#Breaking2 at the PEI Half-Marathon
Ever since I ran my first race in August 2017, I thought a 2-hour half marathon would be broken quickly. And it was kind of a personal milestone for me; in my first race; I ran the Marathon by the Sea in a time of 2h 01m 57s - it was a foregone conclusion that I would top this....
Fast forward two years, and it's still eluding me. I had a decent race at Fredericton, but was massively under-trained. I had a couple of fantastic training runs, but they were a hair over 2 hours. I was not going to sign-up until I had a good chance of breaking 2 hours.
I finally started running with a group - the Amherst Striders. An inclusive group that encourages anybody in the community, at any pace. They leave nobody behind. If you're a faster runner, you just end up running longer distances.
They run every Monday evening (10km), Wednesday evening (5km or 10km), and Saturday mornings (long runs).
My first run with the Striders was on Wednesday September 11th - which was a 3 week hiatus of running post-Capes100. I ran a 10km in an hour, and it was a pretty tough run for me but not too bad. For a bunch of the folks in this group, their next race was the Prince Edward Island event.
I had no plans on going to PEI.
I was still dealing with some plantar fasciitis problems, and my cardio/strength was a bit down from the Capes event - so I did not commit to any races in the near future. I also was not interested in running another half-marathon where I did not break my PB. I was also committed to a 21-week training program for the Hypo-Half.
Sackville had a fall fair on one of the first weeks, and I ended up running the Main Street Mile (free race) and ended up 12th overall in a time of 6:24. Kind of a confidence booster.
Mostly sticking to my training plan for the hypo half, I felt like I was improving over time - I also got a new pair of shoes that did not aggravate my injuries - so I could run 4 and 5 times per week rather than the typical 3 or 4. The Striders helped to keep me honest and consistent - and provided me some distraction during some of the tougher runs.
So anyways, 6-weeks into my training plan (4 days before the race day) Alan (coach), Greg, and Ken are passively pressuring me go to the PEI half-marathon. I was debating doing either this race, or "A Day in Amherst" the next weekend. Since I wanted to avoid injury, I decided on going with the shorter race option - PEI it is! I sign up on the last possible day.
As race prep, I know I have one goal; 1:59:39. Program my watch to keep me within 5:36min/km to 5:41min/km pace zones. It will beep if I am too slow or fast.
You might be wondering why 1:59:39 is my goal?
Eliud Kipchoge ran the fastest marathon (unofficial) in 1:59:39.
Drive down the morning of the race, meet up with Ken, pin my race bib and take a few pre-race pictures with the Striders.
The race starts at 9:00AM, and I hang around the back with Ken and Alan; they typically run at a 6:00min/km to 6:15 min/km pace, this would offer me a slow start until my legs and lungs get warmed up - then I can start pushing for my goal time. I don't want to push too hard, and end up having to walk.
The race starts, I hang at the back with Ken, Alan and a few others (I don't remember their names) the rest of the Striders are way ahead. My first kilometer is at a 6:04min/km pace. For some reason I was not feeling particularly fast or in shape at this point in the race. People were passing me left and right, and I recognized this mistake from my past races. But my god some people were fast starters.
So my watch is starting to beep at me because I'm averaging outside of my desired pace zone, and I start speeding up a bit.
My next few kms are:
5:44min/km
5:29min/km
5:41min/km
5:33min/km
By this time, I catch up with Pam Chenhall from the Striders, I chat with her for about 5 minutes. She is moving well, and I inform her that at current pace, she should be right around 2 hours and I encourage her. Pam is present at nearly every Monday/Wednesday Striders run, and she is definitely capable of keeping up with this pace. I haven't caught up with the 2-hour pacer yet, and I'm thinking he is probably a bit fast. We reach the first water station, and there are two volunteers handing out water, and one who is picking up cups. Needless to say, that third volunteer is completely useless to this enterprise, and I don't pick up water or gatorade because there aren't any cups that are filled up. It's not the end of the world, temperatures are cool, and I don't feel dehydrated or needing of water yet.
