Jules76126
Practically Perfect in Every Way
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
1:32:10
Last edited:
To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)
- Thread starter DopeyBadger
- Start date
1:32:10
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
Since I am not playing, I'm having fun looking at everyone's guesses! But @Jules76126, I think you left out a number - is yours
Or something else?
1:32:01 or 1:32:10?
Jules76126
Practically Perfect in Every Way
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
Thanks. I fixed it. Can be challenging to post and watch my 1 year old at the same time
PaDisneyCouple
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
It's been a while since I've been here and decided to read your Princess Weekend report. Wow! What an awesome trip all of you had. Great costumes and experiences. I loved the part about G's first haircut. I had to go back and forth between before and after pictures to find the difference. Then I saw your comment about how much hair she (did not) get cut off. As someone who has had long-ish hair for many years I can appreciate the beauty of her long hair and her desire to keep it long.
A couple we are friends with recently went to WDW and after they told us about their trip I told Sean it would be fun to go to WDW and do everything that someone else does on their vacation. We always have an awesome vacation and do everything we want to do but it's amazing that someone else can go and have a completely different experience. We all go to the same parks but we tour them differently. They went to restaurants in the parks that we have never been to because we always go to the ones we like. I feel the same way about your experiences. I found myself thinking, "I think we should try _______. "
Just one question - at the end of some of your posts you have Body Battery. What is that?
Christine
A couple we are friends with recently went to WDW and after they told us about their trip I told Sean it would be fun to go to WDW and do everything that someone else does on their vacation. We always have an awesome vacation and do everything we want to do but it's amazing that someone else can go and have a completely different experience. We all go to the same parks but we tour them differently. They went to restaurants in the parks that we have never been to because we always go to the ones we like. I feel the same way about your experiences. I found myself thinking, "I think we should try _______. "
Just one question - at the end of some of your posts you have Body Battery. What is that?
Christine
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Thanks it was a wonderful weekend! She does love her long hair, other than when she gets it brushed and then there's a lot of guff.
Sounds about right. A Disney trip can be so vastly different between two groups of people. There is truly so much to do there that you could go lots and lots of times and still not do everything. Heck, we've been there so many times in the last decade and we're still doing new things on each trip.
Body battery is an output from my Garmin 245 watch (link). I've found that it correlates reasonably well with how I'm feeling in the moment. If I'm feeling fresh, I tend to have a higher body battery score. If I'm feeling wiped out, I tend to have a low body battery score. The value is influenced by stress, sleep, and exercise. Like the body battery goes down noticeably during a high stress sports game even though I may be just sitting on the couch.
eminemilie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 21, 2014
1:29:28
I hope I did that right. I did accidentally click on your guess because I am terrible at reading directions and wasn’t paying attention, but I had already had my guess in mind prior to that. But wanted to follow the honesty policy!
GollyGadget
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2017
Best of luck tomorrow!
striker1064
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
Good luck this weekend!
nancipants
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2013
Good luck! Remember, faster than fast, quicker than quick! You are speed!
superchime
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2010
Good luck!
Naomeri
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
Billy included the instructions in his post. I don’t know why some people have it blurry and some have the proper spoiler thingy
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
2023 Non-Cancelled HM: Finale of the 2023 Spring Training Cycle
The 2023 Non-Cancelled HM served as the finale for my 2023 Spring Training cycle. The goal of this training cycle was different than most of the training cycles I've done since 2015. Instead of focusing on a single "A" race, and on occasion having a single "B" race, this time around I stacked the schedule with lots of "B" races. Less time for training and more time for racing. I was hoping to spread out my chances with the hope that one race would have great racing weather. Princess was warmer than hoped, Shamrock 10k was good, First Call was good other than the snow/ice on course, Parkinson's was hot, and then there was the 2023 Non-Cancelled HM. The forecast looked cold enough, with a chance for rain. So let's see how race day played out.
I woke up at 4:45am. Took a shower, drank Liquid IV, ate PB sandwich, ate banana, and then got dressed. I packed the car with two sets of shoes (Next%2 and Next%3). I planned on wearing the Next%3 if the rain looked like it would hold off, and then 2s if it was going to rain. Before long, all of us loaded into the car and we were off at about 6:05am. It was raining when we left home, but when we arrived in Oconomowoc around 6:45am there wasn't any rain there yet. The rain was moving west to east, and there was barely any rain. So the storm moved really slowly.
Left the car and headed to the bathrooms. Since the race was at a park, there were real bathrooms available. Thankfully they were open too! Got inside and the men's bathroom had two stalls but only one with toilet paper (and barely any of it). Glad I arrived really early.
