For Whom the Dogs Bark

60F, 90% humidity, some wind from a generally southerly direction, didn't write it down.  I wasn't really prepared for this race, kind of did it on a whim and my time shows it, more than 5 minutes slower than my PR, which is quite a bit for this distance.  The last one I ran in Beaumont had identical temperatures as today and more wind, so not a good day.  I will say, though, this course was very hilly.  A couple of 100 to 150-foot ascents which were steeper than Veyo in St. George, as well as some gradual ascents.  (All this in Texas, no lie.)  Plus the placement of the hills was bad.  First big hill right at the start leaving us winded a quarter mile into the race, second long one at mile 5, then did it all again because it was a two-loop course.  I am chalking it up to too much time in an airplane, too little sleep and too little running.  I don't think there was any SGM effect, but it is possible I guess.

Wade, Linda and I left at 6, got to Huntsville about 7, race started at 8.  I brought along a course elevation map and after discussing it I suggested that we go to McDonalds instead.  For a minute I thought they were going to take me up on it.  Linda was running her first half and was nervous.  My splits, were 7:35, 6:53, 7:23, 7:20 (175), 7:30 (177), 8:00 (177), 7:58 (175), 8:03 (175), 7:34 (172), 7:51 (176), 7:54 (178), 8:13 (180), 8:25 (180) and 7:10 (181) for the final 0.22.  My gimpy right ankle started giving out on me a few times in the last 3 miles, making me hobble, but I don't think it affected my time much.  The erractic splits were generally due to the uphill/downhill nature of the course, but I also ran out of gas, I have a conditioning issue it appears.  Average pace on the first half was about 7:27 per mile, second time around the same loop was about 8:01 per mile.  Course was about a minute long, they almost always are.  Average overall pace 7:44, average heart rate 177 (92% of HRmax), overall official time 1:42:19.

The hills were probably worth about 2 minutes -- and temperature doesn't explain the rest of the difference. I took third in my age group, got beat by two 59-year old guys, one of whom I beat pretty easily in a 5K earlier this year; actually I was surprised when I found out I placed.  If I had matched my PR I would have won my age group.  1:20 won the whole thing, so even though there were some good runners, the course took its toll.  Wade finished 4 minutes behind me, when he got done we looked at each other and started laughing about the course.  He has been running every day and is rapidly closing the gap.  Linda did fine as well and probably could have run faster, she went out conservatively. 

Trying to wrap my brain around the high heart rate, 8 bpm higher than St. George.  Using up most of my heart rate reserve like that, it is clear that I was maxed out, although I didn't get nauseous.  I am curious as to why I could run this distance at that heart rate, maybe my HRmax is higher than 193?  Doesn't make sense though -- according to the rule of thumb formula my HRmax should be 164, a number which is significantly lower than my average half marathon rate today.  But I had a great time hanging out with Wade and Linda and just soaking up the race atmosphere -- I really don't feel badly, race day is always fun (almost always).  I am reconsidering Richmond in three weeks, though.  Doesn't seem like I am adequately prepared at the moment, especially whiffing on workouts the last two weeks.  It might be a good idea to go into a 12-week base-building cycle then shoot for a good time on an easy course like Boston.