A short race report from Grete's Great Gallop Half Marathon: I didn't run it. As Mrs Wolve pointed out to me on Friday, we had a "brunch" for our 19 month old daughter at her pre-nursery school at 9 a.m. on Saturday -- the same time as the half marathon. I miss enough things because of work, so I skipped the race. I made a deal with my wife that I could run after it, so I went back to the FIRST workout -- 15 miles at marathon pace plus 10 seconds.
One big, big, problem: I had left all of my Garmin gear at the office. That meant no watch for pacing, no heart rate, no data of any kind. I almost didn't want to run. I have grown so dependent on it, that running without it seemed like running half naked.
Thankfully, though, I run the same loop fairly regularly, and I basically know where the various mile marks are. The problem is that the difference between a 7:45 mile and 8:15 mile is really only about 50 yards, so even though I knew...I really didn't know the pace. I would know if my pacing was way off, but not exactly, and not with degree of exactness like Marathon Pace plus 10 seconds. I knew my route was almost exactly 7.5 miles, so I could also know how I was doing at the end of the loop. And then part of my loop was blocked off and I had to improvise. So I kind of had to guess on that too. First loop was 1:00:41, or about 8 minute miles. Second loop was 1:00:07, which was pretty phenomenal for me. And when I came home and worked on Gmap pedometer, I realized that my make around on that part of my loop that was closed was actually about 0.3 miles longer than my normal route. So I ended up going 15.6 miles in 2:01 -- that made me smile. Nearly 7:52 pace. Of course I have no idea what my heart rate was because of no Garmin, so I don't know how hard or easy it was. But I wasn't completely wiped out later that day, and felt OK. Today, I am stiff and a little sore, but nothing out of the ordinary after a long run. I certainly had some fuel left in the tank at the end of 15 miles. Next week is 20 miles at Marathon Pace, so we'll see how that goes. So, I am optimistic...
Everyone out there running Chicago... Good Luck and get ready for it! I am jealous... Be safe, smart and fast!!!
Sacrificing a race for your daughter is sooo worth it, good move. It's so hard to run without a Garmin but sometimes it really teaches you to listen to your body and get to know what that pace feels like...still, it's so hard!
ReplyDeleteYou're right...it was probably better that you didn't run Grete's. If I had known about the 97% humidity, I would have skipped it too!
ReplyDeleteYou did the right thing skipping the race! Especially after I read The Laminator's recap!
ReplyDeleteI know most runners are all crazy about their Garmin's and when I run with people that have one I am intrigued to know constantly how we're doing but I find it so distracting to know all that stuff... sometimes I absolutely love the fact that I run sans technology! It's just you and the open road! :) But that's just me.
Thanks for the shout out for Chi-town! I will be channeling my inner NY Wolve come race day... send me speedy vibes! :)
well done for getting in your 15m run. Enjoy next week's 20 miler
ReplyDeleteAww I didn't know you had a 19 month old! :)
ReplyDeleteGasp! 15 miles w/o Garmin? I don't know what I would have done! I would be so lost and confused... haha.
Awesome 15 miler! I would have skipped the race, too. Family and kids come first:) Your training is going very well, I see a PR in your future:)
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the run. And I am sure "brunch" was totally worth it.
ReplyDeleteWell, if it makes you feel any better, you picked a good one to miss -- it was real hot and muggy out there. I know what you mean about the Garmin. Mine wouldn't find satellites for the first mile or so of the HM and I felt completely lost without that data.
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