I headed over on the short walk to bib pickup at around 7:05am. Got my bib without issues, and then headed back over to the car. G and Steph had been playing on the playground and were now using the adult workout equipment. G and I made our way back to the car, and then I did my dynamic stretches near a park bench. I used the restroom again (some complaints about the lack of toilet paper), and then got my running stuff on. The rain had just started. I decided to go with the Next%2 because of the rain. They've got quite a few miles on them for race shoes, but they're tried and true. I know how they'll respond to rain. Better the safe decision, than sorry.
At about 7:30am, I headed out for a very short warmup. The Next%2 felt a little flatter than I'd want in a race day shoe. But I didn't let that bother me. Roll with the punches. The WU was easy. Did about 8 min of slow running, and then did three strides with picking up the pace. Used the real restrooms for one last time, and then made my way back to the car where Steph and G were hanging out. Drank my Maurten 320 around 7:45am. Got all my stuff together and then said bye to the family. Took a water bottle out to the course and left it along the path at about the 6.2 mile mark. Then I made my way over to the start line. Most other runners were wearing rain jackets and pants. But you know me, I'm in shorts and a tank. And to be honest, I wasn't event the least bit cold. This was my jam, maybe minus the light rain. But honestly, I'd rather have a light rain than the sun eight days a week when it comes to racing. As I walked up they started the national anthem, we lined up at the start. Had a short chat with an older male runner who offered for me to stand next to him when toeing the line. He said he was also doing the HM and also aiming for a 7 min/mile. And then we got our countdown and we were off.
Conditions - 🌧 Moderate rain, Wind 7mph to 19mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 45°F + 37°F; FL - 41°F
End: Temp+Dew = 44°F + 35°F; FL - 41°F
*I'll disagree with the 19mph wind and say I'm not sure I ever felt the wind as an impediment to my progress. Additionally, the rain was present, but it was hardly moderate. Not a drizzle, not a downpour. A nice light noticeable rain. My singlet was soaked after about 3 miles or so to give a perspective.
Mile 1 - 6:59 - GAP 6:59
The goal at the start of the race was two-fold.
1) Don't go out too fast
2) See #1
I was aiming for a 7 min/mile. Additionally, I set a HR alert on my watch for 150 bpm. Based on a recent analysis my HM HR tends to be about 147-149 bpm regardless of conditions. So unlike the last two spring races, I wanted to keep myself in check from a pace standpoint and a HR standpoint. So for the first mile I set the HR at 10 bpm to 149 bpm, then for every mile after that I set the goal range to be 144 bpm to 149 bpm.
The race started and I was going way too fast. That other guy doing a 7 min/mile was running way faster than a 7 min/mile. So I ended up doing 6:40s for the first minute and then reigned myself in. As I reigned myself in I was passed by a few other runners. Older in black (also doing a 7 min/mile HM), purple who went blazing by, grey who went blazing by, the two Chicago guys, another purple guy, and then another older guy in black. So right from the first 0.5 mile or so I was in about 8th or so place. The 8:00am start was HM/M, so it was tough to know who was doing what until the end of the race. Since the course is a double out/back that means when the Marathoners go on their third loop is the indication that they weren't a HM runner. So at this point, I treated everyone like they were a HM runner.
Somewhere during the first mile a marathoner in grey pulled up next to me. He told me he was doing the marathon and aiming for a 3:05 finish (around 7 min/mile). I told him I was doing the HM and aiming for a 1:30-1:33 finish (also around a 7 min/mile). He was going for a BQ with some wiggle room. While it was unspoken, it was at that moment that the two of us kind of latched onto each other. We started running side by side.
Mile 2 - 7:00 - GAP 6:56
Every time my HR exceeded 149 bpm I'd get a voice in my headphones saying, "hey buddy, cool your jets". For the most part though there was never any effort adjustment and the audio would inform me that I was back within zone. So I knew I was riding the line, but staying under the limit. Marathon grey and I were still together and running well. I think it was around this time that we passed the "other" older guy in black (didn't know what race he was doing). He told me post-race that he overheard us taking about marathon vs HM, and thought he had heard we were both doing the M. So when we passed him he momentarily felt bad about himself because we were passing him and going twice the distance. But thankfully he said that mental moment was fleeting and he just kept trying to keep us in view for the remainder of the race. We had a street crossing (the whole race was on a bike path and sidewalk), and there was a woman in glasses there cheering us on.
