After a month of 100-plus-mile weeks, I cut back for two weeks (90; race week was 70) so I could take a real charge at the Philadelphia Distance Run on Sept. 20. This was the first half marathon I have run fresh. Others have come in the thick of a marathon buildup.
The goal was to crack 1:10 and I came very close, clocking 1:10.11 for 36th place. This amounts to a PR of 1:38.
Ryan Hall is wise enough to know that the training which produces a sub-60 half marathon is not necessarily the same training that will lead him to his first victory at a major marathon. For one, sub-60 requires fresh legs, and about six weeks away from a marathon, Hall’s legs, frankly, are better off dead.
Shortly after Ryan Hall announced he would appear at the Philadelphia Distance Run I received an email from a training buddy who joked that he fully expected I would finish ahead of the Olympian and, as it turns out, the only American to ever crack one hour in the half marathon.
In my response, I noted that while Hall might be attempting to go sub-60 for a new PR and American record, I would hopefully be going for sub-70 for a PR of my own.
Hall ran pretty darn well at PDR -- well enough, at least, to remain undefeated in the half marathon. Running comfortably with Samuel Ndereba and Felix Limo, Hall bolted at 12 miles, closing with a final mile of 4:27. His time was 1:01.51, and he appears to be in fine shape for New York.
My goal race for the fall, the Philadelphia Marathon, is Nov. 22. Because of that, my training plan for the fall has called for two buildups -- one for PDR, another for the marathon. For the first time, then, I was reasonably tapered for a half marathon. As well, I had more quality speed sessions under my belt from the last few months than at any other time since college. That said, I was reasonably sure I would demolish my previous PR of 1:11.52 from last March's National Half Marathon.
I stayed with my sister and her boyfriend, Greg Bowyer, in Manayunk. We left their apartment around six and quickly got to a parking garage close to the start, in front of the art museum. We met up with my mom and my father, who of course was full of race day nerves. I also met up with my GRC teammates, Jake Klim and Dylan Keith. About 50 minutes before the race, Jake, Dylan, Greg and I set out for our warmup – out and back along the last couple miles of the race.
It was pretty cool. We saw Hall and his crew. We saw Constantina Dita, who only won the gold medal in the marathon in Beijing …
I warmed up in a jacket, glove, hat and pants, but toward the end of the 20 minutes I could feel myself heating up. The weather was placid, close to ideal, and it was clear there would be no need for gloves or a hat.
About 10 minutes before the gun, I parted with my family and jogged to the start with my teammates. When we got to the first corral, though, we were surprised to see that it was more packed than a corporate cattle operation. We really had to be aggressive just to get through the gate. We wound up about three seconds off the line; thus, the first mile had lots of unnecessary weaving.
I felt good, though. After (three?) miles, I caught up with Jake and we started to work together. We unfortunately seemed to be stranded between packs; a sizeable group was ahead and we tried to make a slight push in order to catch them. Curving out to Kelly Drive, I saw my mom and sister, which gave me lift, and I told Jake that we should try to catch the group, tuck in until the bridge at 8 and then really try to roll on the other side of the river.
We were running 5:17s and it was hard to tell if we were really pulling in the pack. By the time we really were pulling them in, around mile 7, the pack was splintering, with two guys falling off and the rest surging ahead. At 8 miles I was still feeling pretty good, but it was clear Jake was a bit stronger. After a 5:20 he surged ahead, as we hit the bridge, and I more or less held pace, or very close to it.
I passed 10 miles in 53:11, still sub-5:20 pace, and tried to keep my eyes ahead. Suddenly, though, I heard a van honking its horn behind me. Repeatedly. Why? There was no one around me, and there seemed to be plenty of space to get by. It was the truck for the two lead women, including the great Catherine Ndereba. I paced off them for perhaps a half mile. Still, they surged ahead. (Interestingly, a guy on the truck told me, as the women were catching me, that I was on pace for 1:09.40, which turned out to be Ndereba’s winning time.)
Honestly, I ran out of gas in the last 1.5 miles. I had run road PRs for 10K and 10 miles and so perhaps I was asking for a bit too much. It’s a tough part of the course, anyway. The sun really hits the pavement, and it’s slightly uphill. I can’t recall my exact 20K time, but I knew I was very close to dipping under 1:10. Though I gave it everything I had, I fell a bit short.
All in all, I was very pleased with the PR of 1:10.11, as I think it sets me up very well for the November marathon, and my place of 36th.
Jake finished 26th in 1:09.27. He’s had a great year. Check out his blog (listed on the right) to see some of his results from the spring.
Greg also PRed at 1:16.46, and after hearing about the hours he has been putting in for his job, the journalism biz suddenly seemed remarkably 8 to 5.
Dad, 53 and bearer of the torch, only continues to impress: 1:26.58.
Here are some of my splits:
1. 5:20 - 5:20
2. 10:38 - 5:18
3. 15:52 - 5:14
(16:23 – 5k)
4. 21:09 - 5:16
5. 26:24 - 5:15
6. 31:40 - 5:15
(32:43 – 10k)
7. 36:56 – 5:16
8. 42:17 – 5:20
9. – 10 53:11 – 10:54 – 5:26
10-13.1 – 17:00 – 5:28
http://running.competitor.com/live/philadelphia/liveblog
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