Houston Half Marathon

I had a good rest and night's sleep preparing for today's race, and was very much looking forward to it since I thought the weather would be good. Indeed it was a good race, as it was nice to see Rick, Joanne, Kim and Laura during and after the race, and the race volunteers and organization was great. Despite temperatures in the mid 60s the very high humidity was much more draining than I had anticipated, and did not negative split owing to the growing impact of the humidity and the unexpected difficulty of dealing with the up and down contours along Allen Parkway.

From a technology perspective my new Magellan Echo running watch paired by Bluetooth 4.0 to my iPhone 6 with the excellent iSmoothRun App worked great, as it controlled my music and gave me verbal pace and distance prompts through my headphones. Naturally, I ran again in my trusty and excellent Newton Motion III's.

Results: pace: 7:41, 7:22, 7:21, 7:40, 7:37, 7:49, 7:51, 7:49, 7:52, 7:54, 8:17, 7,55, 8:24, 8:18. Div.: #10/136, Gender: #365/2169, Overall: #347/4445. Avg. Cadence: 84, Avg. HR: AVHR, 66 °F, 4mph SW, 83% humidity.

Houston Half Marathon Race Report

This morning's Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Chevron Marathon was certainly unusual, primarily owing to the weather related anxiety surrounding it! As a weather-obsessed runner, throughout the past week I frequently checked Houston's weather forecast and was frustrated with the its wild oscillations, from an initial near-perfect prediction to the final 80 - 100% chance of rain with a significant likelihood of thunderstorms and lightning.

Anticipation of lightning justifiably caused the Houston race organizers to scramble, to enhance their contingency plans and to release a map of shelter-in-place locations were lightning to be sighted within 10 miles of the course. Having years ago come within 100 yards of a lightning strike and realizing its tremendous danger to runners I fully support the race organizers' efforts, if for no other reason than to heighten awareness.

Fortunately, this preparation was not tested. The race started as planned at 7 AM since no lightning was sighted within 100 miles. However, the ongoing light rains caused wet and slippery conditions, which combined with starting temperatures in the low 60's and the near 100% humidity the race was appropriately put in the "Yellow" Heat Advisory status. This was justified as I've found correlations which point to a necessary heat stress related slow-down amongst marathon/half-marathon runners when:

• The average race temperature plus the dew-point is more than 120°F (this morning's was 65°F+60°F=125°F). Consequently, a reduction of ~20 seconds per mile was warranted as this slow-down was ~5°F above 120°F.
• The average temperature in degrees Fahrenheit is over 55°F. A recent study found that in general marathoners slow by 19 seconds per degree for temperatures above this level. While quite simplistic (since it ignores both humidity and the runner's average pace), using today's average 65°F would translate to an 8 seconds per mile slow-down.
  

So, given this weather-adjusted expectation how did I do? Well, as I tend to run much hotter than other runners (evidenced by my running the Chicago Marathon two years ago and sweating profusely despite temperatures in the mid 30's and being bare-chested) my slow-down was more pronounced. In the first 10K I was generally on-target with a 7:17 pace, however as the heat got to me I slowed to finish with a 1:43:55 - approximately 45 seconds per mile from my optimistically hoped-for P.R.. Nevertheless, considering the high humidity and the difficulty obtaining traction on the wet roads I was satisfied.

Moving on, consistent with Sean Wade's advice the next stage of my training will focus on improving my running form and my shorter distance race performance. In this regard next week I've got an appointment for a "basic biomechanical and gait analysis" from a bioengineering wizard with Memorial Hermann's Sports Medicine Institute. I'm looking forward to it and the follow-up strengthening and stretching exercises, which I will incorporate with my ongoing Kenyan Way training.

Houston Half - Here I Come!

Earlier today I attempted the Kenyan Way 22-mile long training run, targeting an 8-minute pace for the first 16 miles, and my goal Marathon Pace (7:30) for the final 6 miles. This was a huge day for me, having unaccustomedly bonked in the late miles of both the recent Chicago and San Antonio Marathons it was important to test my fitness level to determine whether to remain in the Houston Marathon, or to drop to the Half.

I got as far as 17.5 miles, and though I'd held my desired goal paces until the final quarter mile, my body guided me to the right decision - I'll be running the Houston Half in January. I'm relieved by my decision, and am excited to hopefully excel at the half-marathon distance. Since with my coach I'd previously committed subsequent to the January Houston race to take six-months off from marathon training and endurance-oriented competition via concentrating instead on speed, through running the Houston Half I hope to have an excellent transition in that direction.

The weather conditions for this morning's run were warmer than I'd hoped, starting in the upper 50's and finishing in the low 60's with very high humidity. Nevertheless, I don't hold that as an excuse, especially as the conditions were well within the expected range for the end-of-January Houston race.

Until mile 17 I had the benefit of running with an evenly-matched friend training for Boston. The miles always go by much quicker with companionship and conversation, and today was no exception. Nevertheless, beginning at the 14th mile it became very clear from my exertion level running at only an 8:00 pace that the 7:30 marathon pace would prove difficult. As I'd feared upon speeding up at mile 15 my rapid and labored breathing in the remainder of the run provided evidence that I'd not be able to complete the full 22 at my intended pace. This was confirmed in the final half mile slow-down, and after re-hydrating at the Kenyan Way staging area I noticed that I felt as I had in Chicago and San Antonio while nearing glycogen depletion. Though initially disappointed I know I'm making the right decision, and look forward to training for the Half.

“Nothing endures but change.” –Heraclitus

Houston Half Marathon Race Report

Two years after my first marathon I decided to try my first half-marathon. I loved it! It was run 75% on the same course as the full Houston marathon, and while it shared the most economically challenged portion of the course, the spectators made-up for it with tremendous exuberance and enthusiasm! The biggest benefit of running merely a half was the MUCH simpler preparation (as I said for many months afterwords, 90% of the fun for 35% of the effort!)

Official Race Results: Time: 01:44:26; Age 45-49: 51/422; Male: 541/3276; Overall: 659/7348