Donovan Rebbech
Race: Colon Cancer Challenge Half Marathon
Venue: Central Park. Course does 2 6 mile loops then finishes the same way as
the NY marathon
Weather: 34 degrees, fairly clear sky
Weapons:
(1) A 4 mile performance that indicated that I could do
about 6:13 pace
(2) *Awesome* crowd support from my teammates
(3) Asics Tiger Paw shoes -- worked for me in the 4 mile, so
"don't mess with success", I thought. The shoes had felt
like they should do fine for the half, for me.
(4) Solid interval workouts on the track, and tempo runs
that were getting fast, but still felt like true
tempo runs
(5) Lightweight clothing -- this time, I went with shorts
and t-shirt
(6) Advice to learn to drink on the run. One of my friends
who's done research on hydration told my that water
was more important than CHO, and I should learn to
drink on the run.
(7) Gel Packs and new Sugoi shorts with Gel pockets (only
ate one gel as it turned out)
Battle Plan:
(8) Hit the 6 mile mark in 38:00 (6:20)
(9) Be flexible: the prediction formula gave me a good time,
so I was prepared to just go with it if a faster speed
felt right on the day.
So armed with this, I went into battle.
Obviously, I was damn cold at the start with my singlet and
shorts. Thankfully, the race eventually started. It was an
unusually orderly start. Spent the first mile warming up.
Felt nice and warm after a mile. The marker came by in 6:15.
Wasn't bothered, it was slightly downhill. Second uphill
mile came in 6:26, for a total of 12:41 -- a 6:20 pace as
planned. At this stage, a teammate, Alex, comes by. He's an
experienced runner, and races faster than me. I figured I'd
try and stick with him, since he was running at about my
pace. Mile 3 comes up in 6:11. At this stage, I tried taking
a cup of water. Ended up wearing about
10/3 of it, but then, I didn't lose any speed. My
drinking skills would not substantially improve in the
course of the race.
For the next 3 miles, I ran with Alex, trading spots (I
tend to surge a little on the downhills) but basically
staying together.
6 miles in about 37:40, splits (steady splits,
unsteady terrain)
11:15 6:26 6:11 6:17 6:19 6:09
So the second loop began. I was mostly interested in
seeing if I could match the splits on my first loop. First
2 miles were 6:14 and 6:21. In the second of those, I was
pulling away from my pack, and Alex, and wondering if this
was a good idea (I'd never finished in front of Alex in a
race), but was later joined by him and another teammate at
the 9 mile mark, where I hit a 6:12 split. The horrible
uphill mile (5th) went slowly this time around, 6:24
(compared to 6:19). "Slow" as it was, it was my average
pace for the recent 10
mile. This gave me a kick up the butt to push the pace all
the same. So drawing from my interval sessions, I
concentrated, maintained turnover, relaxed my upper
body, and gave a good toe-off with each step. I was
rewarded with a 6:05 12th mile, then a 5:59 mile 13.
Finished up for a time of 1:21:49.
Splits: Loop 1: 6:15 6:26 6:11 6:17 6:19 6:09 (37:40) Loop
2: 6:14 6:21 6:12 6:15 6:24 6:04 (37:30) Finish: 5:59 0:38
I suppose the last split makes that a few seconds per
mile negative.
Time: 1:21:49 AG%: 72.9% (just .1% under the 4 miler)
<Howard Dean Scream> Yeeeeeeaaaarrgggggghhhh!</>
but I still need to work on getting the water from my cup
into my mouth (and not on my shirt)
Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/
Venue: Central Park. Course does 2 6 mile loops then finishes the same way as
the NY marathon
Weather: 34 degrees, fairly clear sky
Weapons:
(1) A 4 mile performance that indicated that I could do
about 6:13 pace
(2) *Awesome* crowd support from my teammates
(3) Asics Tiger Paw shoes -- worked for me in the 4 mile, so
"don't mess with success", I thought. The shoes had felt
like they should do fine for the half, for me.
(4) Solid interval workouts on the track, and tempo runs
that were getting fast, but still felt like true
tempo runs
(5) Lightweight clothing -- this time, I went with shorts
and t-shirt
(6) Advice to learn to drink on the run. One of my friends
who's done research on hydration told my that water
was more important than CHO, and I should learn to
drink on the run.
(7) Gel Packs and new Sugoi shorts with Gel pockets (only
ate one gel as it turned out)
Battle Plan:
(8) Hit the 6 mile mark in 38:00 (6:20)
(9) Be flexible: the prediction formula gave me a good time,
so I was prepared to just go with it if a faster speed
felt right on the day.
So armed with this, I went into battle.
Obviously, I was damn cold at the start with my singlet and
shorts. Thankfully, the race eventually started. It was an
unusually orderly start. Spent the first mile warming up.
Felt nice and warm after a mile. The marker came by in 6:15.
Wasn't bothered, it was slightly downhill. Second uphill
mile came in 6:26, for a total of 12:41 -- a 6:20 pace as
planned. At this stage, a teammate, Alex, comes by. He's an
experienced runner, and races faster than me. I figured I'd
try and stick with him, since he was running at about my
pace. Mile 3 comes up in 6:11. At this stage, I tried taking
a cup of water. Ended up wearing about
10/3 of it, but then, I didn't lose any speed. My
drinking skills would not substantially improve in the
course of the race.
For the next 3 miles, I ran with Alex, trading spots (I
tend to surge a little on the downhills) but basically
staying together.
6 miles in about 37:40, splits (steady splits,
unsteady terrain)
11:15 6:26 6:11 6:17 6:19 6:09
So the second loop began. I was mostly interested in
seeing if I could match the splits on my first loop. First
2 miles were 6:14 and 6:21. In the second of those, I was
pulling away from my pack, and Alex, and wondering if this
was a good idea (I'd never finished in front of Alex in a
race), but was later joined by him and another teammate at
the 9 mile mark, where I hit a 6:12 split. The horrible
uphill mile (5th) went slowly this time around, 6:24
(compared to 6:19). "Slow" as it was, it was my average
pace for the recent 10
mile. This gave me a kick up the butt to push the pace all
the same. So drawing from my interval sessions, I
concentrated, maintained turnover, relaxed my upper
body, and gave a good toe-off with each step. I was
rewarded with a 6:05 12th mile, then a 5:59 mile 13.
Finished up for a time of 1:21:49.
Splits: Loop 1: 6:15 6:26 6:11 6:17 6:19 6:09 (37:40) Loop
2: 6:14 6:21 6:12 6:15 6:24 6:04 (37:30) Finish: 5:59 0:38
I suppose the last split makes that a few seconds per
mile negative.
Time: 1:21:49 AG%: 72.9% (just .1% under the 4 miler)
<Howard Dean Scream> Yeeeeeeaaaarrgggggghhhh!</>
but I still need to work on getting the water from my cup
into my mouth (and not on my shirt)
Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/
