Sunday, April 19, 2020

Weekly Sweats: A Virtual Half Marathon

In this week's adventures, 27.9 miles of running, random weight lifting activites, and all about half marathon #4.

I'm linking up with the Weekly Run Down, please head over to Kim and Deborah to check it out. Shout out to Lisa for PR'ing her virtual half.
 
Monday: weights and 4.25 miles easy with strides

Tuesday: I started to cut back for the half.  5.25 miles with 1 mile warm up, 3 x 800 & 400 recover, and 1.25 miles cool down.

Wednesday: off

Thursday: an easy 5.25 miles

Friday: off

Saturday: the big day!  Plan A for this spring was to run two half marathons, the first being a small race in early April and the second being the Big City marathon in mid May.  When it became clear that racing was off the calendar, I came up with Plan B, which was to stay in half marathon shape (defined as keeping my long run at 10 miles) through the 2nd race day. 

And here we are with Plan C, the final answer.  I did the Rambling Runner Virtual Race Series this spring (5k, 10k, and now the half).  Just so you have the context, the three virtual races that I've run in the past four weekends are the only virtual races that I've ever run.  I went into the series with the belief that I simply would not be able to get anywhere near real race results on my own AND I had serious doubts about my ability to run 13.1 miles without a race course to back me up.  Now that I'm on the other side of the challenge, I can tell you that it is good to be wrong.

The training.  I've been running high 20's-30 miles a week since January with several long runs of 10 miles.  Overall I've felt strong and pulled off some very fast (for me) long run times recently.  However, I also missed two long runs recently for the 5k and 10k races so my long run game had taken a beating.

Overall race strategy.  I ran at a "just finish" effort and did not look at my Garmin until the end.  Partly because I knew that my long run game was weak and partly because I knew that a "just finish" effort was enough to PR.  Mentally I decided that I was running 5 miles, then another 5 miles, and then another 3 miles.

The course.  I engineered my 5k and 10k PRs by running on a flat walking trail, but my half course was much more realistic and in fact included two real race courses, the "uphill in all directions" 5 mile race course and the Firecracker 5k course.  Overall my course had 400 feet of up, which is similar to the total elevation gain of the two major marathon courses where I live.  To further add to the realism, I made my course 13.2 miles long.  The "shortest" half that I've run was 13.15 miles and the longest was 13.34 miles so 13.2 seemed fair.  P.S. the "course" was flexible, I had a general idea of where I was going but took my choice of various side streets along the way instead of sticking to a fixed plan.

Race day conditions. Mid 30s, just chilly enough that I needed my running coat, a little wind but nothing too bad, and mostly sunny.

Hydration Plan (a.k.a. I did something new on race day).  At first I thought that I would loop past my house somewhere around 8 to 10 miles for water.  I have a 16oz running water bottle but I just needed more.  Leaving a water bottle at the end of our driveway was a sensible solution, but the more I thought about it, I knew that it would be tough to come home and still have 3-5 miles to run.  After debating my options I came up with the simple idea of recycling a 12 oz Gatorade bottle and putting it in a small padded bag.  In the early part of the race it was in my coat pocket and the bag provided padding so that it didn't jousle around.  After two miles I was warm enough to take my coat off and tie it around my waist, which meant that the bottle was now pounding on my leg, so at that point I took it out of my pocket.  I held on to the cloth bag, which was easier than holding on to the bottle, switching it from hand to hand as needed.  By mile 6 I'd finished the bottle and by coincidence that put me close to the start of the Firecracker 5k race course, where there was a city trash can for me to throw the bottle away, so if you stretch the point, you can say that I used real race course amenities.  Then I put the bag in my coat pocket and was hands free for the rest of the race.  My last minute hydration solution worked well, it wasn't too annoying to hold on to the bag for 4 miles.

Fuel Plan (a.k.a. a Runfession). I planned to take gels at 5 and 10 miles.  Normally I carry an extra gel with me and I was never sure exactly why I did that.  For some reason I only brought two gels with me and naturally once I opened the 10 mile gel I dropped it.  The "mouth" landed on dry sidewalk, but there was visible dirt on the bag and of course there's a pandemic or something right now.  I had the following options:
  • Complete the race without any additional fuel, not unreasonable since there were only 3 miles to go.
  • Reroute to home (1 mile away) for another gel.
  • Wipe the dirt off and apply the 5 second rule.  
I did one of the three things and I am still here 24 hours later to tell the tale.  But safe to say that I will always carry an extra gel in the future.

So what's it like to run a virtual half? Duh, it's really hard!  But wait, there's just something about the experience that makes it worth it.  So in that sense it's exactly like running a "real" half.