I high-five a few Storm Troopers going up Belvedere Ave. and we turn towards UPEI, where I spent 3 years completing my B.Sc. great memories were had here.
I finally catch up to the 2-hour pacer along the Confederation Trail section, behind the university. I thought he was going fast, but he was doing 10 minute run: 1 minute walk intervals. The pacer, and the group following him, dropped off for their walk - this was about 7.5kms into the race. I still felt pretty good.
I saw an aid station coming up ahead - and I knew it was about time to take a GU (they recommend taking at every 45 minutes) - rip open the salted caramel GU, take as much as I can in a few sips - get to the water station and wash down the GU. This process worked pretty well, and I did not have a gross or dry sensation in my mouth.
I look up ahead, and about 30m ahead of me, I see Lesley and Derrek from the Striders. Lesley is aiming for sub-2 just like I am, and she is capable of pulling it off, too. Derrek is pacing her through it, he is a 1h40m half-marathoner and a fast runner (very selfless act, good karma)! I join up with these two and we chat for a little while. I get my energy boost from the GU, and Lesley is asking Derrek to slow down up this next hill. I assume they will catch up, as I take the lead. I am not pushing too aggressively because I want to run with people for a while to distract me. My splits during this time are 5:44min/km, 5:39min/km and 5:50min/km - I'm going slower than my intended goal pace, but they are not catching up - and when I look at Strava data post-race, it looked like they took a walk break here.
Anyways, my watch is starting to beep at me because my splits are not on my goal time, though I'm following this short female runner who I assumed was going at a decent pace. Some people passed us, and I realize that this runner is struggling - so I pass her and I end up passing many other runners during this section. It's a slight uphill, but it was not steep enough to really justify slowing down I was still feeling pretty good at this point.
At around the 14km mark, I see somebody else I know up ahead Brenna - she is a very fast runner, and has been present every Saturday for long runs. I am shocked to see her. I take a look at my watch and assume it's not giving me accurate data. She is much faster than I am on a good day. Maybe I'm going too fast I thought.
I pull up behind her and another person, and they start walking, I hear: "I don't feel good"
I don't even say hello or stop (which I kind of felt bad about), I just blaze past them because I'm thinking that walking might be the kiss of death - I am right on my goal pace, with razor-thin margins. I'm also assuming that my second half of the race will be slower than the first half.
So I turn on highway 15, and then take a right on Sherwood Road - a nice downhill 👊👊👊
I assume I'm more experienced than most runners who are near me on the hills due to my training for Capes, and because the Striders Monday runs are quite hilly.
Fastest split yet: 5:18min/km
Whenever you do a downhill, you know there's an uphill coming up. I never expected 3 consecutive downhill/uphill combinations.
Note to self: study the course next time.
The last part of Sherwood Rd., and the first part of Mapleque Road were actually pretty brutal climbs at 2h half marathon pace. I did not walk once, but the legs were burning once I reached the top of these hills - the heart rate got pretty high, too. A whole bunch of people were walking up these.
Here's the 3-hill Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/10557600?filter=overall
I ended up averaging a 5:39min/km pace for this segment, which I'm happy about.
During the mid-point of the 3-hills I took my second GU gel. Now I don't know if this was the right decision or not. At some point during the end of this segment, my stomach started acting up and I could feel some discomfort. I felt like stopping and puking, and then keep going. Then I thought against it, because if I stop running to puke, I might not hit my time goal (and could dehydrate).
The last 4 or 5 kms I kept repeating to myself "You got this, it's in the bag, don't do anything stupid or desperate", but I honestly don't think I could push any faster during the last 3kms, which were flat slight downhill, down University Avenue.
I high-five the Storm Troopers again on the corner of University and Belvedere
My splits were:
5:47min/km
5:43min/km
5:41min/km
At the end of the race with about 0.5kms left, some guy in his 20s is walking.
