Run Through Redlands Half Marathon Report

Race day was pretty much what I expected given the weather predictions. The race started at about 60+ degrees and just a light breeze with bright sunshine and finished in the low 70's with bright sunshine. I was definitely looking for shade to stand in at the end of the race.

I got to the start line about 15 minutes before race time and the 10K had just started. As soon as the 10k all got across the mat they announce that the Half Marathon runners could line up for the race. Our starting line was about a block further back than the 10K. At first it didn't look like there were very many runners but as we got closer to the start time the street began to fill. I got to see quite a few runners that I knew from the Loma Linda Lopers and Redlands Runegades, as well as other runners I have made acquaintance with. We were all talking about how warm it was going to get and how we were doing. All of this began to build up excitement and add to the adrenaline rush that hit as soon as the horn sounded.

I started about 10 - 12 feet from the actual start line and did not have any problems trying to run around or past other runners, which was great. I did pass a few and a few passed me in the first quarter mile. By then the spread between runners had fanned out pretty well and any passing or being passed was no problem at all. After about 3/4 of a mile I began to look around for those I thought might be in my age group and size them up. I think anyone who is serious about trying to place in a race does a little of this whether they admit it or not! I saw two runners that I felt were probably in that category and tried to keep them in sight as long as I could. I know that most runners, I am competitive with, are faster on the uphill than me and I am generally as fast or faster on the downhill than they are. My objective was to try and keep them in sight. I did a pretty good job of that until about mile 5 when I began to lose sight of both of them.

The race was pretty flat for the first two miles but than it began to head uphill, almost 600 feet of total gain over the next 4.6 miles. I had to watch my heart rate (HR) monitor on my Garmin to make sure that I did not push too hard trying to keep up with my competition. My goal was to stay within 155-157 beats per minute. I did find myself at about 160 a couple of times and had to back off just a bit. At 7.1 miles we reached the highest point of the race and I was so relieved to know that it was mostly downhill for the next 4 miles.

As I crested the top I had the urge to just relax and rest a bit as the last hill was really steep, but I kept up my intensity at the same HR as on the uphill and let my body carry me as I tried to relax and just let gravity pull me down the hills; running as smoothly as possible trying not to put on the breaks. I seem to be a pretty natural downhill runner and began to pass quite a few people as I made my way down. This made me a little nervous at first wondering if I might be pushing to hard but a quick glance at my watch showed that my HR was just a little lower than my target so I picked it up a little more. I only got passed by two people on the downhill sections and they were much younger than me, one of them I later passed again toward the end of the downhill sections. Mile 11 was the straightest and most natural grades of downhill, and I was amazed to see later that I had run it at a 7:07 pace. Even though it was downhill it was still 11 miles into the race.

As we got to the bottom I knew that we had 1.9 miles of flat, to slightly uphill, left to the end of the race and about 0.2 miles of downhill to the finish line. I was definitely beginning to feel that fatigue after those eleven miles and could feel it getting harder to maintain my pace but I sucked it up and started to run at the upper limits I had set for myself at around 157 HR. As I approached 12.7 miles a friend, Jim Glick, came along side of me to run me in. This gave me a big lift and I increased my HR up to around 160. As I rounded the corner Jim patted me on the back and gave me some words of encouragement. I then began my kick to the finish line and found that I had more left in my legs than I thought! I crossed the finish in 1:50:35, beating my previous best in this race by almost 4 minutes on what runners consider a pretty warm day. On top of that I finished 3rd in my age group about 3 minutes behind 2nd place runner who happened to be one of the runners I had my eye on at the beginning of the race. I never saw who got number one in our age group but I presume it was probably the other guy I had my eye on.

I am very happy with my result and credit my new way of eating as helping me get back to this condition. I am nearly back to the shape I was at the end of 2002, and through the early part of 2004. All because I can run more without the nagging pains I was having. I still have a little pain but it is minimal compared to what is has been.

I am looking forward to being able to continue to build my mileage even more. I know that I still have room for improvement as I have yet to peak to my potential. Where that is remains to be seen but I will definitely keep you posted.

Happy Trails,

Russ