Jack & Jill Downhill Marathon; BQ 2023-07-30

3:23:39 chip: 26.2 mi@7:46. BQ by 11.4 min GPS: 25.97 mi@7:51; 226w The race didn't go as hoped. PR was realistic on this fast course even with incomplete preparation. I missed PR by 16 sec. I started 1 hr after the gun <= the event bus driver missed the exit to race start. Had to pass many runners. A nice surprise to see Harsha and Simon pacing Seattle trip was good. Biff is fighting battle multiple fronts: housing, work, endocrino, family, fitness. I hope he stays above water. the weather was a nice break from Texas heat.

Hachie 50 30-mile 2023/04/22

Data from taper week was clear: 3 weeks weren't sufficient to recover from half marathon PR attempt for this body. The adjusted goal beating my 50k pace: 8:37.

Despite weaker fitness, I thought I had a realistic shot of winning the undercard event before Javier switched his event from 50M. I told IRC friends I didn't want to win: that'd mean Javier had a terrible day. You don't win Cowtown 50k if you're only capable of Johnny speed.

Race director Paul Box made my mission clear: be positive & happy for others, especially all the non-racers that put this event together. I was inspired more by Paul's getting to the start line than by his 3rd place finish at the World Marathon Challenge (7 marathon, 7 continents, 7 days)

First of the 3 laps went as expected--averaged at low-8 pace. Javier & a woman went a lot faster. She held the pace; Javier slowed by lap 3. I also weakened but moved faster than Javier. He stopped at the farthest water station as I approached the turnaround near half way point--I had a good chance if I just held the pace.

I failed to hold the pace--it was maddening. I felt the good will & energy of everyone on the course. I knew I was unlikely to get another chance to beat Javier. I couldn't will my legs to go sub-8.

I saw Javier 2 more time at the next 2 out-and-back points. Javier squeezed just enough to stay ahead.

I ran out of road and finished 1 minute behind Javier.

Irving Marathon Half 2023-04-01

This was to be an "A" event before realizing I already qualify to apply for 2024 NYC using Austin Half. Despite running Grasslands 2 weeks prior, I aimed to PR (1:32:14)

Legs weren't 100% despite a week of prep and nice weather. I finished in 1:33:06.

I manned mile-17 water station w/ Jung Lee, Sam Cotton, Stef Taniguchi. Helping marathon runners brought me out of sulking state.

I have 3 weeks to prep for Hachie 30-mile.

Grasslands Marathon 2023/03/18--long training run at Oprah pace

it's easier to take first lap easy this year: I didn't have Mark Seeley, Mike, and Shaheen's pace to match. I started with Amy Clark who disappeared for a bush break as I trip over something after 5k. I was left alone.

It was cool watching how most front guys made the point to say hi to Amy first couple miles. They all expected Amy to win today <= no real competition.

I felt pretty unmotivated/non-strong after lap 1. Oprah pace felt natural.

#'s
official: 4:25:26
GPS: 25.6 mi@10:23; 181w

Cowtown Marathon 2023/02/26--BQ

_objective
1. Qualify for 2024 Boston
2. Able to recover to peak for 4/1 Irving Marathon half.
3. Negative split.

_goal
A: 3:30 stay with the official pacer. I never achieved this time without full taper.
B: 3:33 easy number
C: 3:35 qualify for Boston 2024

_highlights
Legs somewhat rested at start.
Only 1 lb heavier than race weight.

_lowlights
In middle of a training block. Using half- instead of full-marathon.

_pacers
Alex was pacing for 3:35; James Allen for 3:30. It’s comforting to be between friends.

_race plan
Stay near 8:00 pace for opening miles.
Stay comfortable mile 5~18 between 3:30 and 3:35 pacers.
Lose 30~90 seconds at mile-9 bridge. (even effort—ignore spectators)
Reel James in before finish.
No complaining. Bring positive energy to others—especially if legs feel like shit.

_travel logistics Took Yama to Aunt Sherry at 3pm. Aunt wasn’t feeling well. I worried.
I skated to Expo to avoid parking fee.
The hotel was new and quiet. The assistant manager was friendly and gave me late 1:30pm check out. I was happy despite the sink drain & kitchen plug issues.
For the 2nd race I have a mini kitchen for dinner. I could get used to this.

_conservative start
Sticking to script wasn’t hard for 2 hours. Weather turned out nice.
Some guy cussed, “you cut me off, a hole.” I decided not to waste energy explaining running tangent & lines.

[GPS lost signal at underpass—I claims I went sub-3 min/Mi]

_biding time
8:00 pace got old by mile 14. Legs wanted to slow, cardio wanted to up the effort.
IRC cheered me on.
Couldln’t wait to mile 18. Reminded me of 2015 Heart break Hill—a lifetime ago.

_running free
I lifted speed at mile 18. The pace felt natural.
I saw 3:30 pacer at mile 23--I went faster. I felt I had even more to give. It was glorious.
I held back on the climb and resisted digging for the final mile.

