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"tucson" half marathon report

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Author	Topic: "tucson" half marathon report
mcsolar99 Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 02:07 PM just the facts ma'am: 1:22:04 15oa, 2nd ag with 10mph tailwind, 50f, humid. perfect day to race. ummm, the point-to-point half marathon drops 895 feet from start to finish, but has a grueling 40 feet of climbing. geez, it felt more like 200 feet of climbing. i'm such the woos. anyway, it's the tucson half marathon; but i live a mile outside of tucson city limits, and i had to drive 15 miles further away from town to park at the race finish... so it should be called the oracle-catalina half marathon i didn't taper for this, and just wanted a fitness check with last year. ran 30 seconds slower than last year (although the course was different, although the weather was better) so i'm close to the same fitness. with tapers i run this course 3 minutes faster than flat half marathons, but this ended a 70 mile week for me, and my legs felt the mileage. anyway, i'm optimistic going into the last weeks of my training for phoenix... hoping to run a good time in that race. i started near the front, and traded places with a few folks. got beat by two women, both masters... and the last one passed me with a mile to go, after i passed her at the 10 mile mark. ah well. my training pals finished 1st and 5th overall... dang 30-somethings... with screaming fast times, 1:09 and 1:14 i think. hoping some of their speed rubs off during the next few weeks of training. overall, i felt fantastic aerobically, but just had flat feeling legs. i couldn't move them fast enough... probably due to not doing much speedwork in november (just 3 workouts). and the piddly little hills at the end just kicked my butt. in retrospect i should have saved more for the last two miles, but retrospect is always 20-20. it's a good lesson before my goal race though... i will start out slower in the phoenix marathon and not make the same mistake that i made today. (i'll find a new mistake) the stats: (also known as "pick out the non-downhill miles"): mile/pace/avg hr 1 6:35 146 2 6:12 153 3 6:02 156 4 6:00 155 5 6:00 157 6 6:04 157 7 6:14 157 8 6:10 157 9 6:14 157 10 6:14 156 11 6:14 155 12 6:42 154 13 6:36 154 0:47 156 so right the first mile was rolling, and the last two also. in the race i kept trying to run at hr=160, which is what i averaged in the hartford half, but just couldn't get my little legs to go fast enough. definitely lacked the leg strength/speed over the last few miles, as my pace and hr both dropped. so my training goal for december has become clear... more speedwork and some strength work, focusing on running uphills harder. three more tough weeks of training and then taper time. phoenix here i come. ------------------ mcsolar99 workouts IP: Logged
Spareribs Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 02:45 PM Although this is flying in my book, I can see where it is in yours, especially coming off a tough, non-taper week. It sounds about what you expected it to be, and you paced it nicely. Well done Matt. Spareribs IP: Logged
perchcreek Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 02:53 PM MC..NICE "workout" to cap your 70mpw!! Your splits were exactly like mine (if you add 1 min to each split). Dead legs in that last mile are frustrating. You can conclude yuou're in great shape right now! Congrats! 2nd AG is hugh! Steve IP: Logged
Econo Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 03:05 PM hmmm. Looks like you need more speedwork and some strength work. And try to hit those uphills a little harder. Helpful Econo IP: Logged
hermosaboy Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 03:20 PM So, you treated it as a workout -- did you have a time goal coming into the workout? Personally, I find that if I don't at least have something to shoot for, I usually shoot myself in the a$$. Looking at your splits, do you think miles 3 - 6 were a bit too aggressive? Great workout on tired legs!!! Keep pounding out the miles and I look for a GREAT result in Phoenix! IP: Logged
choover Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 04:09 PM I came to CR looking for your RR -- thanks for getting it posted so quick! That lack of taper cost you 1st in your AG Congratulations on 2nd AG and high OA placement, Matt! Sounds to me like you have a good plan for Phoenix. Congrats to your very speedy friends too. I'm glad you had good weather for this. ------------------ choover IP: Logged
tomwhite Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 04:14 PM ......nice racing mc//..........especially impressive since you didn't train hard for it...... .......good running....... IP: Logged