Mile 3 - 7:00 - GAP 6:58
Happy with how the race was playing out. I was sticking with the 7 min/mile pace goal, and the HR was staying in zone other than a few fleeting moments. While it was still raining, and still cold, it didn't bother me in the least. I was enjoying the experience and me and the grey marathoner were still in lock step. We came up to the second aid station table at about Mile 2.1-2.3. I grabbed a cup of water, and my co-runner had his own water bottle. So he kept moving and I slowed a touch to drink, but I was still running while drinking using the pinch method. We didn't really lose contact too much and were running side by side after a quarter mile or so. The whole time I wasn't really paying attention to the pace too much. I was focusing on staying in lock with grey marathoner and using the HR limit as a gauge to keep me from overreaching.
Mile 4 - 7:00 - GAP 7:01
We made our way to the turnaround point and could get our first look at the other runners. Fast purple was in the lead, then grey, then beard and other purple, then two chicago guys, then older HM in black. We were still running in 8th and 9th place at that point. Felt good on the turn. There were some runners here and there behind us. Seemed like the lead female was about 2-3 min behind us in terms of where she would finish. Her and 2nd place weren't too far apart from each other. As we hit the 3.5 mile mark and turned westward is when we saw all the other runners behind us. Additionally about 10 min after the HM/M start was the 5k/10k start. So some of these runners were in the 10k as well. Things got a lot busier on the bike path and so myself and grey ended up going 1-2 instead of running side by side.
Mile 5 - 6:54 - GAP 6:55
Body was still feeling pretty good. I was putting in a good effort, and was staying around that 7:00 goal and 144-149 bpm goal. Around this point is when something unexpected started happening. I started to get alerts from my HR that it was going below 144. So every time I got one of those alerts I tried to dig in a little bit more and run a little harder. HR says I can, so let's try. And then I'd get it back up in the zone. Where I was getting more alerts for high HR early on, the pendulum definitely swung and for most of the middle of the race I was getting alerts for being lower than zone. I think this is when grey got a bottle switch from a female runner (wife/sister?). He was a touch ahead of me, but I shouted him so kudos for a smooth handoff. I also saw the woman in glasses cheering again. Because of the workout, I wasn't seeing my completed splits pop up on my screen after each mile and instead it was prompting me with the goal HR zone. So I was kind of blind on pace, but I knew since grey marathoner was around that we were still doing something close to 7s.
Mile 6 - 6:57 - GAP 6:57
Grey and I made our turn up north on the path. The people on the other side of the path were thinning out as we were hitting the back end of the 10k/HM/M runners. So we were running side by side again. I think it was sometime during this mile that I had my first drink from the concentrated Tailwind. I also hit up another aid station, and drank the water while running. I didn't lose much contact with grey. We didn't have much to chase though as the other runners had a sizeable gap on us, and there wasn't much behind us either. We just kept making our way through the middle of the pack 10k runners now.
Mile 7 - 7:07 - GAP 7:07
At this point I was putting in a pretty good effort. I had left my water bottle on the path. Since the route was really straight for a good bit, I could see that Steph and G weren't waiting there to pass me the bottle. I don't blame them either because it was still light raining. So I tried to keep a good pace and then ducked down to grab the bottle and then keep moving. I didn't lose much contact with grey doing this either. We saw the other HM/M runners coming back at us. Purple was still leading, grey was further behind now but still moving well, then other purple was by himself, then double Chicagos, then beard (who had slipped in position now), and then older in black (doing the HM in 7s, but a touch faster than 7s). I saw the lady in glasses again and gave her a shoutout. She said she's cheered at some big races and is used to moving quick. Then grey and I hit the turnaround 1 by 1. Unlike 2021, I didn't step off the sidewalk and tweak everything in my body. I took the sharp turn real slow and eased back into running again. Looks like we hit the turn at 46:06 per my Garmin. I was pleased with this as it meant I was around a 1:32. It meant we were both on pace for our goals. I kept drinking from my water bottle, but honestly it was getting a bit unpleasant to try and drink that much water that quickly when running that pace. Almost felt like I was going to hurl, but thankfully that feeling dissipated. I never did see this split (or much of any of them) so I had no idea that pace had slipped a touch, but that's explainable by the turnaround we did and reaching for my bottle. So it didn't bother me, because I had no idea. But I knew I was doing well because grey was still within contact. I tossed my bottle back at my spot, and then it was time to attack the remainder of the race.
Mile 8 - 6:58 - GAP 6:57
Grey and I were making our way through the other runners. We now had middle pack 10kers, and almost all the other HM/Ms to work through on the other side. A lot less runners on our side. That meant we were 1 by 1 again. Some time around the halfway mark of this mile is when I wished grey marathoner well and started off on my own. It was time to start kicking and seeing what I had. Since I had gotten so many alerts I was below HR zone, I wanted to see what at HR zone looked like. Well within seconds I was getting alerted I was too high, so that didn't last long. But I was a little ahead of grey now. Looks like I was doing high 6:40s momentarily. I was aiming to catch the man in black ahead of me. But now that I'm typing this, I think the other man in black passed us at some moment earlier in the race. It's possible this was the moment we collectively passed him and it got to him mentally. I don't quite remember at this point, but I do remember passing other man in black around the Mile 7.8-8.2 mark.
