Personal Bragging: My 50th Half-Marathon

[Rain Man]

Last Saturday's race (in 42 degree temps in the rain, I might add) was my 50th half-marathon since I started my hobby in June of 2009.

My vital statistics are:

Completed races in 12 states so far (AK, HI, CA, NV, UT, WY, CO, TX, LA, FL, OH, and WI)

Median pace = 10:15 per mile
Median pace in flat, sea level races =9:37 per mile
Fastest pace = 9:04 per mile (Beaumont, TX - flat and sea level)
Slowest pace = 29:36 per mile (Pike's Peak Ascent - 7,800 foot climb from 6,300 ft to 14,100 ft and I was not good at it.)

14 have been at elevations between sea level and 3,000 feet (Median pace = 9:52)
21 have been at elevations of 3,000 to 6,000 feet (Median pace = 10:06)
9 have been at elevations of 6,000 to 9,000 feet (Median pace = 11:08)
9 have been at elevations of 9,000 feet or higher (Median pace = 15:29)

26 have been more or less flat with total hills < 300 ft (Median pace = 9:50). Three were net downhill.
12 have had moderate hills with total hills of 301-1,000 ft (Median pace = 10:43)
6 have had strong hills with total hills of 1,001-2,500 ft (Median pace = 12:10)
9 have had major hills with total hills of 2,500 ft or more (Median pace = 15:29)

The 9 with major hills are the same 9 that were over 9,000 feet in elevation.

3 races were run in the rain and 1 in snow.

I've only fallen once, and it wasn't in the rain or snow. (Tripped on a trail rock.)

24 were primarily on pavement or asphalt
6 were primarily on dirt roads
20 were primarily on trails

I've gone the wrong way on trails 4 times but only twice did it for more than 30 seconds. The worst mistake added 3/4 of a mile.

I've also had 2 10-mile races and a 10K in there, so that's 53 races in 54 months.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Well, that's not in Florida.

I'm running the Hastings Half in Hasting, NE. That'll mark off my 14th state. I'm registered for #15 in Maryland in November and will also do a race in Quebec that month, though that doesn't really count toward my 50 states goal.

Awesome! Which one in Maryland?

I was going to do the 1st half for the San Fran marathon in July but right when I was going to start training I broke my arm. My girlfriend is doing the full marathon there and now I'm just doing a 5k. In Seattle she's doing the full while I'll do the half. She's also registered for a full in Wash DC toward the end of the year and I'm sure we'll both do another half and/or a Sprint Triathlon prior to the year's end. This past weekend she did a Ragnar trail race in West Virginia. I want to do one of those!

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

http://www.beattheblerch.com/




Which race are you running Saturday?

That looks like a blast. Beautiful country.

I did my first long distance relay race starting Friday night. We had an 11 member team and we went 156 miles from Springdale AR to Springfield Mo in 22.5hrs so we averaged 8:39 per mile. We started at 4:00pm Friday and finished 2:30pm Saturday.

My part was 3 legs totaling a little over 18 miles and I averaged 7:45.

That was some of the hilliest 156 miles I have ever seen though I am sure there are worse courses. Terrain varied from basic roads in town to almost single lane dirt road and even a 6 mile stretch that was single track trail running.

If you ever get the chance to do a big relay with a group its fun. I plan to do more. It was a blast.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

That looks like a blast. Beautiful country.

I did my first long distance relay race starting Friday night. We had an 11 member team and we went 156 miles from Springdale AR to Springfield Mo in 22.5hrs so we averaged 8:39 per mile. We started at 4:00pm Friday and finished 2:30pm Saturday.

My part was 3 legs totaling a little over 18 miles and I averaged 7:45.

That was some of the hilliest 156 miles I have ever seen though I am sure there are worse courses. Terrain varied from basic roads in town to almost single lane dirt road and even a 6 mile stretch that was single track trail running.

If you ever get the chance to do a big relay with a group its fun. I plan to do more. It was a blast.

That's awesome. They do a relay here in FL from Miami down to Key West. My gf has done that before and has mentioned doing it again. The Ragnar trail race she did this past weekend was also relay but all legs began and ended at a base camp.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Awesome! Which one in Maryland?

Annapolis. November 22nd. It's where all the cool kids are going to be.


Those relay races seem intriguing, but I think the logistics would bother me. The one time I was looking into it, it seemed like you spend a lot of time sitting in a van, and that doesn't sound all that fun. Maybe I'm missing something.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

That's awesome. They do a relay here in FL from Miami down to Key West. My gf has done that before and has mentioned doing it again. The Ragnar trail race she did this past weekend was also relay but all legs began and ended at a base camp.

Interesting. How many routes are there to get from Miami to the Keys?

[Fire Me Boy!]

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/marathon_do

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Interesting. How many routes are there to get from Miami to the Keys?

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/floridakeys/legs

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Interesting. How many routes are there to get from Miami to the Keys?

Counting swimming and flying? Three.

[DaKCMan AP]

PR'd my 5K this past weekend @ The San Francisco Marathon. Previous 5K time was 25:06. This time ran a 23:38.

Continuing to train for the next race: my first half marathon in September.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

PR'd my 5K this past weekend @ The San Francisco Marathon. Previous 5K time was 25:06. This time ran a 23:38.

Continuing to train for the next race: my first half marathon in September.

Nice! A 2.5 minute improvement is huge for a 5K.

[Rain Man]

That's like Jamaal Charles speed. Or at least Mike Cloud.


I've been kind of slow recently, and I've got a nasty race coming up. http://www.halfmarathons.net/usa_hal..._marathon.html. I ran it last year and the hill at the beginning was tough, but doable. The annoying part is that the last four or five miles was on these little rough trails that wound up and down through a bunch of brush, and it was hot as blazes. They start this race too late in the day for August.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

PR'd my 5K this past weekend @ The San Francisco Marathon. Previous 5K time was 25:06. This time ran a 23:38.

Continuing to train for the next race: my first half marathon in September.

Completed my first half marathon last month. My goal was to run it in under 2 hours. I finished in 1:52:36. Very pleased.

I signed up for another one in December, still expect to finish in under 2hrs, but don't feel the need to try and PR.

[Beef Supreme]

I have done half of 1/50 of a marathon.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

Completed my first half marathon last month. My goal was to run it in under 2 hours. I finished in 1:52:36. Very pleased.

I signed up for another one in December, still expect to finish in under 2hrs, but don't feel the need to try and PR.

Nice! Which one? What was the course like?

I'm running Chicago this weekend. It'll be my first marathon. I've done the training but I'm actually pretty nervous. We'll see how it goes.

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by kepp

Nice! Which one? What was the course like?

I'm running Chicago this weekend. It'll be my first marathon. I've done the training but I'm actually pretty nervous. We'll see how it goes.

It was the inaugural Beat the Blerch put on by the comic blog The Oatmeal.

It was a trail-ish, out and back course. The course map and elevation profile are here: https://www.runningahead.com/maps/b1...a52fc1?unit=mi


That's Awesome! My girlfriend's first full was Chicago and I've heard good things about that course (it's fast!). Good luck and enjoy the moment!