2.5 hour bike ride was well above my prescribed NP of 180). Although my legs didn't feel too tired during the race, I'm sure the last couple of miles could have been better if I hadn't ridden as hard the day before. However, I didn't use the ride as an 'excuse' to run slower. In fact, I didn't even think about the ride at all. I was focused on racing by keeping up or beating the guy in front of me. By staying in the moment (and not calculating finish times or wondering if yesterday's ride affected me), I was able to run on tired legs in the beginning, middle and end of the race. Still, I wonder what could I have ran with fresh legs?

I also need to work on pacing, as I seem to have completely lost my sense of it. It's probably due to the hilly/windy course, but I'm sure running on the treadmill ninety percent of the time hasn't helped. I'll plan to run outside more often, especially now that the weather is better and there is more light in the evenings.

I also made some equipment changes, some that worked and others that didn't. Those that worked were racing flats, tights, running vest, hat and workout bag. I bought a pair of Brooks Racer ST IIIs a couple of weeks ago so that I could break them in for this race. They were broken in on a treadmill, so I wasn't sure how they'd feel for such a long distance on pavement. The guys at Everyday Athlete assured me that they'd work fine and most of the online posts had nothing but good things to say. So the verdict is: THEY ROCKED!!!! Not only did they feel cushioning throughout the race (although I felt some pounding towards the very end), but they also had enough stability and traction on the steep, wet down hills. At high speeds, they felt much more economical than my trainers and turn over felt easier on the up hills. I don't think I'll ever go back to trainers for distances under a marathon. However, I still need find something for the marathon, as I doubt my legs could sustain so much pounding after the 13-14th mile.

The tights also worked great. My legs felt more 'structured' and warm throughout the race. I wonder why more fast folks don't use them, even on cold days like Sunday? There were quite a few guys who were using compression socks (at least more than the Seattle Half). Speaking of which, the tights did nothing for me afterwards. Maybe if I had kept them on or put on a dry pair, I would have noticed less lactic acid today. I'll try that next race. The vest also helped a lot for two reasons, 1) I didn't notice the rain at all and 2) having pockets helps enormously for storing GU and other essentials for the run. I usually wear a vest on my long runs, so why not for the race? However, as it gets warmer, I'll need to find another way to carry GU, etc because two layers will never work. Also, the vest isn't that breathable and I could zipper all the way down since I had my race number in front. The key is pockets!

Wearing a hat also made a difference, as I didn't have water running down my face while it was raining. I just had a few more drips from my hat than usual. It probably helped to keep my head a little warmer at the start. I'm SUPER glad that I had packed a workout bag with all of my pre-race, race and post-race gear. It made it very easily to organize my stuff, while ensuring that I had it all with me at the race. However, the bag, itself, wasn't that great. It didn't have enough compartments for shoes, dry versus wet clothes and no water bottle holder. I might be shopping later this week. ;)

The one equipment change that I'd rather reconsider is the fuel belt. I just couldn't open the Velcro patch fast enough to get the GU out. I also didn't use the water bottles at all, as there was more than enough aid stations along the way. If anything, the fuel belt almost cost me a GU where I fiddled with the opening and realized I didn't have enough strength to open it. It I had pockets which I did, the belt would have been useless. The other really important lesson of the day: give yourself plenty of time to prepare and then actually do it! You never know what could happen and not adding any time buffer or consider possible risks to the schedule could be devastating.

The Story Unfolds: After warming up for about fifteen minutes in the neighborhoods, I took off all of my layers and headed over to the Start line. However, just as I was beginning to take off my stuff, the announcer said that we had only 5 minutes before the start! I thought I had about 10 minutes, so I scrambled to get my flats on and ran to the line. Luckily, I had put my race chip on when I first got it or else I would have certainly been late…and would have been at a great disadvantage. As it was, I had time to only get one stride in. I lined up about two or three deep in the front of the pack. Any farther back would have been detrimental, as the start line was very narrow. I felt really bad for the folks in towards the back, as they would have had to wait awhile to get across the line. As for me, I only lost four of five seconds.

The race started off downhill, so folks were flying. It actually didn't feel that fast, but once I realized that the group was still pretty close to Uli Steidle (the perennial winner of this race by a 5-6 minute margin) after 800-1200 meters, I knew we were all in trouble. Still, I didn't feel rushed or pushed compared to the Issaquah 10K, where the pace was equally fast. I kept looking at my HR, which was 165, so things were in good shape. However, the first mile split was ridiculous: 5:51 (AHR: 167)!! I was supposed to run 6:20s for the first 3 miles, but I've already completely blown that away! Now what!?!?

I decided to slow it down and work on perceived exertion. It seemed to be working, as mile two came in at 6:21 (AHR: 169) and I was getting passed by all sorts of folks, including a 13-year old and three really fast coeds. The kid had beaten me at Issaquah 10k, so I knew he meant business. I also knew that this race had some very fast people in it, so I figured all the guys who were passing me would probably stay ahead of me for the rest of the race. Things seemed to stabilize between miles 2 and 3 as people found their pace and people got into a rhythm. That rhythm was far from a continuous effort, however, as there were many ups and downs and twisty turns that threw one's gate off a bit. Luckily, the pack had slimmed out a lot so it was easy to do point-to-point navigation through the curves.

The 3 mile split was 6:06 (172). My exertion hadn't changed and things felt good, so I figured that was going to be today's pace unless things completely fell apart.

Miles 4 through 10 were pretty much the same. My pace ranged along with the varying terrain. I had kept the coeds in site and had begun to pass people. By mile 10 I had passed the kid and a few of the other folks who had passed me. However, most of the time I was running on my own. As for nutrition, I struggled with my fuel belt and left it alone for about 10 minutes.

However, I realized that I had to get the darn thing open because there wouldn't be another Gu stand for the rest of the race, and I was already 40min into the race. I hadn't had anything to drink either, so I was a little disturbed about that too. I had been clicking off 6:06's for the past four or five miles and things were going to get tough if I didn't do something soon. I finally spent a great deal of energy and focus opening the Velcro and was able to get the Gu from there relatively easily. I ate about half of it and stuck the rest of it in my vest pocket. Within a minute or two, I felt a nice resurgence in my stride and was able to push the pace again.

Things began to get tough around mile 9 though. Around the 9.5 mile mark, I had this sudden urge to just stop. In fact, I think I let out a big sigh. I knew that I was way under mile goal time but I wasn't sure if I could hold this pace through the remaining hills. I wasn't the only one, which gave me a little relief. I just didn't want to get passed! Luckily the 11th mile was almost all downhill, which gave me time to rest and a great split (5:59). I knew that 1:23 was in the bag, but could I possibly break 1:22?

The answer came pretty quickly, as mile 12 had a long, relatively steep hill. It seemed that everyone (the one person whom I could see if front of me and many walkers) was having the same trouble. By the time I got to the top, I was planning to coast on the way in…and I did. I probably could have pressed a lot harder towards the end for an extra ten seconds or so (and potentially breaking 1:22), but my heart wasn't in it. I was fine with just getting my goal time, particularly since I couldn't catch the gal in front of me with the amount of real estate left. I also didn't have anyone behind me to push the pace, so I was somewhat in limbo. That's okay, now I have plenty to look forward to next year. Maybe I'll go under 1:20?

Here's a little video and some pictures to capture the moment:







Results: The official results aren't out yet, but I think I was 4th in my division and 20th overall. I'll revise them in the next couple of days if different.