Mile 9 - 7:02 - GAP 6:59
I think it was around this time that I had my Maurten gel. It was non-caff because I didn't have any more caff gels at home. I was putting in a good effort at this point. I had elevated how hard I was running, but could also tell I hadn't put much of a gap on grey. So I was probably still around 7 pace despite the increase in effort. I saw woman in glasses again and asked her if she had a portal. How was she possible zooming back and forth so quick! I don't remember much else from this mile. I didn't have anyone to chase in view at this point, grey was still hot on my trail, and the other runners weren't headed back towards me yet.
Mile 10 - 7:08 - GAP 7:07
Breathe... relax... one foot in front of the other. Things were getting hard. I was getting less and less alerts about the HR being too low at this point and I was really grinding. Somewhere just after the Mile 9 mark is when the lead runner passed me going the other way. He was a little over a mile ahead of me at this point. So the order remained the same as at the turnaround. It was purple, grey, purple, Chicagos, beard, and man in black. Man in black had a gap on me of probably about 2 min based on where we were when we passed each other. I hit the 9.83 turn at 1:09:08. Grey was hot behind me, and other man in black not too far behind that.
Mile 11 - 7:05 - GAP 7:06
Dig... dig... DIGGGG!!! I was putting in a really high effort at this point. I wasn't pulling away from grey, but I was at least holding position. It's hard to remember, but I think I had another drink of concentrated Tailwind during this mile. Somewhere during the tail end of this mile is when grey marathoner passed me. I tried to stick with him as best I could.
Mile 12 - 6:55 - GAP 6:56
I made my final move. I dropped the hammer and tried to separate myself from grey. It was to be everything I had left for the last two miles. Per Garmin, I had an explosion in pace. I was doing 6:20-6:30s for about a minute. But it wasn't sustainable. I just kept pressing as much as I could as this point. Breathe... relax... one foot in front of the other. Quick steps. The floor is lava. I didn't look back for the remainder of the race.
Mile 13 - 7:03 - GAP 7:03
I was coming upon the back end HM/M runners at this point now. Weaving in and out when needed. I was just trying to make it to the finish. When I hit the 12.11 mark I peaked at my watch and saw something like high 1:24s. So I knew I was on track for a 1:32-ish finish. I saw fast purple headed back out for another lap, so that meant he was a marathoner. So too was other purple and the two Chicagos. So I figured that put me in 4th place behind grey, beard, and other man in black from the start line. I saw Steph and G at 12.9 mark, and saw grey's wife/sister hand him a bottle (so she must have been doing the 10k since she was finished).
Mile 13.17 - 7:00 - GAP 7:00 - 1:12
Saw the lady in glasses again, and then made the final turn to the finish. Saw the other man in black as he was circling back from his finish, and then it was my turn. Exhausted, I crossed the finish line.
Finish - 1:32:25 *3rd fastest HM behind 2019 Madison and 2018 Disney
Overall - 4/74 (5.4%) *8th best performance in all races except Disney
Gender - 4/38 (10.5%)
AG - 1/4 (WIN!) *3rd AG win in all races
After the race, Steph and G gave me some congrats. I saw grey turnaround for the continuation of his marathon. I congrats a few other runners. Woman in glasses was cheering on her husband who was going for a NYM AG Q time (he got it!). Spent some time chatting with other runners as they compiled the HM results. I sent G and Steph back to the car instead of continuing to wait in the rain with me. Eventually after 20 min or so the results were in and I got my 1st place AG award. Looks like it was a given since 2nd in my AG ran in 2:07. Compare that to Parkinson's which had a similar overall finisher number and I came in 8th AG place. It really was a competitive race. Made my way back to the car, and then we headed home.
The 1st place AG medal is a nice piece of wood working. The finisher medal is huge.
Summary
I'm really happy with the race I ran. I ran composed and within myself. It wasn't a negative split, but I didn't fade. I was able to run strong at the end and be competitive. Being the passer instead of the passee. All of the split were within 7 seconds of the average pace. Combine that with a 3rd best HM in the 24 I've done, and it was a pretty good day. Splits wise, I ran the first half in 46:06 and the second half in 46:19. My 5k splits were 21:44, 21:38, 21:54, 21:53. Happy with everything overall. I did well on the pacing, the HR zone alerts helped, and having someone else with the same goal pace helped.
