Motivation… or lack there of

Ever since the Woodlands Half my motivation for running has been low.  With low miles I skipped Hog’s Hunt which was probably a mistake.  I probably should have at least run the 25K since I need some trail miles.  Also, I dropped from 3^rd place to 9^th place in my 2013 challenge group which doesn’t really bother me too much, but I do really want the 2013 miles for the year.  The goal was to end April at 600 miles, but I’ll be just over 500.  Waaaay behind where I need to be to complete this challenge.  Taking roughly a month off has given me time for some other activities.  I started salsa lessons which is quite fun.  Taking improv workshops taught by Joe Bill at the Houston Improv Festival was amazing as were the shows.

TransRockies opened up a 6 day solo run division which I signed up for, bought plane tickets, and have now committed to.  I really need to find my motivation to get my training up to speed; the nerves are already on high.  No way to fake 3 marathons and 3 half-marathons in 6 days.  May needs to focus on getting to race weight and building my mileage back up.

My motivation is slowly coming back to me. The Boston bombing had great impact with me.  I had a dozen or so friends running Boston, and dozens of friends with friends running Boston.  Luckily it seems everyone, and their loved ones that traveled with them are ok.  It’s odd how that event was the trigger to getting my motivation back. 

This weekend I’m pacing Liz for her Houston Marathon Qualifying time at the Green 6.2.  Yesterday we did an untimed test run which went well.  I’m confident she can do it, of course then we both have to sign up for the Houston Marathon.  Time to get back into the swing of things.

Woodlands Half-Marathon Race Report

This might have been my perfect race, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  If you read my last couple race reports you know I wasn’t very confident in my sub 1:40 (7:38 mile pace) prospects.  I guess I had the perfect storm of taking time off, perfect race weather, and the perfect course.  

Highlights

• Mile marker 1 must have been misplaced.  The timer said I ran in it in 6:47 but nobody’s GPS beeped.  When mine, and several others, chirped I was at a 7:37 pace.  Right where I needed to be.
• A group of about 10 of us all settled in about the same pace but spread out over 50 or so yards.
• Either a 7:25ish pace or a 7:50ish pace felt comfortable, anything in between felt unnatural.  I opted for faster as it’s almost always better to “hang on” than to “catch up”.
• Not sure why more people didn’t run the curves smarter.  Inside radius is much better/shorter than the outside radius of a 2-4 lane road.
• Negative splits baby!  7:29 average pace the first half, 7:24 average pace the second half.
• Fastest mile was a 7:19 at mile 9, after I had a cliff shot.  Several times afterwards I saw sub 7 minute pace on my GPS.
• That little voice that tells you to "slow down just a bit because it will be so much more comfortable and nobody will know the difference" never made an appearance.
• Finished in 1:37:47 (7:28 pace) destroying my old PR by over 5 minutes.  184^th overall (out of 3445); 141^st out of 1456 men; and 25^th out of 255 in my age/gender group.

Keys to success

• The weather; 40 degrees, clear sky, slight breeze makes for a frigid start, but an awesome run once you get moving.
• I had pretty low mileage in the 2 weeks leading up to this race.  The legs were well rested.
• Hitting the gym.  Box jumps, lunges, and core workouts had a noticeable positive effect on my running.  Still need to lose the 15 pounds I gained since I ran this race last year.
• The course.  With water stations every 1.5 miles and the mile markers at every mile, there was plenty of things to keep you motivated to the next small goal.

I’m ready to not race for awhile, but at the same time I really want to test myself in a road marathon.  It’s been over 10 years since I’ve ran one and I think I can get well under 4 hours at this point.  I haven’t signed up for the Hog’s Hunt 50K yet, but I’m pretty sure I will be doing it as a TransRockies training run.