I ran a 1:32:43 after hoping for a time between 1:44:48 and 1:50:00. That's a 7:05 pace which, to be honest with you, I'm surprised. What could have caused this?
+Cardio lifting: Cardio lifting seems to be pretty effective for maintaining an elevated heart rate for an extended time. My HR monitor read between 85% and 93% for most of the run.
+Form: I bent my knees and took short steps to decrease reliance on muscle and put the pressure on cardio. Think of bench-pressing 1000 lbs. You can lift 200 lbs 5 times or 50 lbs 20 times. In a half marathon, you already know you're going high reps so go low weight.
This also helped reduce the likelihood of any musculoskeletal injuries. My left hip, right knee, and lower back are a little sore today, but nothing worse than during the long runs in marathon training.
My calves' ability to run the way I wanted them to faded around mile 7 and I reverted to my old form but maintained a good pace. More muscle means more juice.
+The Elements: Reduce the wind by 20mph and it was perfect out there. A little headwind gets the mind back into the game.
+Pace Booty*: The competition of the fairer gender was stunning. Not to sound like a perv, but deep down you ladies know you're just trying to give us something nice to look at. How else do you explain running tights and yoga pants? So you just run til you catch the next awesome butt and trail behind it, then the next one, and so forth. It's a great technique, just watch out for dudes wearing running tights.
+Mid Run Fuel: I noshed some Trolli Brite Crawlers around mile 10. Energy boost baby. I also stopped at every water station along the way (tip a la Matt Cormier, @mcorms). I nearly ran into people 4 or 5 times, but I drank when I could to prevent cramps.
+Huge Heart: I'm pretty awesome at leaving it all out there. I know myself and my body well and it didn't give out until 12.5 miles in. From then on it was just pain and the clock that kept me going.
Keep running,
LSF
PS: I was going to link Girls in Yoga Pants in the pace booty section but it is dirrrrrtaaayyyyyy and Momma Longsox is a regular here so you'll have to Google it yourself.
+Cardio lifting: Cardio lifting seems to be pretty effective for maintaining an elevated heart rate for an extended time. My HR monitor read between 85% and 93% for most of the run.
+Form: I bent my knees and took short steps to decrease reliance on muscle and put the pressure on cardio. Think of bench-pressing 1000 lbs. You can lift 200 lbs 5 times or 50 lbs 20 times. In a half marathon, you already know you're going high reps so go low weight.
This also helped reduce the likelihood of any musculoskeletal injuries. My left hip, right knee, and lower back are a little sore today, but nothing worse than during the long runs in marathon training.
My calves' ability to run the way I wanted them to faded around mile 7 and I reverted to my old form but maintained a good pace. More muscle means more juice.
+The Elements: Reduce the wind by 20mph and it was perfect out there. A little headwind gets the mind back into the game.
+Pace Booty*: The competition of the fairer gender was stunning. Not to sound like a perv, but deep down you ladies know you're just trying to give us something nice to look at. How else do you explain running tights and yoga pants? So you just run til you catch the next awesome butt and trail behind it, then the next one, and so forth. It's a great technique, just watch out for dudes wearing running tights.
+Mid Run Fuel: I noshed some Trolli Brite Crawlers around mile 10. Energy boost baby. I also stopped at every water station along the way (tip a la Matt Cormier, @mcorms). I nearly ran into people 4 or 5 times, but I drank when I could to prevent cramps.
+Huge Heart: I'm pretty awesome at leaving it all out there. I know myself and my body well and it didn't give out until 12.5 miles in. From then on it was just pain and the clock that kept me going.
Keep running,
LSF
PS: I was going to link Girls in Yoga Pants in the pace booty section but it is dirrrrrtaaayyyyyy and Momma Longsox is a regular here so you'll have to Google it yourself.
Thanks for sharing this to us, looking forward always for more updates. Congratulations for a great job well done, awesome posts too.
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