I pass him and slow down a bit to try and encourage him: "The finish is right there, finish strong! You only have half a kilometer left! You got this!" (he finished 30 seconds after me)
When I could see the finish line, I accelerated for the final 0.2kms, the inflatable finish line is half-deflated for some reason, but it was an awesome finish; running in the middle of a gated section with people clapping on both sides.
Lift my arms up, look at the clock. It reads: 1:59:28
Fucking Eh!
I'm thinking there's no way the 2-hour pacer is 30 seconds behind me, I lost him more than an hour ago.
Nope, he was right there with his posse. (Strava data suggests he sped up to a 5:00min/km for his last km.)
I wait at the finish line for the rest of the Striders, and nobody is coming in before the 2h mark, which was too bad - I was hoping people would meet their goals. Maybe next time. I get myself some refreshments from the tent. See if I can catch other Striders coming in....
I think most of them ended up between 2h 04m and 2h 15m. Some had awesome races, some did not - that's the nature of sport I suppose.
This is what my happy face looks like when I get a PB.
Official Chip time was 1:59:02
I had an awesome race.
My slowest kilometer was my first one.
Well paced, no walk breaks, no major setbacks.
My 5km splits were as follows:
28:32
27:46
27:32
28:19
I want to extend a big thank you and congratulations to all of the Striders on the weekend.
Thanks for getting me out there and running this hard course.
Thanks for taking pictures.
Thanks for including me in the club, making me feel welcome, and keeping me accountable.
Thanks to Alan (coach) for telling me to catch up to the front-runners on our Strider weekday runs.
"What are you doing back here Nick? Go get 'em" resonates with me.
Thanks to Ken for picking up my race bib.
Thanks to everybody else for the great conversations throughout the race and weekend.
Thanks to the marathoners, you guys are inspiring. Same with David Enman 1:28:33 is nuts!
Thanks to PEI and the Charlottetown folks, I keep making great memories whenever I cross the bridge!
Fast forward two years, and it's still eluding me. I had a decent race at Fredericton, but was massively under-trained. I had a couple of fantastic training runs, but they were a hair over 2 hours. I was not going to sign-up until I had a good chance of breaking 2 hours.
I finally started running with a group - the Amherst Striders. An inclusive group that encourages anybody in the community, at any pace. They leave nobody behind. If you're a faster runner, you just end up running longer distances.
They run every Monday evening (10km), Wednesday evening (5km or 10km), and Saturday mornings (long runs).
My first run with the Striders was on Wednesday September 11th - which was a 3 week hiatus of running post-Capes100. I ran a 10km in an hour, and it was a pretty tough run for me but not too bad. For a bunch of the folks in this group, their next race was the Prince Edward Island event.
I had no plans on going to PEI.
I was still dealing with some plantar fasciitis problems, and my cardio/strength was a bit down from the Capes event - so I did not commit to any races in the near future. I also was not interested in running another half-marathon where I did not break my PB. I was also committed to a 21-week training program for the Hypo-Half.
Sackville had a fall fair on one of the first weeks, and I ended up running the Main Street Mile (free race) and ended up 12th overall in a time of 6:24. Kind of a confidence booster.
Mostly sticking to my training plan for the hypo half, I felt like I was improving over time - I also got a new pair of shoes that did not aggravate my injuries - so I could run 4 and 5 times per week rather than the typical 3 or 4. The Striders helped to keep me honest and consistent - and provided me some distraction during some of the tougher runs.
So anyways, 6-weeks into my training plan (4 days before the race day) Alan (coach), Greg, and Ken are passively pressuring me go to the PEI half-marathon. I was debating doing either this race, or "A Day in Amherst" the next weekend. Since I wanted to avoid injury, I decided on going with the shorter race option - PEI it is! I sign up on the last possible day.
As race prep, I know I have one goal; 1:59:39. Program my watch to keep me within 5:36min/km to 5:41min/km pace zones. It will beep if I am too slow or fast.