Energy wise things were a breeze up to mile 8 and then my course started going uphill so it got harder.  I kind of wanted to quit in mile 11 and breathed a sigh of relief when my watch hit the 12 mile mark - not because things were any easier but because even at my worst I'm not going to quit a 13.2 mile race once I have 12 miles invested.  And joy of joys, the watch hit 13 miles and my house was in sight.  I ran by at exactly 13.1 and continued to the end of the street to get my planned 13.2 and then walked it out for a bit.

There weren't too many other people outside and I feel that it was a 50-50 split on whether they or I took the initiative to social distance.  When I'm walking of course it's easy to move out of the other person's way but when I'm running it's a bit of an energy suck.  I saw 2 other runners so I got 2 socially distant high 5's along the way.

The Finish Line.  Walking in my front door to my family and cracking open a beer was the sweetest after party ever.  I don't have a medal to show off right now, but I will sometime in June (or whenever it's safe to mail out swag bags).  The Big City Marathon converted to virtual so I submitted my results.  Not to brag but I was in 11th place when I turned in my results and that's what it says on my finisher's certificate;-)

Results.  Forgive me for being vague, I've kept my results on the DL for the Rambling Runner series b/c of my qualms with Strava's privacy settings.  Here's what SmashRun has to say:


My opinion is that I could have done "better" if I hadn't missed the two long runs but then I wouldn't have my 5k and 10k PRs so I'm good with how things worked out.  Between you and me, I sandbagged a bit so it's very likely that my next half will be a PR as well;-)

I had planned to run a 5k, a 15k, a 5 mile race, and a half by this point in the year.  I don't think it's too shabby that I've done two 5ks, a 10k, and a half instead.

What's Next.  TBH I haven't decided yet.  I'll take it easy next week, and here are the thoughts that are ping ponging around in my head for the rest of the spring:
  • Work on my 10k time 
  • Try to beat my 10 mile time.  I came within 2 minutes of my 10 mile PR on a long run last month and I wonder if I could PR it this spring before it gets too hot out.
  • Ok, ok, I kind of want to do another virtual half.  I mean, I did plan to run two halfs this spring and I've only done one so...fitness wise I'm not in a place to do 13.1 every weekend but there's no reason that I couldn't do it again sometime next month.

44 comments:

  1. Well, you had a solid plan in place, and you executed it well (despite the brief fueling shag LOL). I had not thought about a virtual half being as tough as a real one, but you're right...having to rely on oneself (as opposed to all the crowds and fellow racers) does take a lot of mental strength! You've done well with all your virtuals this spring. Great job!!

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    1. When I'm on a race course literally all I do is high 5 spectators and tap "punch for power" signs...when I'm not running I'm all tough and independent but once I start running I really rely on other people. This spring has been quite the lesson in grit.

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  2. Good job on the race! I need to think of something fun to have at my finish line. My family might question it if I go into full on finish line beer drinking mode on a weekday morning. LOL! Perhaps just a decadent Starbucks will be a good reward. Good thing you survived the gel ;)

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    1. I should have clarified that my race ended at noon, which is still awfully early for me to start drinking. Beer on a weekday might be a bit rough but if there was ever a time for it, it's now. I think Starbucks is a good fallback.

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  3. Nicely done! The uncanceled project extended, so you could likely get in a Half before it ends in May. Isn't being wrong fun so many times. I love all the regional variations on 3/5/10 second rules.

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    1. Agree, if it's wrong to be wrong then I don't ever want to be right!

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  4. I've got my virtual half next weekend and I have no strategy but to finish. A half marathon is hard! You did a great job!

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    1. If I learned anything from my first 3 half marathons, it's that "just finish" is the only strategy that works for my fitness level right now. Good luck next weekend!

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  5. Great job on your half! Glad you survived the fuel drop :) Your commitment to fitness during this whole thing is commendable.

    My parents live in Kalamazoo, so I'm a fan of Bell's!

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    1. Bell's is awesome. The next time you have one, please imagine me giving you a virtual toast.

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  6. My one and only half was a virtual one that I did on a treadmill it was interesting. Your's sounded much better, even with the gel snafu, great job!

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    1. You are hard core! I run almost exclusively on the TM in winter (so 6 months out of the year, whomp whomp) and 10 miles is my maximum.

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  7. Well done! I don't think I've ever run more than a 10k virtually. Glad you found a hydration strategy that worked for you!

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    1. I didn't think that I *could* run more than a 10k virtually.

