Half Marathon Part 2

Another huge gap since my last post!

Last Saturday I toed the line at my chance for 1/2 marathon redemption. This time I finished in 1:40:41 vs. that previous 1:47 a month ago. Better course, more accurate course, and better conditions. And another month of training under my belt didn't hurt.

I ran the first couple miles with the 1:45 group and then I said forget it, I felt great so I went after it at a pace I thought I could maintain until the end. I admit I had to dig deeper for the last couple of miles, but my pace didn't suffer. Using the mcmillian calculator, I estimate that last year (the year of running), I peaked at 1:38:30 half marathon shape. So to run this in 1:40:41, I am pretty pleased.

One of my favorite parts about running a strong race particularly anything over a 1/2M, is sneaking up along side these skinny runners with 5% body fat....and blowing right by them late in the race! Trust me, at 7:45 1/2M pace, everyone is skinny ('cept me). Its pretty sweet.

This race was really important to me because 1) I wanted to prove to myself that I could qualify for the 1st corral of the marathon, and 2) the marathon can be such a pressure cooker because you build for it all summer and if the conditions aren't great you can experience a big let-down. Like last year...I just didn't feel great on marathon day but I can still look back to my 25k race (month before the marathon) with a smile and know that despite the marathon performance, all of the training paid off for at least one solid race. Not that it matters at this point, but after months and months of thinking through my marathon performance last year, I think I was simply over-trained after following the 24-week 70 mpw peak plan. Anyway...

Speaking of skinny, my diet continues to waver here and there. Did you know in our baby book there is a line that says "Mommy has gained ____ pounds. Daddy has gained ____ pounds."
Ha! I can see how the dad can put on a few as well. For the record I'm probably up about 2 to 4 pounds, but I blame my new job (Feb start date) more than anything. I suppose without the marathon training I bet I'd be up more like 8-10 lbs?

I'm hitting that phase of the training where I tend to eat too much. Dang it sucks. I get all hungry and eat the wrong things. Some days are better than others.

I'll be a dad in almost exactly 1 month! Holy Cow!!