The last time I competed and at world masters we had five days between the cross country race and the half. This time it would only be four. For the rest of week I only ran short-easy runs on Wednesday and Friday, took Thursday off and got a massage that day. That helped, but would it be enough recovery?
The half marathon course would be challenging, 4 loops in the park each with two large hill climbs plus several rolling hills. The entire course is 90% up or down (with over 1000 feet of vertical for the 13.1 miles).
I thought the best strategy would be to go easy the first lap and then work my way into a good position in the second and third laps.
100 meters into the race.
I was probably about 6th place through the first couple of miles, but it was mass start with all age groups, so it was hard to tell. I could see two competitors 15 or so seconds ahead, I kind of knew that the favorite (Paul Mingay of Great Britain) was up ahead and out of sight.
The pace and effort were slightly faster than I had planned on, just under 6:20 for the first 3 miles, but I did not want these guys to gap me too much.
It was windy and I spent a lot of time hiding behind the larger Scandinavian runners!
I caught a few runners in my age group in the first loop, and had moved into what I figured was 4th place as I passed the timing mat. Soon after I passed Jukka from Finland and my friends soon confirmed that and said I was in 3rd for my age group. The guy in second, a Ukranian, was only about 10 seconds ahead.
The pace on the second lap was slightly faster than the first. Was I burning too hot to catch my competitor? Would I build enough of a gap to fend off any advances from trailing runners that were moving in the field.
I didn’t notice at the time but this where I caught the fast-starting Spanish runner (end of first lap).
The hills were tough but I hoped to be able maintain the pace. Toward the end of the second loop (between 9 and 10K) I crept up the 2nd place runner. In hindsight perhaps I should have just hung back 20 or 30 meters, out of sight, and wait to pounce later in the race. However, I kept my effort the same and passed. He fought back and looked super fit. And so we played cat and mouse over the next lap and a half. Early in the third lap, after taking a drink and gel, he fell back and I seemed to be clear. But I don’t think he was ever more than 5 or 10 seconds back. At about 15K, on the second hill and near same point I had crept up on him on the previous lap, he caught up.
We had a fight going on and by now my legs were feeling combined effect of the hills, the pace, and Tuesday’s race.
We stayed together through lap 3 and beyond, but with 2.5 miles (4K) to go I hit a funk and found that I was struggling to hang on–the hills and pace had taken a toll, so I eased up a little. He (and the same 60 yr old Finnish runner I had battled for several laps in the cross country race) gapped me by about 5 seconds.
That would cost me in the end, and looking back I should have fought through that and kept with them.
The last time I went up the steep hill it felt like I was crawling up the steeper hill, but according to my teammate the gap according to my teammate the gap was only about 8 seconds. I felt that maybe I could close that over the long downhill sections that followed. Once crested I picked up the pace back into the low 6s, but with 2K to go my calf started cramping and I had to ease up. To avoid worse cramping, and maybe even having to walk, I felt I no longer could I pursue the Silver medal. My hope was just to maintain pace and not allow the 8 to 10 second gap to grow.
I knew might be vulnerable, that there could be someone closing faster than me, but I had to find that balance between pushing, more cramping, and maintaining a decent pace. Up the second hill on the loop, for the final time, I was almost there! Just a km to go!
I started to slow from the effort but felt a group of runners coming up from behind me, my sense was to not let them pass because there might be someone in my age group closing in. That sense was correct.
Over the top, some 700 meters to go, I recovered for a few dozen meters and shifted into a finishing gear that I felt I could hold (about 6:15/mile pace). I felt good about my chances to hang on for the bronze, and I did not think there would be anyone near me who could close faster than that.
If I had eyes on the back of my head, about 600 meters to go the Danish runner (in red singlet is closing in).
However, suddenly with just 400 or 500 meters remaining, a Danish runner in my age group, shot by and gapped me by a few meters. I was in shock and a bit of dismay, and it took me a few seconds to regroup. With 200 m to go we came off the bike path and onto the finish area, crowded with spectators. I threw in the best sprint I could muster and was gaining on him, maybe just a second back. He put in one final surge to hold is spot held on and I would finish a close 4th At the end only 9 seconds separated those of us in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. (note that the 5th and 6th runners in the age group were 1.5 to 2 minutes behind us). That was a heck of a battle for the medals.
At the finish line, 4th in my age group!
Man, it was tough to come up short on this. In the middle sections of the race I felt that silver was there if I could just hold on, and on the last lap that the bronze was mine to lose. In the end I fell short on both accounts.
I did spend some time second guessing myself, my pre-race prep could have been a little better–I probably should have had more water in the hours leading up to the race, and maybe taken in more fluid at the aid station (there was only one aid state per loop). If I could do it all again, I would have backed off a little more on that second lap, and ran 10 or 15 seconds slower. A little extra energy may have paid dividends in the end. And that lapse at 17K when the Ukrainian got a 5 second gap, then 8-10; that was key and probably made the difference. In the end, since he didn’t pull away anymore after the hill, meant that he was probably hurting just as much as I was.
Nevertheless, I am still happy with the race, I age graded an 89.3% on a tough course, put myself into medal position, and fought like hell to the end to hold it. None of the top 3 had raced on Tuesday, although two of them had done the 10K two days before that. No excuse, just a fact. Some days your tactics workout better or you just don’t have that extra gear at the end.
But what a week it was! A 3rd, a 4th, and a team win.
rrunnin234 