ETA - Looks like grey marathon finished in 3:09:38 based on there being a woman sharing the same last name, and his splits align with my own. His BQ would be a 3:10:00 so he just squeaked in!
******
The 2023 Spring Season Prediction Contest: Finale
Original Post
Since we had blind guesses in the final round, let's see what everyone put down:
1:29:28 - @eminemilie
1:30:30 - Me
1:31:00 - G
1:32:10 - @Jules76126
1:32:47 - @Naomeri
1:32:57 - @azrivest
1:33:33 - @flav
1:34:19 - @JAMIESMITH
1:34:31 - @MissLiss279
1:34:42 - @FFigawi
1:35:00 - @bovie
1:37:00 - @kps7795
And drum roll........
G is the winner! She was very excited to win and to take home her prize! Shout to myself in 2nd place and to @JAMIESMITH in 3rd place. Also a great rally by @Naomeri late to finish in 4th place. Thanks to all that played!
So what's next?
The goal for the summer is to get back to hitting the weights. I'm hoping to go through the full sessions of LIIFT4, and try to get the necessary equipment to embrace LIIFT More. This means I'll probably pull back on running a bit and drop to something like 3-4 days per week during the summer. Then come winter, I'm planning on doing another series of races aiming towards a finale at Disneyland in Jan 2024. Then the plan at the moment is to turn to a Spring marathon training cycle aiming for the 2024 Non-Cancelled Marathon.
Thanks for reading!
The 2023 Non-Cancelled HM served as the finale for my 2023 Spring Training cycle. The goal of this training cycle was different than most of the training cycles I've done since 2015. Instead of focusing on a single "A" race, and on occasion having a single "B" race, this time around I stacked the schedule with lots of "B" races. Less time for training and more time for racing. I was hoping to spread out my chances with the hope that one race would have great racing weather. Princess was warmer than hoped, Shamrock 10k was good, First Call was good other than the snow/ice on course, Parkinson's was hot, and then there was the 2023 Non-Cancelled HM. The forecast looked cold enough, with a chance for rain. So let's see how race day played out.
I woke up at 4:45am. Took a shower, drank Liquid IV, ate PB sandwich, ate banana, and then got dressed. I packed the car with two sets of shoes (Next%2 and Next%3). I planned on wearing the Next%3 if the rain looked like it would hold off, and then 2s if it was going to rain. Before long, all of us loaded into the car and we were off at about 6:05am. It was raining when we left home, but when we arrived in Oconomowoc around 6:45am there wasn't any rain there yet. The rain was moving west to east, and there was barely any rain. So the storm moved really slowly.
Left the car and headed to the bathrooms. Since the race was at a park, there were real bathrooms available. Thankfully they were open too! Got inside and the men's bathroom had two stalls but only one with toilet paper (and barely any of it). Glad I arrived really early.
I headed over on the short walk to bib pickup at around 7:05am. Got my bib without issues, and then headed back over to the car. G and Steph had been playing on the playground and were now using the adult workout equipment. G and I made our way back to the car, and then I did my dynamic stretches near a park bench. I used the restroom again (some complaints about the lack of toilet paper), and then got my running stuff on. The rain had just started. I decided to go with the Next%2 because of the rain. They've got quite a few miles on them for race shoes, but they're tried and true. I know how they'll respond to rain. Better the safe decision, than sorry.
At about 7:30am, I headed out for a very short warmup. The Next%2 felt a little flatter than I'd want in a race day shoe. But I didn't let that bother me. Roll with the punches. The WU was easy. Did about 8 min of slow running, and then did three strides with picking up the pace. Used the real restrooms for one last time, and then made my way back to the car where Steph and G were hanging out. Drank my Maurten 320 around 7:45am. Got all my stuff together and then said bye to the family. Took a water bottle out to the course and left it along the path at about the 6.2 mile mark. Then I made my way over to the start line. Most other runners were wearing rain jackets and pants. But you know me, I'm in shorts and a tank. And to be honest, I wasn't event the least bit cold. This was my jam, maybe minus the light rain. But honestly, I'd rather have a light rain than the sun eight days a week when it comes to racing. As I walked up they started the national anthem, we lined up at the start. Had a short chat with an older male runner who offered for me to stand next to him when toeing the line. He said he was also doing the HM and also aiming for a 7 min/mile. And then we got our countdown and we were off.
