Men's Half Marathon - Race Report to Coach

Maestro Neil –

A beautiful day in this great city’s Central Park. I was feeling good and ready to run. I started out my day by walking briskly/jogging easily to CP from 72nd and Broadway to the start of the 4M on 72nd and East Drive. I ran the 4M at a moderate pace and finished the race in 31:07. HR was 150/160.

After crossing the finish at Tavern on the Green, I jauntily ran back to 72nd and East Drive for the start of the Men’s Half Marathon. It kept me warm enough so that I was still loose for the start. I did a marathon pace for the Half and finished in 1:34:44, with a HR of 164/179. The 179 max was from my sprint to end as I wanted to look good for the Brightroom Photographers and my legion of fans cheering me as I crossed the finish line.

I am really glad I did this much distance, despite the fact that I suspect you will have reservations about me doing it. While physically, you probably didn’t want me to go so far, I must tell you that today was very good mental training. It has been quite some time since I ran this far at this level of intensity. Several times during the race, I was experiencing doubts about whether I felt like going on. I told myself to hold on and to persevere, even though a small voice inside me was whispering for me to stop.

I am glad I held on. When I got past the 10 mile mark, I really started to feel good. It was like my engine finally smoothed out and I started to cruise home. When I am suffering at IMAZ next month, I will remember this day and know that I can continue.

Here are the workout stats:

4M Race
Time: 31:07
HR: 150/160
Splits: 8:01, 7:41, 7:54, 7:30
TiZ: A-7:54, I - 21:32, B-1:41

13.1M Race
Time: 1:34:44
HR: 164/179
Splits:
7:09, 7:12, 7:07, 7:14, 7:25, 7:08,
7:08, 7:17, 7:08, 7:23, 7:29, 7:15, 7:00, .42