Today I am Diana Ho

Bronx Half Marathon

My alarm goes off at 4:30 am this morning, and I can’t help but think “what have I gotten myself into?”  Two days earlier fellow harrier, Heather, had asked if I would join her in using the Bronx Half Marathon as a long training run.   Glad to have the company for what was planned to be a hard long run, I accepted.  But when the time came to wake up this morning, I was definitely resistant.  By 5am I was out the door for an hour and a half train ride to the bronx.  Using races for training runs has always proven to be a little odd for me.  As much as I tell myself that it is will purely be a fun run, I still have all of my normal pre-race jitters and nervousness.

This weeks long run is mapped out as being 16-18 miles (I am doing 15 because of my late start in training) with the middle 8 to 10 miles done at marathon goal pace.  Although I finished only seconds behind Heather in the 5 mile race last Saturday, she has had much better luck with the marathon, finishing Boston in 3:18 last spring.  We discussed running at an 8min/ mile pace in the  beginning of the race, then 8 miles at 7:25 min pace, and then slowing it down again for the last 2 miles, adding 2 additional miles after the race to round out the total miles needed for the day.  In an effort to up my game a little, I agreed with the time (although my marathon pace is more in the 7:35 to 7:40 pace). As I sit on the train I worry.  Even though I have ran all of my half marathons faster then the pace planned, I am still worried about keeping up steam.

I arrive in the bronx and meet with Heather at the registration tent.  I pick up my hand-me-down number “Diana Ho please” and since Heather is planning on running a couple extra miles  before the beginning then I, we plan to meet back at the corals before the race.  I check my bags, pin on my number, and do a short jog before heading over to the corals.  I realize right away that with the crazy and unorganized state of the corals, I had little to no chance of finding my running mate.  I wait outside the corals, and only when the race offiicially  begins do I hop in and cross the start line.

I run the first mile a little slower then planned, so I speed it up for the second.  Although I am no longer running with Heather, I decide to still stick with the pre-decided pace for the run.  As I am finishing the 2nd mile, the course is taking us on an out and back where I spot Heather, wave, and notice she actually isn’t that far ahead of me.  I speed it up for the next mile, faster then the original 7:25/mile pace, in an effort to hopefully catch up with Heather.  Quickly I pass Charlie from the Harriers.  I had no idea she was running today, but it is always fun to spot a familiar face.  ”Heather is right up ahead”  she encourages me.  I run faster, and finished the 3rd & 4th mile in 7:15 minutes each, before realizing that I am running a little faster then I had hoped, and instead of exhausting myself in search of Heather, I slow down to the originally planned pace.  I finish the next 6 miles right on track.  The race isn’t especially thrilling, no real spectators, and not a lot of scenery to appreciate.  It is definitely a race that many people are using for a long training run, which is what makes the race enjoyable.  The pace is much more relaxed, and there are quite a few people from various running teams out.  When I pass the 10 mile marker I am ready to slow it down a little more, but after a mile of running at a slower pace I get board.  What was I thinking, who really wants to slow down at the end of the race?  I finish the last two miles at about 7:45 min pace.  I pass the 13 mile mark, and can see the finish line ahead.  Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” is coming through the loud speakers, and I speed it up slightly in the last 400m before crossing the finish.  Final time: 1:39.  I grab some water, and realize I still have 2 additional miles to put in for the day.  I turn around to do an out and back of the last mile in the race, but my legs are now stiff, and I am much more exhausted then I had hoped for.  Although I had slowed my pace down from a normal half marathon, I hadn’t paced myself enough.  Maybe this is all a part of upping my game, or maybe it is just the fact that I am adding mileage and I just finished a full marathon less then two months prior.  At any rate, I pick up my bags, grab one of the remaining large race day tanks (one more for dad), and head back into the subway. I arrive back at home around 11am.  I hit my bed, it has already been a long day, time for a nap!

http://traininglog.runnersworld.com/logs/6b70968d7369411095dbd0d2b798ad06/workouts/e29e3aed4366472da5418f47333d1c8d