Conditions - 🌧 Moderate rain, Wind 7mph to 19mph
Start: Temp+Dew = 45°F + 37°F; FL - 41°F
End: Temp+Dew = 44°F + 35°F; FL - 41°F
*I'll disagree with the 19mph wind and say I'm not sure I ever felt the wind as an impediment to my progress. Additionally, the rain was present, but it was hardly moderate. Not a drizzle, not a downpour. A nice light noticeable rain. My singlet was soaked after about 3 miles or so to give a perspective.
Mile 1 - 6:59 - GAP 6:59
The goal at the start of the race was two-fold.
1) Don't go out too fast
2) See #1
I was aiming for a 7 min/mile. Additionally, I set a HR alert on my watch for 150 bpm. Based on a recent analysis my HM HR tends to be about 147-149 bpm regardless of conditions. So unlike the last two spring races, I wanted to keep myself in check from a pace standpoint and a HR standpoint. So for the first mile I set the HR at 10 bpm to 149 bpm, then for every mile after that I set the goal range to be 144 bpm to 149 bpm.
The race started and I was going way too fast. That other guy doing a 7 min/mile was running way faster than a 7 min/mile. So I ended up doing 6:40s for the first minute and then reigned myself in. As I reigned myself in I was passed by a few other runners. Older in black (also doing a 7 min/mile HM), purple who went blazing by, grey who went blazing by, the two Chicago guys, another purple guy, and then another older guy in black. So right from the first 0.5 mile or so I was in about 8th or so place. The 8:00am start was HM/M, so it was tough to know who was doing what until the end of the race. Since the course is a double out/back that means when the Marathoners go on their third loop is the indication that they weren't a HM runner. So at this point, I treated everyone like they were a HM runner.
Somewhere during the first mile a marathoner in grey pulled up next to me. He told me he was doing the marathon and aiming for a 3:05 finish (around 7 min/mile). I told him I was doing the HM and aiming for a 1:30-1:33 finish (also around a 7 min/mile). He was going for a BQ with some wiggle room. While it was unspoken, it was at that moment that the two of us kind of latched onto each other. We started running side by side.
Mile 2 - 7:00 - GAP 6:56
Every time my HR exceeded 149 bpm I'd get a voice in my headphones saying, "hey buddy, cool your jets". For the most part though there was never any effort adjustment and the audio would inform me that I was back within zone. So I knew I was riding the line, but staying under the limit. Marathon grey and I were still together and running well. I think it was around this time that we passed the "other" older guy in black (didn't know what race he was doing). He told me post-race that he overheard us taking about marathon vs HM, and thought he had heard we were both doing the M. So when we passed him he momentarily felt bad about himself because we were passing him and going twice the distance. But thankfully he said that mental moment was fleeting and he just kept trying to keep us in view for the remainder of the race. We had a street crossing (the whole race was on a bike path and sidewalk), and there was a woman in glasses there cheering us on.
Mile 3 - 7:00 - GAP 6:58
Happy with how the race was playing out. I was sticking with the 7 min/mile pace goal, and the HR was staying in zone other than a few fleeting moments. While it was still raining, and still cold, it didn't bother me in the least. I was enjoying the experience and me and the grey marathoner were still in lock step. We came up to the second aid station table at about Mile 2.1-2.3. I grabbed a cup of water, and my co-runner had his own water bottle. So he kept moving and I slowed a touch to drink, but I was still running while drinking using the pinch method. We didn't really lose contact too much and were running side by side after a quarter mile or so. The whole time I wasn't really paying attention to the pace too much. I was focusing on staying in lock with grey marathoner and using the HR limit as a gauge to keep me from overreaching.
Mile 4 - 7:00 - GAP 7:01
We made our way to the turnaround point and could get our first look at the other runners. Fast purple was in the lead, then grey, then beard and other purple, then two chicago guys, then older HM in black. We were still running in 8th and 9th place at that point. Felt good on the turn. There were some runners here and there behind us. Seemed like the lead female was about 2-3 min behind us in terms of where she would finish. Her and 2nd place weren't too far apart from each other. As we hit the 3.5 mile mark and turned westward is when we saw all the other runners behind us. Additionally about 10 min after the HM/M start was the 5k/10k start. So some of these runners were in the 10k as well. Things got a lot busier on the bike path and so myself and grey ended up going 1-2 instead of running side by side.
Mile 5 - 6:54 - GAP 6:55
Body was still feeling pretty good. I was putting in a good effort, and was staying around that 7:00 goal and 144-149 bpm goal. Around this point is when something unexpected started happening. I started to get alerts from my HR that it was going below 144. So every time I got one of those alerts I tried to dig in a little bit more and run a little harder. HR says I can, so let's try. And then I'd get it back up in the zone. Where I was getting more alerts for high HR early on, the pendulum definitely swung and for most of the middle of the race I was getting alerts for being lower than zone. I think this is when grey got a bottle switch from a female runner (wife/sister?). He was a touch ahead of me, but I shouted him so kudos for a smooth handoff. I also saw the woman in glasses cheering again. Because of the workout, I wasn't seeing my completed splits pop up on my screen after each mile and instead it was prompting me with the goal HR zone. So I was kind of blind on pace, but I knew since grey marathoner was around that we were still doing something close to 7s.
