Lessons from a Half Marathon

On Saturday Allison and I ran the Middle Half half marathon. This was our third year to run this race and my fourth half marathon over all to run. Of the four I've completed, this was my second slowest time and about 6 minutes slower than last year's race. Allison, on the other hand, ran a personal best 1:55. Over 2 minutes faster than last year. She is such a rockstar!

The interesting thing about this year's race was that the course, for many of the runners, was 0.509 miles longer than a true half marathon. This was the same course as previous years, however, at about the 1.5 mile point in the race a police officer blocked the correct turn creating the longer course. The race director sent an e-mail  and posted it on the race's Facebook page, but there wasn't really anything that could be done officially because some people ran the correct route and some did not. Unfortunately, Allison and I did not.

As I have done in previous races this summer, I tried to think about some lessons I could learn from this race. I have come up with a few:

• Training is essential - This year I suggested we try a different training method. I thought it would save our legs and allow us to recover easier from long runs. In hindsight, I think we had too much recovery time. While we did just as many, if not more, miles than in previous years, we didn't do enough long runs in consecutive weeks to allow our bodies to get accustomed to running for  along time.

• Your mindset can help or hurt you - Leading up to the race Allison and I talked a lot about how we didn't think we were as prepared and couldn't imagine that we would be able to eclipse out times from 2010. In the days leading up to the race, however, I tried my best to get us both in a good frame of mind. I even set a goal, that I thought would be tough to achieve, especially for me. Starting the race I was in a good frame of mind, other than I couldn't find Allison. I did, however, lose a lot of that when I learned we got off track on the course.

• Run your own race - In the two previous years Allison and I have started together. We typically run about 10 miles together and then she speeds up and I try my best to keep up. This year was different because we lost each other just before the race started. This was great for her because it allowed her to run at her own pace and listen to her body and not my watch. Because of this she was able to run a personal best time on a course that was almost a half mile longer than she had ever ran before.

• Take motivation where ever you can get it - At mile 11 a guy came up from behind me and said, "We've ran this whole race together. I'm not letting you slow down now." After about a minute I started to fall behind. He then said, "I'm not kidding. Speed up and let's finish this thing together." I don't know if he slowed down or I actually kept up with his pace, but in my mind I was totally motivated by his kindness to me in pushing me past what I thought were my limits. I am trying to figure out his name because I want to contact him and tell him thanks again for helping me.

Between miles 10 and 11 I told myself, "I'm never doing this again." Then about an hour after the race was over I started thinking about when I can run another race in order to get myself back under the 2 hour time. I'm a glutton I guess.

This is a great race. Even with the course error it was still a great day to run. The weather was awesome and the atmosphere at this race is always great. I am sure Allison and I will be signing up next year when they open up registration.

What are some lessons you have learned from an activity or hobby you do?

Two New Lessons from Triathlons (And One Repeat)

As of Saturday I could not longer be considered a beginner triathlete. In most triathlons there are several categories. There is age group, in which the vast majority of people fall in. There's Clydesdale for men over 200 lbs. There's Athena for women over 150 lbs. And there's beginner for those that have participate in less than 3 triathlons. I participated in my fourth triathlon Saturday, the Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon.

It was a great race. This was easily my best time in each of the three disciplines. Although I fell in terms of my place inside my age group, I finished 9 minutes faster than I finished the same race a year ago. As I have thought about what made me faster this time, I think there are three main things that really helped me along the way.

Familiarity is a great help - the more familiar we are with our surroundings and our situation the better off we'll be. I had been on this course before. I knew what to expect in each of the three areas.

Timing is crucial - In a race in which you are competing for an extended period of time many people need some type of nutritional supplement or energy boost. I have tried several different types, but I have found that more than what you take, when you take it makes a huge difference. I didn't wait until I was hungry or feeling as though I was hitting a wall, but I also didn't take it before I needed to. This allowed my energy to stay up the entire race.

Encouragement along the way - I know I said this in my last post about lessons from my triathlon, but I really think this is the biggest factor for me. First of all, Allison does a great job of maneuvering herself around the course in order to get pictures as well as cheer me on at different stages. She is the biggest help of all. I fully believe that I finish races faster because she is there cheering me on. In this race, however, I had multiple participants give me encouragement as well. With about 1/2 mile to go I stumbled and twisted my ankle. There was at least one person that called me by my number and said something like, "less than 1/2 mile to go. You got it." That was a great help.

What "lessons" have you been learning lately?

Lessons from My Triathlon

This weekend I participated in The Music City Triathlon. This was my second time to complete this race, and my third triathlon overall. I have at least one more that I and racing this year and possibly a second. Last year's Music City triathlon was my first and so I went into it not really knowing what to expect. I knew the events and the distances, but I didn't really know how I would react, how my body would react, or even how well I would do. This year, however, I had a plan going in as well as a goal. I accomplished my goal and completed the race 10 minutes faster than I did last year! As I have thought back through the race several things have come to mind that I think I can apply, not only to triathlons and other races that I compete in, but in life in general.

It all begins with preparation - I trained a lot for this race. I don't know that I trained more this year than I did last year, but I think I was more consistent over the previous 12 months. The results are that I am in better overall fitness, therefore faster on race day.

Have a strategy going in - I had a goal that I wanted to accomplish in the race and a plan on how I was going to attempt to get it done. I thought about the things I believed it would take to accomplish my goal and worked to implement the strategy.

Don't be afraid to make adjustments on the fly - My plan going into the race was to use the run/walk method for the run portion: running 4 minutes and walking 1 minute. As I started the run I felt strong but immediately came to a steep hill. After a few cycles of the run/walk, however, I felt pretty good and knew that if I was going to keep up my time I would have to run more. I was able to run more than I planned and this helped me achieve my goal.

Encouragement along the way is HUGE - This may be the biggest part for me. I am pretty sure Allison has either competed in or been a spectator at every race I've done with the exception of one when she was pregnant. She and Cooper get up early and fight traffic only to see a few glimpses of me along the way and to see me at the finish line. This, however, is great motivation for me. To see them smiling on the side of the road, cheering, and yelling my name is such a great feeling. Every time I see them I get a burst of energy that keeps my feet moving.

I have completed several races other than the three triathlons. I don't think, however, that I've ever really come away with things that I learned from the race or at least I never took the time to think about it. From now on, after a race I will definitely try to sit down and think through some of the things that I learned and can possibly use going forward in other races or in life generally.

Have you ever competed in a triathlon or other endurance race of some type? If so, what did you learn in the process?