4boysmom Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 04:20 PM Great race and report! Weather here was PERFECT! I did the full. My parents live in Green Valley. Dad still can't understand why it's called the Tucson 'thon when it doesn't go anywhere NEAR Tucson... IP: Logged
JJJessee Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 04:27 PM Tough crowd here I guess. Fantastic running MC Congratulations. jjj IP: Logged
Dark Horse Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 05:05 PM Good job, mcsolar. Yeesh, you ran more miles last week than I ran all last month. Dark Horse ------------------ I'm a dark horse, running on a dark race course IP: Logged
tallrunner Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 06:10 PM MC That is extremely solid and now you just have to nail the pace for Phoenix. Looking very very good. Tall IP: Logged
Tramps Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 06:26 PM 6:35 for the first mile? What were you doing? Napping? C'mon get out there and RUN! What can I say? A "solid" performance for you, which is astonishingly fast for most of us. Nice job. Phoenix will be a scorcher. Go get 'em. IP: Logged
mariposai Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 06:42 PM mcsolar, with a little rest, those little legs are going to carry you just the way you are planning in Phoenix!. If you had shown up for the paella dinner last night, you would have had enough umph in those last two miles . We serve dinner late last night because we were waiting for you. Right fjordrunner? Good luck on your next three tough training weeks, you are almost there. You can do it. You will be great in Phoenix!!! IP: Logged
millbot Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 06:47 PM Nice running, mcsolar! I like your thorough and analytical approach to training and racing. Have you considered coaching? Good luck with your continued training. I think you're going to rock Phoenix. IP: Logged
SkipAZ Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 06:59 PM Outstanding racing for a 70 mile week. Congrats buddy! Looking very solid for Phx Matt! IP: Logged
CNYrunner Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 07:14 PM Congratulations on a race well run---even if the legs felt heavy. You'll rock Phoenix for sure. Hang in there through the next few tough weeks and enjoy the taper. I am sure the Phoenix race report will be a pleasure to read. Fast feet now! CNYrunner IP: Logged
Soundrunner Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 07:37 PM (hehe. Econo!) Sweet race, emcee! Wear those fire red shorts in Phoenix. That should help the tired legs, too. IP: Logged
Twocat Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 07:43 PM If you are looking for sympathy on not beating your prior year time a 1:22:04 half mary is a tough way to get it! Great race even if it was basically a training run for you. Man am I jealous! IP: Logged
Ileneforward Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 08:09 PM Woohoooo, fast job with no taper!! You are so speedy. Those are some sweet splits. Congratulations on the hardware!! IP: Logged
enkephalin Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 08:13 PM Mile splits that start with 6, I cannot even relate to that, but it was fun to read the numbers. Awesome race, and nice of you to admit that you got beat by two women. And I think woos is spelled wuss, see how helpful I am? IP: Logged
RunsTheBitterroot Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 08:14 PM Wow, what a fast half. Congratulations on you ag win! Larry ------------------ "If you see a man running up a mountain trail in Montana with a fly pole attached to his back, you are probably lost. LDD IP: Logged
MustangSally Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 08:32 PM Matt, I'm doing well when I have metric splits that look like that. It sounds as if this race gave you exactly what you needed to know - now you're ready to tune the training and go smoke Phoenix. Well done. ------------------ Mustang Sally Boomers and Beyond wiki IP: Logged
TheProFromDover Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 08:58 PM mc, good job. those splits remind me that a few minutes in a half really are hard to generate. first impression is "I could do that". then the splits kind of bring reality to the forefront. wish i could join you in AZ. cria g IP: Logged
busiman Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 09:04 PM MC, Congrats on the great time and the AG place! You didn't get over 160bpm doing those splits? What happens when you really work hard? btw, I definitely think there is a psycho-draft effect you get from running/training with fast people. :-) ------------------ busiman IP: Logged
evryday Cool Runner	posted Dec-02-2007 09:20 PM WOW! ------------------ Remember rule #6 My User Profile My running log IP: Logged

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