Platte River Half Marathon

About a week ago I ran my 5th half marathon. It became a sort of experiment for me. I hadn't run very much but had been doing my crossfit work outs for a couple of weeks. I haven't decided if it was a success or not. On the one hand, I ran my fastest half in Colorado finishing in 2:37:34. On the other hand, it was quite painful. I was good for about 8 miles. At about 10 miles I was really feeling pain in my hip that also became pain in my knee. Now, I have always had the hip pain so I wasn't surprised or worried by it. But, the knee pain was something new. Now I am on doctor prescribed rest for 5 days. I'm on day 3 right now.

The race itself was interesting I suppose you could say. The weather was threatening to be very cold and wet. However, it turned out to be ok for the first half of the race. The sun even came out at times. But the second half of the race became overcast, windy and even had a bit of rain. By the time my race was over it was quite miserable standing around for the after party. It even started to snow as we walked back to the car.

Most of the race was on the paved bike path. I was worried about that because there were about 3,000 people registered. It didn't turn out to be too crowded though so that was good. There was a staggered start. I started in the slow 3rd wave for runners finishing in more than 2:10 minutes. We ran through downtown Littleton for a bit before hitting the bike path headed towards downtown Denver.

I arrived with my friend Sarah and a couple of other running club friends. Sarah and I planned to run it together but we got separated before the start. She ran to find another friend of ours and then I had to pee. We didn't find each other again until mile 11 when I caught up with her.

One weird thing about this race was that I didn't eat any sport beans or carry any water. I only drank water and some Powerade at the aid stations. I also had one Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie at one of the aid stations. I usually eat more. I'm not sure what's up with that. I sure felt like I was working hard but I didn't feel like my energy was draining or anything like that.

My split times were interesting too. I felt very strong in the first half of the race. That shows in my fast for me split times. I was on pace for and felt as comfortable as I was in New Orleans. I did take it easy on the 7th mile. I remember slowing down on purpose but I can't remember why exactly. But, I picked it up again in the 8th mile. But, that's when my hip started to hurt so I slowed again and started to take walk breaks. The wind also started to pick up at that point. But, even my walk/run pace was not too bad. But, at that point, I was sure, because of the wind, that I wouldn't make 2:30 anymore. Sarah and I commiserated when I caught up to her. And then I pushed on. There was a bridge climb just before the finish. I was surprised at how I was able to run up that hill at that point in the race. I did take a longer walk break just before the bridge which helped. Inspired by that, I "sprinted" to the finish in considerable pain. I just wanted to get the run over with at that point.

So, in the end, I was pleased with my time but not so happy with my performance. Again.

I am lacking in focus due to some work-related stresses. And I've let it affect my training. I need a vacation to clear my head so that I can regain my strength. Even a short one will do. My mental strength is failing me. My body feels strong even with a knee and hip twinge here and there.

Focus.
Focus.
Focus.

I'm not exactly sure how my times have been improving even though I haven't been training in a focused way. I haven't even been running very much. I'm happy with that but am perplexed. That's why I need to get focused. I want to be faster. But, I want to do it right and not get injured.

Focus.