#’s
official:
chip time: 3:29:00
pace: 7:59 min/mile
distance: 26/2 mi = 42k

splits
10K 8:00/M
15K 8:00/M
13.1M 8:03/M (1:46:00)
18M 8:03/M
22M 7:40/M
26.2M 7:59/M (3:29:00)

Both halves ended in 00 seconds—1 in 3600 chance.

racer count:
half: 4,924
full: 1263
ultra: 174 [Garmin Forerunner 245 said I was supersonic at the underpass]

Felt great—best executed marathon to-date. 1:46 then 1:43 for each half: overly positive for PR. Good enough when primary goal was to BQ.

Didn't go too deep—need to peak on 4/1 for Irving half.

bonus: Strava thinks my pace was 2:37/Mi at mile 10.5. Take that, Kipchoge. Haha

Austin 3M Half Marathon (downhill to downtown) 2023/01/22

_goal “A”: 1:29:59 “B”: 1:30:29 = 6:52/mile “C”: 1:32 = 6:59/mile _downhill course The website made it sound like an easy and smooth course.

[elevation map on the site looked impossibly smooth]. I arbitrarily decided it’s a good course to try sub-90-minute for the bragging right. I’m vain that way. The “B” goal was such that I could say I ran the half in 90 minutes—vs. 91 minutes. I sought info on how fast the course was. Kisha: lots of downhills but there are some uphill to slow you down. Logan: it’s not really that fast. Jim: it’s smooth and flat but couple climbs. Tail wind would’ve mattered more. An experience pacer: Maybe 30~45 seconds faster than a flat course. As expected, the elevation change wasn’t homogeneous as suggested by the website.

[elevation per Garmin] Half the course was functionally flat. The 1.5-mile long climb section was mild. 1/3 of the course was fast downhill. The sun was on my face a lot. I wished I had sunglasses until I learned how close I was to the goal. _race plan Knocking 2 minutes off PB sounded impossible, but I didn’t dwell on the details. Course and weather were outside of my control. I’d start with the 90-minute pacers and play by ear. _race Weather was great: sunny, dry, low 40’s F, net tail wind. Stryd splits were on the nose at mile 1, very short at mile 2, but recovered after mile 2. I stayed close to the pacers around 6:45 pace. The gravity-assisted effort felt right; the shock wave traveled higher up my limbs than I was accustomed to. I stayed smooth at the expense of holding constant distance to the pacer. I ended up ahead of the pacers halfway. Hamstrings tightened at mile 7. 7:00 pace was manageable. Sub-90 was reachable if nothing else went wrong. Side stitch started at mile 8 before the climb. I slowed more, helplessly watching the pacers getting away. I felt I was struggling at 8:30 pace—Garmin said I was faster than 7:30. Runners passed me left and right. It was maddening I couldn’t match their speed. The climbs after mile 10 disrupted my rhythm. I ignored Garmin--just tried to stay with runners passing me. I managed to pass couple runners at the final climb before the finish line came mercifully at the bottom. GPS: Garmin 245 with Stryd 13.17 mi@6:52; 244w Time: 1:30:32 Official chip time: 1:30:29 = 90.48 minutes

Dallas Half Marathon 2022/12/11--missed opportunity

_goal “A”: 1:31:59: sub 7 pace. “B”: 1:32:13: 7:02 pace. PR _mistake With family visit and holiday preparation, I stopped monitoring body weight. I ignored the mild fainting spells, forgetting it could be the symptom for low body fat. Calf cramped 1 morning. I finally stepped on scale --3 lb lighter than race weight. _race weekend logistics: 3:30pm: check into downtown hotel; hotel parking full; pissed 4:45pm: packet pick up before rain 8pm: Systemware Xmas party at Ritz Carlton 5:15am: breakfast; hotel lobby coffee ran out 8:30am: gun time; air temperature = 52F

[hotel room with a view] _race plan More climbs first 7 miles. I’d hold constant wattage just over 7:00 pace. Hold the same wattage for final 10k. Averaging 7:00 pace overall.

_race Weather was good but not great. Stryd splits were close to the mile markers. I lost a little ground at first 7 mile checks. I wasn’t concerned—I just needed to increase wattage for the final 10k. I stayed in comfort zone for too long and ended up 1:32:48—49 seconds behind “A” goal. I felt I wasted the training by poor execution. For several hrs, it was hard to swallow. I felt I could've raced faster if I invested more: skipped company Xmas party; asked a friend to pace me; weighed myself daily; practiced racing shoes more. I had no problem walking post-race—I just didn’t run hard enough. by 3pm, I was back to daily grind: puppy Yama and family activities. Monday I woke up with sore legs and felt blessed to have first-world problems. I wanted to celebrate the first sub-95-minute half since February 2015. Previous day no longer felt like a screw up: just a "B-" result when other parts of life took priorities. GPS: Garmin 245 with Stryd Time: 1:32:50 Pace: 7:02 Official chip time: 1:32:46