A run with my son … and a hill
Just after I got to mile 13 today, I saw my wife and son cheering me on. I saw a big smile on his face … I looked behind me to see no one near me … and scooped him up. Finishing the last little bit of today’s Lynchburg Half Marathon with him was special — something I won’t soon forget. I can’t wait until he can do his first kids race.
As for the rest of the race, I did what I wanted to do — a sub 4-hour marathon pace. I haven’t widely broadcast what I want to do for the Richmond Marathon, but less than 4 hours is my goal right now. So I went into today’s event with the mindset of this being a solid long training run. While I would have liked to have been around 1:50, my finishing time was 1:55:38. There’s really no need for a mile-by-mile recap because everything was pretty steady. Except for one thing.
The biggest issue with getting slowed down was a HUGE hill about three-quarters of a mile long — and it wasn’t really the uphill that caused the issue. Coming back down the hill kind of just killed the whole run. After the bottom of the hill, there were a little more than 3 miles to go. I just couldn’t go. I just settled into a pace a little more than 9 minutes a mile and eased to the end.
To put this hill into perspective, I have mapped this big hill and the middle miles of the race on Daily Mile. This rest of the Lynchburg Half is mostly flat, with some gradual hills along a bike path next to the James River. (For anyone new to my blog, this course has changed drastically from three years ago when it was a mostly flat race. I had NO IDEA that this hill was this big, despite what people told me.)
From a racing standpoint, this just wasn’t that great of an experience. From a training standpoint, it was actually a really good run. I’m not going to complain about it; I’m just going to move on from it. I learned some lessons today about hills — I may run on them every day, but I need to learn to work them better and not let them work me. I think I’ve become too used to them. I smell a hill repeat workout soon.
On a side note, today was the 10th half marathon I have completed since the summer of 2006, and my third this year. The past two experiences — this one with the hill and the Blue Ridge Half in April — have really taught me to respect this distance more than I already did. My other eight half marathon experiences have been mostly flat, including six half marathons at Virginia Beach. Experiences like today and in April are eye opening and why I want to keep going. It makes training for my second marathon all the more worthwhile.
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Congrats on a solid run! Love that you finished the race with your son!!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Friday Shout Outs! =-.
Might have been a little slower than you would have liked, but that's a great time! You still have plenty of training time before the marathon.
Are you running RNR VA Beach this year? I'll be there! (6th time for me)
.-= merrymishaps´s last blog ..weekly winners- my happy place =-.
That's really cool that you were able to do that with your son, hopefully you'll end up with some photos to go along with that too.
Congrats on the half, and for completing your TENTH! That's awesome.
I think Conner enjoyed running with you too! Sorry we didn't capture the moment in pictures, though That just means there will have to be a repeat performance!
You'd be amazed at our half marathon routes in Madison, WI, filled with big hills! This is why I do a hill workout at least every other week, if not every week.
Sounds like a great non-race race though! How cool that your son finished with you! Congrats!
Finishing the race with your son is priceless.
Plus, you accomplished what you set out to do. I like this sentence:
but I need to learn to work them better and not let them work me. I think I’ve become too used to them. I smell a hill repeat workout soon.
And I agree. We all need to learn how to work the hills……