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Ran my first half today

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55in13
55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
in Social Groups
It went well. My training runs have lately been slightly under 10:00/mile, so I started with the 2:15 pace group for confidence. At 10 miles, the pacer said he was a bit ahead of schedule, but we were coming to the big hills at the end and he would slow the pace for the final 3. I decided to keep the pace or pick it up a bit. I picked it up a bit more than I planned. According to Endomondo, my pace for the first 10 was about 10:00. For the last 3, it was under 9:00. My official race time was 2:08:35. Endomondo claims the course was actually 13.6 (though I did walk after finishing a little ways before I stopped Endomondo) and that my best 13.1 was 2:05:25. It was a big group and some of the roads were wide, so it could be I zig zagged to add some distance. Not sure. Anyway, I am glad I took the advice (received here) to go with a pace group slightly slower than I have been running and then turn it on at the end if I have more in the tank. Great experience!
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Replies

  • Zekela
    Zekela Posts: 634 Member
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    Good job and congrats on finishing! I hope you had fun too.
  • schmenge55
    schmenge55 Posts: 745 Member
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    Great work! Congrats!!
  • blackcloud13
    blackcloud13 Posts: 654 Member
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    Well Done!! Sounds like you had a great day!
  • ZenInTexas
    ZenInTexas Posts: 781 Member
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    Awesome!! Congratulations on a great race!
  • michelleLynette
    michelleLynette Posts: 289 Member
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    That is great! Im glad you enjoyed your first half marathon:) It's my favorite race!
  • bert16
    bert16 Posts: 725 Member
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    Congrats! Sounds like a great race. Hope you're busy celebrating right now! :drinker:
  • amandamurdaugh
    amandamurdaugh Posts: 138 Member
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    great execution!
  • twinmom_112002
    twinmom_112002 Posts: 739 Member
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    Awesome!
  • DymonNdaRgh40
    DymonNdaRgh40 Posts: 661 Member
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    Wow! Your time was amazing as well for your first. It pays to train! It makes you comfortable and in the end you do better than you anticipate because you are prepared. Congratulations!
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Fantastic achievement, very well done indeed!

    I have a feeling it won't be your last lol x
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Great work! The fast pace for the last 3.1 miles (with big hills) was particularly impressive!
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    Fantastic achievement, very well done indeed!

    I have a feeling it won't be your last lol x
    I think you are right. I went in thinking I would do this as sort of a final exam to prove I had succeeded in getting reasonably fit, but I enjoyed the social part of the event more than I expected.

    I checked the results this morning and have yet one more slightly different number; I may have misunderstood yesterday. Anyway, it is 20:08:24.733. I am still a little mystified about the Endomondo numbers, which is a shame because it shows PRs for just about every distance and I am not sure if they are legit. Anyway, seeing full results, I finished dead in the middle of the pack - 225th out of 557 finishers. However in the 50-54 age group, I was 10th out of 49. Out of curiosity, I looked at 55-59, as I will be 55 before the end of the year. I would have been 12th of 25. Not a big enough sample to be conclusive, but it indicates the people who stick with it are pretty darn fit seniors.

    ETA - Looking closer at results, I have even more numbers to confuse me. I was the 225th person to cross the finish, but had the 222nd best net time and 9th in my age group. I finished at 2:08:45.590 on the race clock, but because I was back in the pack, I took over 20 seconds to cross at the start. My average pace was 9:48/mile.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    Great work! The fast pace for the last 3.1 miles (with big hills) was particularly impressive!
    It's kind of funny how that happened. After I left the pace group, I was passing everyone in front of me and started to worry that maybe I was going too fast and I could tell my pace was a little erratic. I slowed slightly and two women passed me. I used them as my pacers for a few minutes until one of them looked at her watch, counting down seconds and then said "and walk!" and they both started walking. I passed them and kept the pace. Anyway, they were doing intervals and I used their running pace continuously.

    I know better than to let it go to my head - the really good runners were already finished - but it was pretty cool to be passing younger, fit looking runners wearing shirts from other races. The two women who set my pace were the only ones that passed me after mile 10 and I passed them when they walked.
  • TheBrolympus
    TheBrolympus Posts: 586 Member
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    Congrats!
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
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    Great plan and great execution! Well done!
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    Congratulations! Nicely run race and a good time.

    Keep up the good work!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Endomondo can be really creative about distances. It told me that my "Peachtree Qualifier" 10-k was about half a mile short.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
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    Congrats!!
    yay!
    BTDT and it's very fun!

    I'm a big fan of Negative Splits all through the race.
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Congratulations on completing your first half, and what I consider to be a very nice time!
  • dorianaldyn
    dorianaldyn Posts: 611 Member
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    That's a great time for your first half!!

    I also think the half marathon is a great distance - long enough to be a significant challenge, but not so long that training takes over your life!

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