race report: heartbreak hill half marathon

Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 1:55:42 (edited from 1:55:44--they shifted the preliminary results).
Pace: 8:50/mile
Temperature: 76 degrees by the end

This is going to be a really short race report: I PRed by about six minutes today on a brutal course in hot weather, and am so happy to have seen fellow CRCers cheering on the sidelines.

This was the first running of the Heartbreak Hill half, so there were a few annoying things:
1) no timing chips
2) course open to cars
3) runners had to wait to cross streets

Now to take ten more minutes off my time by October...

Race Report- Cleveland RiteAid [Half] Marathon

Um, I thought long and hard about this, and don't have much to say. Basically, I didn't do as poorly as I feared (i.e., DNF, or a slower time than last year), nor as well as I had hoped (beating two hours). The more I think about it, though, the happier I am with 2:09 after months of antibiotics and health drama. It was a faster pace by more than :20 per mile over last year (PR!), I felt solid and strong the whole time (sloshy belly near mile 11 notwithstanding), and my recovery has been quick and easy (while last year I was achy and exhausted for days). It felt more like a long run with a good friend, which is exactly what I think I needed (for body confidence and/or sanity).

Hi from mile 6-ish!

Cleveland Half Marathon 2009: James' Report

Photo courtesy: Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer

This year, the race began at 7:00 am, which was earlier than previous years. This difference in time is enough to make the most stalwart bleary-eyed.

I stayed in Tremont with my old high school friend Umakant this year. Wendy and her boyfriend were kind enough to stop by and pick me up on their way into the city for the race. We parked a few blocks away near Jacob's (now Progressive) Field. The walk and wait at the race line was very chilly and I was glad I had thought to don a garbage bag that morning. The temperature reading outside of the Huntington Bank building read 51 degrees Fahrenheit though the wind off of Lake Erie made it feel much colder.

The race started on time and for some bizarre reason the entire race column walked to the start line before starting to run. I have never seen that before and was confused as to why everyone wanted to walk if they were going to be running 6, 13.1 or 26.2 miles that day?

Wendy and I kept each other company and took our running tour of downtown and the West side together. It was a very quiet race with no especially loud runners or loud spectators; classic Cleveland it felt like. Very charming and quiet and professional it seemed. The elevation was not ever too drastic it felt like except for the last few miles where there was a noticeable drop as we returned to the downtown area and enjoyed the extra downhill speed.

I broke off from Wendy at the end and I felt strong. At the Half and Full split, I felt strong. The pasta and two-week training period had made this run into something of a planned long run and I felt like I could do at least a few more. The crowd was excited and I felt pumped, but I ended up veering right and finishing the race strong, passing the majority of people rocking out at about a 7:45 pace the last mile.

My race results are below:

8376 James Tsai Baltimore MD 29 02:07:40 02:11:55 9:44.2 1:00:50

My two week training program: (Disclaimer: I don't recommend this to everyone, but as I promised in a previous post, I wanted to document my short period of training to get ready for the half)

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
3 miles to start to get back into shape at Race pace (10 min/mi)	5 miles with running club at slightly faster Race Pace (9.5 min/mi)		Ultimate Frisbee game (heavy cardio exercise ~90 minutes)		5 miles at slightly faster Race Pace (9.5 min/mi)
10 miles at Race pace (10 min/mi)	5 miles with running club at slightly faster Race Pace (9 min/mi)			3 miles to keep limber (time intervals between 8 and 10)
RACE DAY

My carb-loading: I had a pasta dinner the Wednesday night before; just linguine and some chicken. Friday I had spaghetti and meatballs and then the night before I had a big bowl of Pho. I will do a future article on carb-loading.

Cleveland Half Marathon Race Report ... coming soon!

Just wanted to write a quick blurb about this race before going to bed. Wendy and I ran it this morning and it went very well; definitely had a great time and got to see this race mature so much from last year. They took a lot of feedback from last year and made it even better. Our running times were great too and I felt really good at the end; I fantasized for a brief second of running the full marathon but smartly took the right fork at the split in the course ... full report tomorrow. JTT

Follow me -- I'm one of you again!

The bear has come out of hiding.  After about 6 months, I finally went out to jog again.   My pot belly is a little rounder, and it took me more than double time to finish the normal route.  But as glory rained down on me, I reached a state of self-exultance that can only happen when you're mid-route and wet with big splashy drops of God's tears. 

Anyway, lately my relationship with running has been transferred to the one I have with my daily commute.  It's more interesting to absorb oneself in mass transit when it takes about 3 hours of your day. The following themes arise: complacency, conformity / following the crowd, feeling out of control yet priviledged to ride the white collar commuter hours, and general locomotion.  

Hopefully today was a sign that Runarchist is back. 

Congrats to KQB for finishing the multi-mile run in Boston.  

Epiphany

I think the arduousness of my runs the past few weeks is due to illness and coming on and off antibiotics. The runs always feel hard right before symptoms hit. Argh. But I am on new and very powerful antibiotics (since it's a big week, I would rather, just this once, take only-slightly-necessary drugs and get better than try to fight off infection on my own while tapering) through Sunday. Cross your fingers, knock on wood, do whatever. I need to get and stay healthy!

That said, napping is in order.

New Coursemap for Cleveland

After many years of complaints, I am happy to see that they have reversed the course for Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon. Previously, the full marathon had miles 22-25 or so along windy Lake Erie; now it is 13-16. But alas, this year I am doing the Half Marathon. Let's drink it up after the race on Sunday. See you in Cleveland! Race reports to be available quickly afterwards this year as well as funny pictures of the 40th Hessler Street Fair.

Registration for half-marathon achieved, and running well this week. I did, in fact, nail the twelve-miler on Sunday! I'm working on incorporating ChiRunning posture principles, and I think it helped me keep up my stamina and recover (also, free massages from a willing Writer help). Every other run (seven miles last Friday, five yesterday, four intense miles on the Tmill tonight) has felt arduous. I've gotten through them, at pace, but it's been an effort. Do I need more sleep? More water? I'm working on it...


Birthday gifts were all fitness-inspired! Future in-laws bought me some delicious Sugoi R+R Knee High compression socks (which I have worn after every run since, and my calves feel better, though it could also be improved posture and stride efficiency, a la ChiRunning). If I continue to be happy with them, I will consider a second pair (probably either these or these). A birthday check from my father will soon go (in part) to a membership at the local pool, so I can swim laps in the early morning. Also, the Writer gave me a water-proof case for my iPod and water-proof headphones so I can rock out while I swim (more importantly, so the last song I hear before I jump in the pool isn't stuck in my head for the duration of my swim).

More reviews when I have a better sense of how I like the CW-X tights (so far, I do)!

Sooo....

Work is apparently comp-ing my entry to the Cleveland half-marathon; I will also be working at the Expo! I am psyched to be amongst the runners in a different venue, whether it's just the change of scenery or the chance to rub elbows with other vendors. Also, James, we must decide with which group to pace (I think we can do it in 2:00 or under!).

I ran seven miles today, and it felt slow and exhausting (may have been faster than I thought, though, hence feeling difficult). But I did it. Here's to hoping I am as well as I think I am (been off the antibiotics since Monday, rested/went to Red Sox games through Wednesday, hydrated intensely throughout). Twelve-miler planned for Sunday (though every damn time I blog about it ahead of time, I somehow manage to screw it up!).