Race #177
Half Marathon #64
2019 Race #21
2019 Half Marathon #13
North Carolina Half Marathon #10
Tryon Half Marathon #5

After coming so close to a sub 2 hour half last week, I made an ambitious goal of attempting to come sub 1:55 in today’s half. Tryon has a few hills but nothing significant so I thought I could possibly attempt that speed. After everything, I might have but I did not realize that I could push myself until the final mile.

Although I still desire to focus on mental training to enhance the rest of my training for Atlanta, other events in my life have distracted me on top of the fact that I did not just read Deena Kastor’s memoir as I had last week.

We arrived in Tryon half an hour prior to the start of the race, plenty of time to head in, grab our bibs, pin them on, and then sit in the car for a few minutes until the start. I ended up leaving my shirt on a table in the building where they held packet pick up since after one look I realized that I would not wear the shirt again.

We made our way to the middle of the pack when it came time to get on the line for the start. After a few words from the race director, we were off. This race does not use chip timing so as soon as she said go, I started my watch.

Mom immediately stated that she wanted to make sure that we did not start out too fast, always tricky to manage for every runner. We ended up notching our three fastest miles through those first three miles. (I had one faster mile at the end but I will talk about that in a minute.)

Now that I have run this race five times, including today, this race ranks as the half marathon I have run the most save for Hilton Head. Since Hilton Head has changed the course a couple times and Tryon has not, I have run this course more than any other out of my half marathons.

The first two miles felt easy; Mom and I quickly settled into a fairly comfortable pace through the pavement mile and a half and the beginning of the hard-packed gravel road.

Mile 1: 8:35
Mile 2: 8:58
Mile 3: 8:50

We took our first fuel after we finished the third mile. Recent race experience has started to ingrain a seed of doubt when it comes to slowing to take in the fuel. After slowing to walk, I have found it difficult to get my stride back making the remaining miles feel much more like a slog. Today, however, I told myself that this fuel break would not do me in. Prior to fueling, I tuned into my stride, which felt spectacular, and told my body to remember how this felt since I would pick back up with this as soon as I finished chewing. Perhaps that mental training has paid off a little. I still felt just as great when we started back up.

The leader passed us just after we passed the mile 5 marker. With some quick map and the assumption that the turn around lay at the halfway point, I speculated that the leader currently ran three miles ahead of us. Incredible fitness and ability if true.

The final mile and a third prior to the turn around held the most significant hills, both up and down, of the entire race. The hills felt slightly difficult but not too bad. Mom, however, did fall a bit behind me whenever we went uphill. Perhaps the speedwork I have completed lately has helped with hill climbing.

When we reached the turn around, I realized that the turn around did not lay at the halfway point even though all the volunteers stated that it did. (I should have remembered this from previous years.) I realized two things. One, the course might be short. Two, the leader probably passed us at two miles ahead of us not three. Still impressive but more reasonable.

Mile 4: 9:53
Mile 5: 9:14
Mile 6: 9:03

Fitness-wise, I still felt great although occasionally, I wondered if sleeping in Friday morning and running 6 miles Friday night, just a few hours was such a great idea.

Mom started to drop back a little more on the hills but would catch up on the downhill. At one point, she asked if I wanted to run ahead of her. I told her no although I had started to think about starting to push at mile 12.

Mile 7: 9:53
Mile 8: 9:25
Mile 9: 9:34

Throughout the entire race, I avoided looking at my watch and the pace I ran although I caught occasional glimpses so for the most part I ran just by effort and not according to a desired pace.

After the ninth mile, I started looking ahead to find the farthest point of the course that I could see. I would tell myself then that I would be there before I knew it. Each time I reached the aforethought of point, I would do it again.

These last four miles passed a lot quicker than they have in my most recent half marathons. Perhaps the mental tricks I played helped speed up the process. I also kept anticipating a building that I associate with the turn back onto the main road. (The course has some intermittent asphalt to break up the hard-packed gravel a couple times.) When I finally saw that building I knew the final mile and my push to the finish lay just around the corner.

We also returned to pavement. As soon as we did, my stride felt more normal. It felt normal before but once I set foot on the pavement, my stride felt quicker. I told myself to picture the pavement as a power booster.

Mile 10: 9:34
Mile 11: 9:18
Mile 12: 9:02

Right at mile 12 Mom told me to go ahead. (I mentioned my plan to her about half a mile prior.) Since I had already started to push once we got back on the main road, I wondered if I would end up separating from Mom at all. After barely a minute, I glanced back and saw a bit of distance between us.

I had a moment of doubt as I attempted to pick up the pace when the questioning thought entered my brain. My legs, at that point, definitely felt the work that I had put into them the night before and the previous 12 miles. They did not hurt but they did not feel fresh either.

I kept pushing, picking off the gentleman in front of me after I made the second to last turn. I started to focus on the woman ahead of me but then she stopped flat out right at the final turn, I had to weave out into the road a bit to get around her and onto the trail that lead to the track at Harmon Field.

I glanced down at my watch to see how much I had left. Knowing that the track, and the finish line on the other side of it, lay at the other end of the trail – I could almost see it – I thought for sure that they had placed the turn around too early even though the turn around matched my memory from previous races.

I knew that the woman who had stopped had started running again so I picked up the pace a little more to put more distance between us. I wanted to finish strong, keep up the pace, not start the sprint too early and fade right at the finish line and have her pass me.

I glanced down at my watch just before I made the turn onto the track and surprised myself with a glimpse of a 7:40 pace. I knew I had pushed the pace but I had not realized that I pushed it that hard. I thought the pace difficult but not a sprint. I took comfort in the fact that that pace meant that the training perhaps has worked.

When I came around to the final side of the track and saw the clock ahead, I knew I would call it close to get in under 2 hours. I pushed aside defeatist thoughts and sprinted to the finish, getting in five seconds under two hours.

Mile 13: 8:10
.1: 6:48
Overall Time: 1:59:55

I knew that I would not get close to my original 1:55 goal but I wanted to finish much farther under 2 hours than I did. Instead of letting that thought defeat me, I focused on the fact that I have improved my time over the past three half marathons, basically over the past month from 2:04 to 1:59. I have a lot of work to do but as I write out this recap, I see the benefits that my training has wrought so far this training cycle and also realized that I can push the pace like I did that final mile and actually get it done.

We’ll see what results come at the Turkey Day 8k and the Santa Hustle Half, my last races before my goal 5k and then the official beginning to Atlanta training.