Mile 6 - 6:57 - GAP 6:57
Grey and I made our turn up north on the path. The people on the other side of the path were thinning out as we were hitting the back end of the 10k/HM/M runners. So we were running side by side again. I think it was sometime during this mile that I had my first drink from the concentrated Tailwind. I also hit up another aid station, and drank the water while running. I didn't lose much contact with grey. We didn't have much to chase though as the other runners had a sizeable gap on us, and there wasn't much behind us either. We just kept making our way through the middle of the pack 10k runners now.
Mile 7 - 7:07 - GAP 7:07
At this point I was putting in a pretty good effort. I had left my water bottle on the path. Since the route was really straight for a good bit, I could see that Steph and G weren't waiting there to pass me the bottle. I don't blame them either because it was still light raining. So I tried to keep a good pace and then ducked down to grab the bottle and then keep moving. I didn't lose much contact with grey doing this either. We saw the other HM/M runners coming back at us. Purple was still leading, grey was further behind now but still moving well, then other purple was by himself, then double Chicagos, then beard (who had slipped in position now), and then older in black (doing the HM in 7s, but a touch faster than 7s). I saw the lady in glasses again and gave her a shoutout. She said she's cheered at some big races and is used to moving quick. Then grey and I hit the turnaround 1 by 1. Unlike 2021, I didn't step off the sidewalk and tweak everything in my body. I took the sharp turn real slow and eased back into running again. Looks like we hit the turn at 46:06 per my Garmin. I was pleased with this as it meant I was around a 1:32. It meant we were both on pace for our goals. I kept drinking from my water bottle, but honestly it was getting a bit unpleasant to try and drink that much water that quickly when running that pace. Almost felt like I was going to hurl, but thankfully that feeling dissipated. I never did see this split (or much of any of them) so I had no idea that pace had slipped a touch, but that's explainable by the turnaround we did and reaching for my bottle. So it didn't bother me, because I had no idea. But I knew I was doing well because grey was still within contact. I tossed my bottle back at my spot, and then it was time to attack the remainder of the race.
Mile 8 - 6:58 - GAP 6:57
Grey and I were making our way through the other runners. We now had middle pack 10kers, and almost all the other HM/Ms to work through on the other side. A lot less runners on our side. That meant we were 1 by 1 again. Some time around the halfway mark of this mile is when I wished grey marathoner well and started off on my own. It was time to start kicking and seeing what I had. Since I had gotten so many alerts I was below HR zone, I wanted to see what at HR zone looked like. Well within seconds I was getting alerted I was too high, so that didn't last long. But I was a little ahead of grey now. Looks like I was doing high 6:40s momentarily. I was aiming to catch the man in black ahead of me. But now that I'm typing this, I think the other man in black passed us at some moment earlier in the race. It's possible this was the moment we collectively passed him and it got to him mentally. I don't quite remember at this point, but I do remember passing other man in black around the Mile 7.8-8.2 mark.
Mile 9 - 7:02 - GAP 6:59
I think it was around this time that I had my Maurten gel. It was non-caff because I didn't have any more caff gels at home. I was putting in a good effort at this point. I had elevated how hard I was running, but could also tell I hadn't put much of a gap on grey. So I was probably still around 7 pace despite the increase in effort. I saw woman in glasses again and asked her if she had a portal. How was she possible zooming back and forth so quick! I don't remember much else from this mile. I didn't have anyone to chase in view at this point, grey was still hot on my trail, and the other runners weren't headed back towards me yet.
Mile 10 - 7:08 - GAP 7:07
Breathe... relax... one foot in front of the other. Things were getting hard. I was getting less and less alerts about the HR being too low at this point and I was really grinding. Somewhere just after the Mile 9 mark is when the lead runner passed me going the other way. He was a little over a mile ahead of me at this point. So the order remained the same as at the turnaround. It was purple, grey, purple, Chicagos, beard, and man in black. Man in black had a gap on me of probably about 2 min based on where we were when we passed each other. I hit the 9.83 turn at 1:09:08. Grey was hot behind me, and other man in black not too far behind that.
Mile 11 - 7:05 - GAP 7:06
Dig... dig... DIGGGG!!! I was putting in a really high effort at this point. I wasn't pulling away from grey, but I was at least holding position. It's hard to remember, but I think I had another drink of concentrated Tailwind during this mile. Somewhere during the tail end of this mile is when grey marathoner passed me. I tried to stick with him as best I could.
