Sunday, August 13, 2006

Beautiful CDC PR! I believe Boston is possible!

"Chicago is a breathtakingly beautiful city." This is what I thought to myself on Mile 9 as I looked for that 10-mile marker along the Lakefront path. I was in fine form. The sun was reflecting off the lake and the cityscape was directly in front of me with McCormick Place to my left. I felt awesome.

This was as close to a perfect race as I will ever run. I trained. I set a goal time. I had a plan by the mile. I exceeded my own expectations.

To all of you who read this blog and have watched my progress, this for me is a great day in running. Thank you for keeping me focused on my goals and giving me a reason to keep trying.

The CDC was extremely well organized. The weather was perfect. The course is beautiful. These races are why I run. Running on the Chicago lakefront for the first time with such velocity and ease today was a remarkable experience.

I wanted to heed the advice I had received from the articles I had read. Don't blow this race by going out to fast, I said to myself. Run a 7-minute first mile. Ignore all else and keep the emotions in check. And I did. I watched my pace like a hawk and exercised great discipline. I felt truly in control of my destiny today.

Here are the splits of my race today - an earth-shattering half-marathon PR for me:


Mile 1 - 7:02 - 166 Heartrate
Mile 2 - 6:48 - 168
Mile 3 - 7:01 - 171
Mile 4 - 6:57 - 169
Mile 5 - 7:01 - 171
Mile 6 - 7:02 - 165
Mile 7 - 6:54 - 169
Mile 8 - 7:03 - 170
Mile 9 - 6:47 - 170
Mile 10 - 6:55 - 174
Mile 11 - 6:50 - 169
Mile 12 - 6:51 - 172
Mile 13 - 6:36 - 177
Last 0.1 - 0:36 - 182

OFFICIAL RACE TIME: 1:30:24 - 6:55 per mile

Here is the official results site.

No porta-pottie breaks. I d
rank at every aid station (10 of them) while keeping the feet turning over at consistent pace. I felt strong for most of the race. The HR was higher than I expected but I didn't feel winded until the last mile (which was 6:36, thank you very much).

My goal was to be at the 10-mile mark with a time of 1:09:45. I arrived there at 1:09:31 and had fuel in the tank. I turned on the jets. I was picking off victims left and right.

I laid out the goal statment and I exceeded it. I am absolutely thrilled with my progress and my performance.

I know that the reason to run in my life is not only about achieving a specific time, but I have to say the personal satisfaction I feel today is wonderful. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this.

When I hit that 13 mile mark, I started waving on the crowd for cheers. I was pumping my fist in the air as I sprinted toward the finish. This is exactly what I want to feel in 10 weeks time.

With this race performance, McMillan's "world famous" calculator is now predicting a 3:10:39 marathon for me. This would get me in to Boston.

Even more interesting to me is that if you look at McMillan's predicted 5k race pace after entering a 1:30:24 for a half marathon, the chart says I should be able to run a 19:33 5k. Guess what I ran less than 3 weeks ago? a 19:32! Guess McMillan knows what he's talking about!

I know that I have 10 more weeks of very hard work left to achieve my ultimate goal, but I am starting to feel like the BQ is actually possible. I always believed I could do it but I have to be honest and say I wasn't sure if I was working hard enough or if I would get there on this particular try. As of today, I am beginning to truly believe.

I did not get my after-race recovery in because I was hanging out with my fellow Wheaton runners and I didn't want to leave my wife alone for more miles. So we celebrated, went to brunch and then headed over to Niketown to pick up the race packet for Thursday's Nike Remix Race 5-miler.


However, I wanted that 50+ for the week and I feel good. So I decided to run a recovery at 12:20 PM after we arrived home. I ran 3.2 miles in 25:40. The only disappointment of the day is that my lovely wife forgot to bring the camera out of the car for post-race pics! :(

Recap of the week:

Mon - 6 mile recovery
Tue - 12 mile general aerobic
Wed - Rest
Thu - 10.5 mile general aerobic
Fri - 6.5 mile recovery
Sat - Rest
Sun - Half Marathon + 3.2 mile recovery = 16.3

Total mileage for the week: 51.3

19 comments:

SRR said...

HOLY SHIT I'm impressed. Now I am done reading your blog. It just depresses me with my slowness!!

yumke said...

You rock the world. A PR achieved by consistent and smart racing. Wonderful. You'll have to coach me through my next half in September when I try to aim for a sub 1:34.

LeahC said...

awesome ryan!!! I knew that you were going to get your goal. You are so consistant with your training and you had a plan that sounded solid.

Nice Job!!!! and Congrats!!! I see Boston in your future.

mouse said...

great job, ryan! congrats on the race well run. you've definitely earned it with your consistency and dedication! Just 10 more weeks and we'll be looking at another boston qualifyer, I'm sure of it!

mg said...

Congratulations! What a great finish time; that's pretty cool that the calculator matches up with your 5K time.

Iron Jayhawk said...

What a stud!! Great job, Ryan!!!!! You've got Boston on your mind and it is evident! Way to beat your goal!!!

Triseverance said...

Awsome job Ryan, it is really nice to see the hard work paying off for you. Nicely done on a number of fronts.

Anonymous said...

Your enthusiasm is awesome. I'm glad you're so happy. GREAT RACE!!!

My Life said...

Wow - congratulations! You trained and you ran the race you deserved!!

Chad said...

Great job, Ryan. Your enthusiam is awesome as it oozes out of your report.

This bodes much better for a 3:10 than your 19:32 5k. Like I said before, lots more people can run 19:32 than 3:10. Being able to maintain that 3:10 McMillan calculation for a half marathon shows your aerobic capacity is moving in the right direction.

Be sure and recover from this race, even if it means not doing any hard workout this week. That's much more important than trying to sqeeze in hard day just because it's on Pfitz's plan. I wouldn't do anything hard before AT LEAST Thursday.

Ms. Jones said...

ohhh I'm so jealous. wonderful race. you can get Boston. Hopefully I'll be there with you!

Carrie said...

Awesome Job!!!!! Wow, doesn't it feel great to state a goal and achive it and beat it!!! Great job. I'm so glad I found your blog, I look forward to reading about the rest of your training. Good luck and I'm sure you'll make Boston!

Dave said...

One word: W-O-W

Incredible job. I am in awe of your accomplishment. Congrats on the race, I would have to agree with everyone else...Boston is in your future...

Steve said...

All I will say is very nice job. Remember the feeling and read your post again the morning of the marathon if you need a reminder of how pumped you will be after it is all done and the BQ is yours.

Again, well done!!!

Unknown said...

Awesome race report Ryan! You have executed your plan and are currently receiving some pretty good dividends. Keep it rolling for the next 10 weeks and execute the marathon just as you did in the CDC. Well Done!

jellypepper said...

Woohoo! You put a goal out there, then smashed it. BQ is on the horizon. Keep up the good work.

MNFirefly said...

HOLY CRAP! Wow! Awesome race! You can do it! I hear Boston calling you.

Greg said...

Nice Job Ryan. The key to the marathon is to have an equally solid game plan and executing it, just like you did this past weekend.

But forget about that for now. Bask in the afterglow for awhile. You've earned it.

Haight said...

...sweet!