To Half Or Not To Half…
Last week, I ran 39.2 miles. I have completed 831 miles (as of today) toward my voluntary participation in The Tinkoff 1,000.
I ran 13.5 miles yesterday and 4.50 miles today.
Yesterday, I ran a half-marathon on the treadmill. I set the speed to 6 miles per hour and ran the entire distance. I had to make sure (be sure?) that I could do it before I commit to a race. I did the run in 131 minutes. Was I tired at the end? Yes! But not as tired as I thought that I would be. I now know that I can run a half-marathon. I got onto the scale prior to the run. I was dressed for the run. I weighed 211.6 pounds – After the run I weighed 207.2 pounds. I drank 16 ounces of water during the run.
I did not have any pain during the run with the single exception of a chafing of my left arm near the arm pit. That was yesterday. Today was a slightly different story. I had a lot of just basic muscular aches and pains. I decided to go for a gentle short run.
What half-marathon is it again?
The half-marathon that I am thinking of signing up for is called, “The Slacker Half-Marathon.” Details on it can be found at –
http://www.slackerhalfmarathon.com/
I have a couple of concerns regarding the half. This is basically a downhill half. – It starts at 10,630 feet and drops to 8,400 feet over the course of the run. That is a lot of drop. First of all, is the elevation of the starting line. I live at 5,280‘ in altitude (Denver), which you would think would be a good acclimatization. But when you double it you can have some physical things occur to your body. I have suffered from high altitude sickness in the past. It mostly makes itself known through nausea, weakness and headaches. Why? There are less oxygen atoms to breathe in the higher you go. It may or may not affect you. The advantage for me will be the fact that I will not be at 10,600‘ for very long.
Usually, I would have run a few trails by now at altitude (with a Jeep trail run). This year the price of gas is higher than last year and I have compromised by not attending a lot of the available Jeep runs this season. I also either run or walk to the store now when I need an item or two (it does feel good to be in shape).
The other main concern is the time of the race. I work the swing shift from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The race starts at 8:00 am. The last bus leaves the staging area at 7:15 AM to take the runners to the starting line. Georgetown is about an hour from Denver. Runner’s packets can be picked up from 6:00 AM to 7:15 AM when the bus leaves. I figure that I would have to get up at 4:30 AM to make sure that I am there on time.
OK – Now you’ve heard the negative. The positive? I know that I can do this! I will most assuredly sign up by the end of this week.
And yes! I am sore after yesterday’s run. It was a mile or so before I was able to make the muscles move the way I wanted them to today!
So, what do you think? Should I go for it?
Side Note to Maddy –
Geez! I seem to be just the opposite on the treadmill. Things take forever on the treadmill, but when I run the course (I might add the only course so far), I ran faster than I did on the treadmill. Of course, I also ran faster than my trail times on different surfaces prior to the race. I may just need to get more experience in different races.
I ran 13.5 miles yesterday and 4.50 miles today.
Yesterday, I ran a half-marathon on the treadmill. I set the speed to 6 miles per hour and ran the entire distance. I had to make sure (be sure?) that I could do it before I commit to a race. I did the run in 131 minutes. Was I tired at the end? Yes! But not as tired as I thought that I would be. I now know that I can run a half-marathon. I got onto the scale prior to the run. I was dressed for the run. I weighed 211.6 pounds – After the run I weighed 207.2 pounds. I drank 16 ounces of water during the run.
I did not have any pain during the run with the single exception of a chafing of my left arm near the arm pit. That was yesterday. Today was a slightly different story. I had a lot of just basic muscular aches and pains. I decided to go for a gentle short run.
What half-marathon is it again?
The half-marathon that I am thinking of signing up for is called, “The Slacker Half-Marathon.” Details on it can be found at –
http://www.slackerhalfmarathon.com/
I have a couple of concerns regarding the half. This is basically a downhill half. – It starts at 10,630 feet and drops to 8,400 feet over the course of the run. That is a lot of drop. First of all, is the elevation of the starting line. I live at 5,280‘ in altitude (Denver), which you would think would be a good acclimatization. But when you double it you can have some physical things occur to your body. I have suffered from high altitude sickness in the past. It mostly makes itself known through nausea, weakness and headaches. Why? There are less oxygen atoms to breathe in the higher you go. It may or may not affect you. The advantage for me will be the fact that I will not be at 10,600‘ for very long.
Usually, I would have run a few trails by now at altitude (with a Jeep trail run). This year the price of gas is higher than last year and I have compromised by not attending a lot of the available Jeep runs this season. I also either run or walk to the store now when I need an item or two (it does feel good to be in shape).
The other main concern is the time of the race. I work the swing shift from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The race starts at 8:00 am. The last bus leaves the staging area at 7:15 AM to take the runners to the starting line. Georgetown is about an hour from Denver. Runner’s packets can be picked up from 6:00 AM to 7:15 AM when the bus leaves. I figure that I would have to get up at 4:30 AM to make sure that I am there on time.
OK – Now you’ve heard the negative. The positive? I know that I can do this! I will most assuredly sign up by the end of this week.
And yes! I am sore after yesterday’s run. It was a mile or so before I was able to make the muscles move the way I wanted them to today!
So, what do you think? Should I go for it?
Side Note to Maddy –
Geez! I seem to be just the opposite on the treadmill. Things take forever on the treadmill, but when I run the course (I might add the only course so far), I ran faster than I did on the treadmill. Of course, I also ran faster than my trail times on different surfaces prior to the race. I may just need to get more experience in different races.
posted by CewTwo at 2:10 PM
3 Comments:
You should ABSOLUTELY do it. But for Pete's sake, friend, take a day or two off after a stressing run!!!! :)
I knew you could do it!
Register!
And as Susan said, after a long run like that, take a day, maybe two to chill. Your body needs it.
Well, I didn't hear anything more about shin splint pain so I'd say you are ready for a half and should go for it! Good luck whatever you decide!!
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