Very hill 13.1

I had an OK week of training last week. I got on the bike a few times, got in the pool a few times, ran twice, and raced a half marathon yesterday (Sunday). My fitness isn't where I want it to be, but it is where it is.

I went into the half marathon tired - did a track workout Wednesday that beat me up a little bit and then rode for 3 hours on Saturday. Even knowing this, however, it's tough for me to put my ego on the shelf and admit that I'm not going to PR. So, I went out pretty hard (not smart) and was with the front 5 at mile 3. But that's when the hills started and my legs stopped. I was through the first 4 miles in about 24:20, but I wanted to quit. After a few rolling downhills my HR came down a little, but when I started a mile long climb from mile 5-6, I got passed by 3 guys. I tried to latch on to the pack, but I just couldn't. My heart was beating through my chest, I had chills, and my legs were screaming. Once I crested the hill I actually had to slow to a walk for about 15 seconds just to get my HR to dip below 190. I was able to keep eyes on the pack of 3 for about another mile and a half down the backside of the long hill, but they soon were out of sight and I was running alone. As I passed the not-so-accurately spaced mile markers I kept trying to guess what my finishing time would be, knowing that it would be my worst 13.1 to date. I had to walk one more time around mile 9 as I passed through an aid station. At mile 12, as I walked through another aid station which was manned by a few of my colleagues, 2 young guys caught me. I picked it up to stay on their shoulders and one of them faded back. The other kid still had quite a bit in the tank and with 800 meters to go he took off. He ended up beating me by 45 seconds.

I crossed the line with a 1:26:xx, 9th OA, and 2nd in my AG. My heart rate average for the race was 190 and I peaked at 205 bpm. The results were not bad, but it wasn't what I'm capable of. It was a hard effort though, which will inevitably make me stronger. I've got to get a nice long bike in some time this week because in 2 weeks I'll be "racing" a 70.3 that I'll taper for.

But enough about me... My wife had quite a different day on the course - she set a 20 minute half marathon PR and earned 2nd in her AG!! I'm super proud of her and know she's going to DESTROY the Atlantic City marathon in October.

Do great work!
Thanks for reading!
PW