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 Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon race report
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon race report Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 1:23 pm 

I finally got back in the saddle today with my first race in many months. I've run this half-marathon four times in a row, with times of 1:37, 1:44, 1:32, and most recently 1:33. Even though my recent training has mostly consisted of sitting on the couch, I was determined to extend my streak to five in a row. From a base of near zero, I threw together a couple of 20 mile weeks, 8 and an 11 mile "long" runs, and declared myself ready.

In my recent training runs, I've typically been doing around a 9:00 - 9:30 pace, and finding it challenging to do more than about 6 miles. I hoped I could keep a 9:00 or slightly better pace through a half-marathon, which would give me something like a 1:55 finish. Not blazing, but still better than sitting on the couch.

A beautiful morning greeted me in Golden Gate Park, with a record crowd of 9000 runners. This race just keeps getting bigger every year. I lined up pretty conservatively between the 8 and 9 minute mile signs, and from there it took me about 2 minutes to reach the start after the gun. My plan was to start slow, then taper off. Actually, I planned to take the first couple of miles as more of a warm-up, then see how much I could crank down the pace after that. But not surprisingly, that plan quickly flew out the window.

1 - 8:32 - bobbing and weaving through the crowds
2 - 7:58 - moving faster than expected, feeling ok
3 - 8:03
4 - 7:58
5 - 7:29 - the beginning of a few downhill miles to the ocean
6 - 7:36
7 - 7:55
8 - 8:07 - running along the beach now
9 - 7:57
10 - 8:03 - kind of zoning out, just focusing on keeping quick leg turnover
11 - 8:00
12 - 7:55 - pumping my arms like a madman!
13.1 - 8:47 [ 7:55/mi pace ]

TOTAL: 1:44:26

Not bad! It's still my slowest ever time for the course, but only by a hair, and still better than I'd been expecting. It's nice to know that my fitness hasn't TOTALLY evaporated. Now I'm looking forward to an 8K next weekend with my 4-year-old daughter. Maybe I'll race myself back into shape!


Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225

Re: Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon race report Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:52 pm 

Holy smokes, Rickshaw, that's an amazing time for nearly zero training! Good luck on the 8k!

mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367

Re: Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon race report Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:21 am 

Not only did you do a great job on that half marathon but you obviously did an excellent job of picking your parents. You appear to have the genetics for running. On the type of training you had I doubt I would have been able to hold a 9 min pace let alone finish the race without walking. You appear to hold your fitness quite well as evident by your quick return to respectable race fitness.

I've got a half marathon coming up this weekend (NYRRC - Bronx Half Marathon) and I'll think I might be able to muster a 1:48 finish. My milage has dropped from a high of about 50 back in December to about 32 last week. The cold weather (< 15F) has made running outdoors too intimidating for me so I've been doing shorter treadmill workotus and skipping some of the recovery/easy runs in favor of swim and bike workouts. I've been trying to put in at least one tempo (7:30 pace), one speed interval (5x1 mi at 7:00 pace) and one medium distance (10-12mi at 8:30 pace) workout each week. I obviously don't have the same running-type of genes you have. My biggest limiter has been my weight. I've lost only about 5 lbs in the last couple months and still need to lose another 15 or so. If the weather doesn't cause a problem this weekend I hope this race will help establish a baseline for my training as I head into the spring season.


mrbill

Sub-Chicago
Joined: 09 May 2006
Posts: 84

Re: Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon race report Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:59 am 

Dang, that's the kind of time I get with a whole summer of training....

Nice job!


Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157

Re: Kaiser Permanente Half-Marathon race report Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:34 pm 

mfox wrote:
I've got a half marathon coming up this weekend (NYRRC - Bronx Half Marathon) and I'll think I might be able to muster a 1:48 finish.


Good luck! I hope the cold weather doesn't freeze you out!


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