You might be wondering why 1:59:39 is my goal?
Eliud Kipchoge ran the fastest marathon (unofficial) in 1:59:39.
Drive down the morning of the race, meet up with Ken, pin my race bib and take a few pre-race pictures with the Striders.
The race starts at 9:00AM, and I hang around the back with Ken and Alan; they typically run at a 6:00min/km to 6:15 min/km pace, this would offer me a slow start until my legs and lungs get warmed up - then I can start pushing for my goal time. I don't want to push too hard, and end up having to walk.
The race starts, I hang at the back with Ken, Alan and a few others (I don't remember their names) the rest of the Striders are way ahead. My first kilometer is at a 6:04min/km pace. For some reason I was not feeling particularly fast or in shape at this point in the race. People were passing me left and right, and I recognized this mistake from my past races. But my god some people were fast starters.
So my watch is starting to beep at me because I'm averaging outside of my desired pace zone, and I start speeding up a bit.
My next few kms are:
5:44min/km
5:29min/km
5:41min/km
5:33min/km
By this time, I catch up with Pam Chenhall from the Striders, I chat with her for about 5 minutes. She is moving well, and I inform her that at current pace, she should be right around 2 hours and I encourage her. Pam is present at nearly every Monday/Wednesday Striders run, and she is definitely capable of keeping up with this pace. I haven't caught up with the 2-hour pacer yet, and I'm thinking he is probably a bit fast. We reach the first water station, and there are two volunteers handing out water, and one who is picking up cups. Needless to say, that third volunteer is completely useless to this enterprise, and I don't pick up water or gatorade because there aren't any cups that are filled up. It's not the end of the world, temperatures are cool, and I don't feel dehydrated or needing of water yet.
I high-five a few Storm Troopers going up Belvedere Ave. and we turn towards UPEI, where I spent 3 years completing my B.Sc. great memories were had here.
I finally catch up to the 2-hour pacer along the Confederation Trail section, behind the university. I thought he was going fast, but he was doing 10 minute run: 1 minute walk intervals. The pacer, and the group following him, dropped off for their walk - this was about 7.5kms into the race. I still felt pretty good.
I saw an aid station coming up ahead - and I knew it was about time to take a GU (they recommend taking at every 45 minutes) - rip open the salted caramel GU, take as much as I can in a few sips - get to the water station and wash down the GU. This process worked pretty well, and I did not have a gross or dry sensation in my mouth.
I look up ahead, and about 30m ahead of me, I see Lesley and Derrek from the Striders. Lesley is aiming for sub-2 just like I am, and she is capable of pulling it off, too. Derrek is pacing her through it, he is a 1h40m half-marathoner and a fast runner (very selfless act, good karma)! I join up with these two and we chat for a little while. I get my energy boost from the GU, and Lesley is asking Derrek to slow down up this next hill. I assume they will catch up, as I take the lead. I am not pushing too aggressively because I want to run with people for a while to distract me. My splits during this time are 5:44min/km, 5:39min/km and 5:50min/km - I'm going slower than my intended goal pace, but they are not catching up - and when I look at Strava data post-race, it looked like they took a walk break here.
Anyways, my watch is starting to beep at me because my splits are not on my goal time, though I'm following this short female runner who I assumed was going at a decent pace. Some people passed us, and I realize that this runner is struggling - so I pass her and I end up passing many other runners during this section. It's a slight uphill, but it was not steep enough to really justify slowing down I was still feeling pretty good at this point.
At around the 14km mark, I see somebody else I know up ahead Brenna - she is a very fast runner, and has been present every Saturday for long runs. I am shocked to see her. I take a look at my watch and assume it's not giving me accurate data. She is much faster than I am on a good day. Maybe I'm going too fast I thought.
I pull up behind her and another person, and they start walking, I hear: "I don't feel good"
I don't even say hello or stop (which I kind of felt bad about), I just blaze past them because I'm thinking that walking might be the kiss of death - I am right on my goal pace, with razor-thin margins. I'm also assuming that my second half of the race will be slower than the first half.
