Hyannis Half Marathon, Why Not?

A friend of a friend could not make it to the Hyannis Half Marathon. I briefly considered the pros and cons and scooped up the bib number for the 13.1 mile race on Cape Cod.

Things have changed since marathon training inNovember, there are a few factors that are going to make this tougher than itshould be-

-Lack of training:  Ihaven’t run 13 miles since the Athens Classic Marathon in mid-November and I’vebeen changing my running style to a forefoot strike but can only maintain thatfor about 5 miles before my calves are smoked. I can regress to a mid-footstrike mid-race.

-Pain: I ran 7 miles on Tuesday and my knee was painin' the nextday despite the ridiculous ice bath (3 trips to my hotel ice machine and luke-cold water from the faucet) I tookimmediately afterwards. I also pulled a muscle in my back around my kidneywhile jitsing about a week ago. Not sure if it’s a pulled muscle but that’swhat it feels like. Stretching or foam rolling should mitigate pain and preventfurther injury.

-Shoes: I wouldn’t be able to maintain 13 miles on my BrooksPureConnects which force runners to strike with the forefoot. I’ve got to stickwith the well cushioned Reebok Zigs to get through this. Hopefully mentalfortitude, superior genetic ability in the form of athletic prowess, close-knitconversations with God, and luck will get me through this. 

-The Elements: It’s been said that there is no such thing asbad weather, only weak people. However, you’re not going to run yourbest time with a 60mph headwind, that’s a fact. I’ll do what I can to deal withthe wind and dress appropriately. It's a looped course so my fingers are crossed that the wind direction is at least half agreeable. 

-Strength/Cardio: CrossFit-like circuit training and Jiu Jitsu over the past two months made me a better all-around athlete for short bursts in terms of strength and cardio. Hopefully my legs' endurance can keep up with my cardio endurance. I'll be doing a lot of 3-4 minute high speed intervals to exploit this strength and allow for mid-race recovery.

My personal record for 13.1 miles is 1:38 which I ran alongthe Boston Marathon course back in October. Given the 5 factors above, a 1:50:00 just over a 8:00 min pace is reasonable and 1:44:48 is ambitious.

Keep running,

LSF