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  8. Running a virtual half is so much harder! Way to go and a PR! I also break down my longer runs into shorter segments. Much easier to mentally get through. Nice job!

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    1. Thanks Deborah! I'm very hopeful that the mental part of "real" racing will be much easier now after working through the virtuals.

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  9. Running a virtual half marathon is pretty badass in my opinion - well done! You post-race party sounded amazing - nothing better than resting and enjoying a drink after a race.

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    1. Thanks! The best part of being my own race director is getting to choose the beer at the finish line. No offense to the Miller Lite that races have around here but Bell's is better;-)

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  10. Way to go on your virtual half! You did great. I did my first virtual half this spring when my IRL half was canceled. I found it hard to get into the race mindset and stay in it throughout the whole race. It just turned into a 13.1-mile training run for me. A virtual 5K is different for some reason. I can find my race pace for the shorter distance.

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    1. I have to say that the 5k and 10k may have been shorter but in many ways they hurt a whole lot more than the half. When I first started the race for some reason "hey it's only 26,000 steps" popped into my head and that made it easier (for some odd crazy runner reason, you get me right?)

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  11. Nice job! I have only run a few virtual 5k's. A half sounds so much harder just to keep my head in the game. Very impressive!

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    1. The only reason I did a virtual half...it's the only option right now.

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  12. I’m impressed by your virtual race results. I’m not sure I could push myself that hard. LOL at the post-race beer!

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    1. Well it was hard but also my half time isn't that fast, so I wasn't racing like I did for the 5&10k

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  13. Let me guess... you wiped off the dirt and applied the 5 second rule, haha! At least, that is what I would have done.
    Well done - I love all the SmashRun results.
    Running a virtual race is much harder for me - I miss the energy of all the racing people.

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    1. Absolutely I did without a moment of hesitation. The 5 seconds was the total "on the ground time" and decision making time. I'm happy that I did the virtual half but oh I miss real racing so much.

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  14. Thank you so much for the shout out! I had some complications with fueling/hydration as well but it sounds like you worked yours out pretty well! I should have had a beer when I got home. I'm sure my husband would have looked at me funny at 6am lol. And it would have been a long day with the little one. Oh well, I definitely enjoyed some beverages later in the day! Congrats on a strong race!

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    1. I finished my race at noon so it was much more acceptable to crack open a cold one. I considered having a beer after my 10k but it wasn't nearly as appealing at 10 in the morning.

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  15. That’s great news that the virtual races worked out so well for you! Congrats on the PR :)

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    1. Thanks, but I wish I'd taken it one step further and done a costume like you did! https://runningandenjoying.blogspot.com/2020/04/weekly-review_20.html

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    2. lol... Star Wars races seem just meant for costumes :)

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  16. Congrats! I've never done a virtual half marathon, the longest I did was a 10K years ago and when I ran it it was super cold and miserable! You did a great job!

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    1. My 5k and 10ks were definitely trips to the pain cave! I'm still new to the half marathon distance so I can only run it at a just finish effort, which makes things easier.

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  17. Great job! I love how you did this like a real race. Me? I just do it to run. :-) You cracked me up with the gel. Glad you lived to tell the tale. My longest virtual was 6.1 miles. Don't know if I want to do more than that. We'll see though.

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    1. A virtual 10k definitely hurts! But since we don't have the option to do a real one right now....

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  18. Congratulations!

    I've never done a virtual half (I think just 5Ks and 10Ks to date), but it sounds like you had everything all planned out. On long runs, I would sometimes have to loop back home for a bathroom break, and it was HELLISH convincing myself to get out the door and finish my run, so you made a good call on carrying hydration.

    I'm so glad everything went so well!

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    1. Agree, I know myself and it would just have been too hard to go back out there if I'd come home.

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  19. Well done! I'm still learning to embrace virtual racing - I think a virtual half would be so mentally challenging! It sounds like you had a great plan and executed well. Congrats!!

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    1. I didn't expect to be able to PR on my own. The half was a bit easier than the 5k & 10k only b/c I have so much more room to improve on my time there.

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  20. Great job getting it done and awesome that you had a PR! That's seriously impressive!

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  21. You inspired me! Right in the middle of reading about your virtual races I stopped and registered for a Mother's Day Virtual 4-Miler! I've been wanting to run the "real" race for years, but never got around to registering for it so thank you!

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  22. Congrats! You had a really good plan and executed it well (much better than I did my virtual half last weekend... I'll blog about it! ;))
    I definitely agree that running a virtual race is harder because you're alone and have to rely on yourself as your cheer squad (hard to do!). I ran with a coaching app, which helped a bit, but I did miss spectators and other runners!!

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