So I turn on highway 15, and then take a right on Sherwood Road - a nice downhill 👊👊👊
I assume I'm more experienced than most runners who are near me on the hills due to my training for Capes, and because the Striders Monday runs are quite hilly.
Fastest split yet: 5:18min/km
 |
| Look how fast I look!🙈 |
Whenever you do a downhill, you know there's an uphill coming up. I never expected 3 consecutive downhill/uphill combinations.
Note to self: study the course next time.
The last part of Sherwood Rd., and the first part of Mapleque Road were actually pretty brutal climbs at 2h half marathon pace. I did not walk once, but the legs were burning once I reached the top of these hills - the heart rate got pretty high, too. A whole bunch of people were walking up these.
Here's the 3-hill Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/10557600?filter=overall
I ended up averaging a 5:39min/km pace for this segment, which I'm happy about.
During the mid-point of the 3-hills I took my second GU gel. Now I don't know if this was the right decision or not. At some point during the end of this segment, my stomach started acting up and I could feel some discomfort. I felt like stopping and puking, and then keep going. Then I thought against it, because if I stop running to puke, I might not hit my time goal (and could dehydrate).
The last 4 or 5 kms I kept repeating to myself "You got this, it's in the bag, don't do anything stupid or desperate", but I honestly don't think I could push any faster during the last 3kms, which were flat slight downhill, down University Avenue.
I high-five the Storm Troopers again on the corner of University and Belvedere
My splits were:
5:47min/km
5:43min/km
5:41min/km
At the end of the race with about 0.5kms left, some guy in his 20s is walking.
I pass him and slow down a bit to try and encourage him: "The finish is right there, finish strong! You only have half a kilometer left! You got this!" (he finished 30 seconds after me)
When I could see the finish line, I accelerated for the final 0.2kms, the inflatable finish line is half-deflated for some reason, but it was an awesome finish; running in the middle of a gated section with people clapping on both sides.
Lift my arms up, look at the clock. It reads: 1:59:28
Fucking Eh!
I'm thinking there's no way the 2-hour pacer is 30 seconds behind me, I lost him more than an hour ago.
Nope, he was right there with his posse. (Strava data suggests he sped up to a 5:00min/km for his last km.)
I wait at the finish line for the rest of the Striders, and nobody is coming in before the 2h mark, which was too bad - I was hoping people would meet their goals. Maybe next time. I get myself some refreshments from the tent. See if I can catch other Striders coming in....
I think most of them ended up between 2h 04m and 2h 15m. Some had awesome races, some did not - that's the nature of sport I suppose.
Here is a picture of some of the Striders after their half-marathon. (Missing Ken, Derrek, Brenna)
This is what my happy face looks like when I get a PB.
Official Chip time was 1:59:02
I had an awesome race.
My slowest kilometer was my first one.
Well paced, no walk breaks, no major setbacks.
My 5km splits were as follows:
28:32
27:46
27:32
28:19
I want to extend a big thank you and congratulations to all of the Striders on the weekend.
Thanks for getting me out there and running this hard course.
Thanks for taking pictures.
Thanks for including me in the club, making me feel welcome, and keeping me accountable.
Thanks to Alan (coach) for telling me to catch up to the front-runners on our Strider weekday runs.
"What are you doing back here Nick? Go get 'em" resonates with me.
Thanks to Ken for picking up my race bib.
Thanks to everybody else for the great conversations throughout the race and weekend.
Thanks to the marathoners, you guys are inspiring. Same with David Enman 1:28:33 is nuts!
Thanks to PEI and the Charlottetown folks, I keep making great memories whenever I cross the bridge!
P.S. BEERS!!
Post- race, a few locals and I went to the Gahan House for some food and drinks.
Don't recommend the Root Beer (alcoholic), but I do recommend the Iron Bridge.
