Only Half Crazy

Have you heard the saying that people who run ½ marathons are only half crazy?  One week after completing the Rehoboth BeachMarathon, I was toeing the line for a race just a mile from my house called the Holiday Half.  When my wife had asked me why the heck I would want to run a half one week after finishing a full, my immediate answer was ”it’s the challenge of it.”  Of course, it help it was a last minute decision that I did not really have time to think about it.  Also, it is really hard to turn down a race on the same trails I regularly train on.

So there I was, ½ an hour before the race started, asking if it was too late to register. Luckily for me the people at Metro Walk and Run who put on the race were very accommodating to last minute request for procrastinators like me.  I even got a full goodie bag that included race technical shirt and a fuzzy blanket.

The big question for me was curious how my legs would hold up.  I decided I run by effort, or more accurately, heart rate rather than shoot for certain time or pace. Through experience, I know a good HR for a half marathon for me is low 160’s.  Yes, I know that is a bit high for someone who runs as often as I do, but it is what it is.

Race conditions were pretty close to perfect, at for me.  Many people don’t like running in the cold but I love it.  The day was a little chilly at 34 degrees, but there was no wind and it was partly sunny.   There was still some snow covering the wood bridges, but other than that, footing was solid along the trail.  I had considered wearing my trail shoes, but ended up making the right choice staying with my road ones instead. 

As usual, I started out a little fast and ran the first mile at a 7:30 pace.  One day, I will actually stick to my plan and not go out too fast.  Fortunately, the hill at mile 2 forced me to throttle back to a more sustainable 7:50 pace.  I settled in with a cadence that kept my heart rate right between 165 and 166 for miles 3 through 12.  While my pace did slow a bit, I stayed with my plan of running by effort.  I kept waiting for my legs to get heavy, but to my surprise it never happened.  I even had a tiny bit left to drop my pace by 40 seconds for the last mile.

Even more surprising, I finished with a PR in this half one week after hitting a PR in a marathon.  Maybe there is something to listening to your body instead of my watch.  There was great selection of post-race food – pancakes, eggs, sausage, bagels, oranges and bananas.  I made a pancake, sausage, and egg burrito before heading home.  This is the 2^nd year I have done this race and I can’t recommend it highly enough.  Relatively small size, nice trails, wonderful cheering and decorations and good eats.