half-fast

[ilanarama]

One of my favorite races is coming up again on Saturday, the Steamworks Animas Valley Half Marathon. It's a beautiful rolling course along the edge of the valley north of town, and the race finishes at a sports club with a pool, massage therapists, and free burgers and beers from one of our excellent local brewpubs. This will be my fourth time running it; for the last two years I have been injured and volunteered instead (I worked the finish line in 2010 and directed traffic in 2011), so I am really looking forward to racing it again!

This was my first race in Durango, in 2004; I ran a 2:01 on fairly casual training. Four years later, in 2008, I ran it again, but I had had back problems over the winter and didn't start running again until only 6 weeks before the race, and I clung desperately to my entirely unrealistic sub-2-hour goal until it was too late. I finished in 2:03, feeling miserable.

But I trained carefully that summer, and in October I ran the Baltimore Marathon in 3:54, which the discerning person will note is equal to two sub-2-hour half marathons back-to-back. So in 2009 I hoped to come in under 1:50 at the Steamworks Half...and entirely shocked myself by running a 1:44:19, which got me third place among over-40 women.

I've run other half marathons since then, all but one of them faster than this time, but that was the last time I ran this course. It's at my local elevation (as opposed to the Moab races, which are about 2500 ft lower) and it's a rolling course with a rather rude uphill finish, so I'm not expecting to PR - but I am hoping to improve my "course PR".

I had been training fairly well and consistently this spring after rebuilding from my January marathon, averaging 45mpw and incorporating some speed and tempo runs, but I hit a setback a couple weeks ago when suddenly running just felt wrong and things were hurting. I took a week mostly off, and then ramped up again last week but only got about 32 miles in, and I didn't run anything fast at all. I was worried I'd lost a lot of fitness. But then this week I tossed in a short tempo run - and felt great! In fact, all my runs this week have been fast, with low HR, and I've felt really good. So I am starting to believe I might have a decent race after all. Cross your fingers for me!

My big goal is sub-1:40. Well, I'd also like to win my age group (40-49F, as it's a small race), but there are at least two other strong contenders running. But 1:39:xx will delight me, and 1:38:xx will put me OVER THE MOON. I will be content with something under 1:42. And then I will drink lots of beer.

Comments

[traveller42]

I hope the race is everything you hope it to be.

I've committed to running a 10K next week.

[ilanarama]

Thank you! And good luck with your 10K.

[meri_oddities]

Good luck! I hope you make your goals.

[ilanarama]

Thank you!

[smalltownraces.blogspot.com]

Coming from someone who is now in the regular habit of 1-week layoffs in long training cycles, I think you can bounce back with a great race. I am rooting for sub 1:40 and NO lost fitness!! You can do it- and enjoy the burgers afterwards :)

BTW...smart to stick with just easy running after the layoff for a bit. I think you'll do better than you expect.

[ilanarama]

Woohoo, thank you!

[ell]

Good luck! I'll be thinking of you on Saturday :-)

[ilanarama]

Thanks, ell!

[(Anonymous)]

Go Ilana - you can do it!!You'll have a great race!

sllygrl

[ilanarama]

Thanks, Sllygrl!

[walterfielding]

Good luck tomorrow!! May you have better results than I did in my last HM (seven seconds slower than my PR...grr...).

[ilanarama]

Haha, I would be delighted with seven seconds slower than my PR, because this is a tougher course. But I know the exasperating feeling...