Mile 12 - 6:55 - GAP 6:56
I made my final move. I dropped the hammer and tried to separate myself from grey. It was to be everything I had left for the last two miles. Per Garmin, I had an explosion in pace. I was doing 6:20-6:30s for about a minute. But it wasn't sustainable. I just kept pressing as much as I could as this point. Breathe... relax... one foot in front of the other. Quick steps. The floor is lava. I didn't look back for the remainder of the race.
Mile 13 - 7:03 - GAP 7:03
I was coming upon the back end HM/M runners at this point now. Weaving in and out when needed. I was just trying to make it to the finish. When I hit the 12.11 mark I peaked at my watch and saw something like high 1:24s. So I knew I was on track for a 1:32-ish finish. I saw fast purple headed back out for another lap, so that meant he was a marathoner. So too was other purple and the two Chicagos. So I figured that put me in 4th place behind grey, beard, and other man in black from the start line. I saw Steph and G at 12.9 mark, and saw grey's wife/sister hand him a bottle (so she must have been doing the 10k since she was finished).
Mile 13.17 - 7:00 - GAP 7:00 - 1:12
Saw the lady in glasses again, and then made the final turn to the finish. Saw the other man in black as he was circling back from his finish, and then it was my turn. Exhausted, I crossed the finish line.
Finish - 1:32:25 *3rd fastest HM behind 2019 Madison and 2018 Disney
Overall - 4/74 (5.4%) *8th best performance in all races except Disney
Gender - 4/38 (10.5%)
AG - 1/4 (WIN!) *3rd AG win in all races
After the race, Steph and G gave me some congrats. I saw grey turnaround for the continuation of his marathon. I congrats a few other runners. Woman in glasses was cheering on her husband who was going for a NYM AG Q time (he got it!). Spent some time chatting with other runners as they compiled the HM results. I sent G and Steph back to the car instead of continuing to wait in the rain with me. Eventually after 20 min or so the results were in and I got my 1st place AG award. Looks like it was a given since 2nd in my AG ran in 2:07. Compare that to Parkinson's which had a similar overall finisher number and I came in 8th AG place. It really was a competitive race. Made my way back to the car, and then we headed home.
The 1st place AG medal is a nice piece of wood working. The finisher medal is huge.
Summary
I'm really happy with the race I ran. I ran composed and within myself. It wasn't a negative split, but I didn't fade. I was able to run strong at the end and be competitive. Being the passer instead of the passee. All of the split were within 7 seconds of the average pace. Combine that with a 3rd best HM in the 24 I've done, and it was a pretty good day. Splits wise, I ran the first half in 46:06 and the second half in 46:19. My 5k splits were 21:44, 21:38, 21:54, 21:53. Happy with everything overall. I did well on the pacing, the HR zone alerts helped, and having someone else with the same goal pace helped.
ETA - Looks like grey marathon finished in 3:09:38 based on there being a woman sharing the same last name, and his splits align with my own. His BQ would be a 3:10:00 so he just squeaked in!
******
The 2023 Spring Season Prediction Contest: Finale
Original Post
Since we had blind guesses in the final round, let's see what everyone put down:
1:29:28 - @eminemilie
1:30:30 - Me
1:31:00 - G
1:32:10 - @Jules76126
1:32:47 - @Naomeri
1:32:57 - @azrivest
1:33:33 - @flav
1:34:19 - @JAMIESMITH
1:34:31 - @MissLiss279
1:34:42 - @FFigawi
1:35:00 - @bovie
1:37:00 - @kps7795
And drum roll........
G is the winner! She was very excited to win and to take home her prize! Shout to myself in 2nd place and to @JAMIESMITH in 3rd place. Also a great rally by @Naomeri late to finish in 4th place. Thanks to all that played!
So what's next?
The goal for the summer is to get back to hitting the weights. I'm hoping to go through the full sessions of LIIFT4, and try to get the necessary equipment to embrace LIIFT More. This means I'll probably pull back on running a bit and drop to something like 3-4 days per week during the summer. Then come winter, I'm planning on doing another series of races aiming towards a finale at Disneyland in Jan 2024. Then the plan at the moment is to turn to a Spring marathon training cycle aiming for the 2024 Non-Cancelled Marathon.
Thanks for reading!
DopeyBadger
Imagathoner
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2015
Thanks! I am! Not sure what happened to the splits. Doesn't seem like it worked for most of us HM'ers, but it worked for the M runners. Might explain the delay in posting the final results.
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