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.

[SPchief]

Congrats! Ever done the full?

[Superbowltrashcan]

Never ran that many races but plenty of training runs of 13.1 and farther. Be careful how much you do. You only have so much articular cartilage in those joints. I started running competitively at 14 and ran my last step at 45. Bone on bone in my knees now. Paid for most of college so I guess it was worth it. Those altitude races can be killer. Curious have you kept track of your total entry fees amount? Or tracked it to see if race costs are rising faster than inflation?

[Superbowltrashcan]

Crap too late for me!! Congrats on this. It is quite an accomplishment. And do a full if you can at least once.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Superbowltrashcan

Never ran that many races but plenty of training runs of 13.1 and farther. Be careful how much you do. You only have so much articular cartilage in those joints. I started running competitively at 14 and ran my last step at 45. Bone on bone in my knees now. Paid for most of college so I guess it was worth it. Those altitude races can be killer. Curious have you kept track of your total entry fees amount? Or tracked it to see if race costs are rising faster than inflation?

Y'know, I haven't kept track of entry fees. I'm not sure if I've been doing it long enough to compare inflation. They've ranged from about $35 to about $120, and I think they've averaged about $70.

Sorry about the knee problems. Those can take a guy down. I'm always surprised by how fast the top guys in my age group are, though. There are some really fast 50-somethings out there. I'm kind of glad to get out of the 40-something category, though, because the top guys there are scary fast.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Y'know, I haven't kept track of entry fees. I'm not sure if I've been doing it long enough to compare inflation. They've ranged from about $35 to about $120, and I think they've averaged about $70.

Sorry about the knee problems. Those can take a guy down. I'm always surprised by how fast the top guys in my age group are, though. There are some really fast 50-somethings out there. I'm kind of glad to get out of the 40-something category, though, because the top guys there are scary fast.

A minor victory for us older types.

[Superbowltrashcan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Sorry about the knee problems. Those can take a guy down. I'm always surprised by how fast the top guys in my age group are, though. There are some really fast 50-somethings out there. I'm kind of glad to get out of the 40-something category, though, because the top guys there are scary fast.

Not to brag but I used to be one of those "fast"er guys. But it comes at a cost. I was always good for a 18 flat 5k or a 1:30 half up to the day I heard that MCL pop. When they went in they found almost no cartilage left as well. Overuse. I think the body only has so many miles in it.

Been almost 8 years and I still miss running. Nothing like it.

If you want to do a full marathon maybe you can do the KC marathon and a Chiefs game the same weekend? I bet plenty of CPers would turn out along the route to cheer you on....

[cdcox]

Some of his high altitude races were already run for a longer time and at a higher heart rate than a flat marathon.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by SPchief

Congrats! Ever done the full?

Originally Posted by cdcox

Some of his high altitude races were already run for a longer time and at a higher heart rate than a flat marathon.

No, I've never done a full one. The longest distance race I've done is a 25K (about 15.6 miles). I've done some longer training runs to test the theory and I don't think I'm serious enough to do one. It starts becoming non-fun after about 15 miles.

However as cdcox mentioned, some of my mountain runs have been similar in terms of total time and effort. I've had 1 race of more than 4 hours and 2 in the 6 hour range just because of the elevation and hills.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

No, I've never done a full one. The longest distance race I've done is a 25K (about 15.6 miles). I've done some longer training runs to test the theory and I don't think I'm serious enough to do one. It starts becoming non-fun after about 15 miles.

However as cdcox mentioned, some of my mountain runs have been similar in terms of total time and effort. I've had 1 race of more than 4 hours and 2 in the 6 hour range just because of the elevation and hills.

Absolutely true.

I mean, I think the longest run I've done that was still fun was 18 miles. Even going up to 20 was just too long.

Fifteen is actually fun, because you get that long endorphin run but you don't torture yourself.

Also, over 15 miles you have to really add back in calories to keep going and every mile you add actually lowers your net benefit from the run.

Half are the way to go. I'm doing a pasadena one this fall and am going to sprinkle in some more over the summer, but last year's LA marathon is the last full one I will ever subject myself to. It's just not worth it, IMHO.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by saphojunkie

Absolutely true.

I mean, I think the longest run I've done that was still fun was 18 miles. Even going up to 20 was just too long.

Fifteen is actually fun, because you get that long endorphin run but you don't torture yourself.

Also, over 15 miles you have to really add back in calories to keep going and every mile you add actually lowers your net benefit from the run.

Half are the way to go. I'm doing a pasadena one this fall and am going to sprinkle in some more over the summer, but last year's LA marathon is the last full one I will ever subject myself to. It's just not worth it, IMHO.

Granted, a person can probably find a study that supports any position, but I read something recently that showed that long-distance running tended to have a negative impact on health once you control for the fact that long-distance runners are more healthy to start with. It found that running distances under 15 miles has a net positive impact, but concluded that marathons have a negative impact. That's sure been my personal experience. I really hurt after long runs.

[ThaVirus]

Congratulations.

I run a mile and a half to the gym every day and I ****ing hate it. It's usually the worst part of my day.

[SuperBowl4]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Congratulations.

I run a mile and a half to the gym every day and I ****ing hate it. It's usually the worst part of my day.

Ride a bike

[007]

I do 5k, 4 mile and 10k runs. I just don't know that I want to even try a half marathon. Don't know how you do that. But it is impressive!!!!

[Silock]

CAN YOU PLAY RIGHT TACKLE?