Race start was foggy and cold, -8C (18F) with a light wind producing a wind chill of -15 or so. It's hard to dress for that knowing it was supposed to warm up. Most people stayed inside till shortly before the race, but even so, my calves got a bit chilled waiting for the race start. I started easy, letting my legs warm up and find a nice pace. There was some really slippery bits underneath some of the bridges. After I settled in I picked up the pace a bit, and brought my heart rate up to mid 140's and kept it there till the turnaround. Along the way the sun came up and it warmed up a bit, but not much.
I hit turn around in good time, 1:07 if you must know, got a mostly ice drink, and picked up the pace a bit. I ran great till about the 15 K mark, where my left knee started acting up. It didn't want to straighten up as my leg went forward, and was very dubious about taking my weight. I started limping pretty badly, and slowed down again but I DIDN'T WALK! Not at all, not even the aid station. My legs sure wanted to walk, but I was determined to run the whole thing. The last 6 K was brutal.
In the end, my watch says I finished 2:16:30. This is about 7 minutes faster than last years Police Half. Official results may vary. Even with my knee, I'm very pleased. I'm looking forward to a swim and water run tomorrow.
Oh, and here's the official times:
107 1831 Keith CARTMELL Calgary AB 15/18 61/71 M5059 2:16:27.9 6:29
What part of "keep right" don't people understand? Grrr. At the start of the race there was the usual jockying for position, but after about 20 minutes I was past all the run walkers, and was mostly by myself. I passed a few people during the middle half of the race, and a couple of them passed me back while I was limping. I had to admire the gall of one old perv. He's just standing there watching everybody going by, and he's turning right around looking at the girls as they run past him. I was afraid to look over my shoulder to see if he was looking at my butt. I saw the race leader heading for home when I was running past the graceful pedestrian bridge near the Girl Scout's building. Just a young kid; I'm afraid to look up the winner's time.
Saturday had an easy 20 minute run.
Weekly Summary
Swim 3.25 hrs
Bike 2.25 hrs
Run 4.0 hrs (including the half)
Walk 1.0 hrs
Core 2.25 hrs
Total 12.75
Woo hoo - way to go! Told you you'd float to the finish :) Great result - shows all the work is doing it's stuff....
ReplyDeleteCongrats. Don't bother with the winner, it's probably a pro and you did your best and accomplished a better time than last year. You improved and that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new PB Keith!!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Keith! 7 minutes is a huge improvement over last year. Sorry to hear your knee was giving you grief though. Rest up well!!
ReplyDeleteYou're #1, you're #1!!!!! (Number 1, number 1,831 - close enough.)
ReplyDeleteWAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm especially impressed that you ran the entire thing. That is always one of my main goals, but I frequently wuss out, sometimes on distances far shorter than a half marathon. AWESOME!
YEAH!!! congratulations on your PB and for pushing through the pain. hopefully you aren't hurting too much today though!! doing snoopy happy dance for you!
ReplyDeleteCongratz on the PB keith!! Way to stick it out and to keep running!! I hope you have a speedy recovery too.
ReplyDeleteI just read a race report from South Carolina where they actually cancelled due to "unsafe conditions" so I guess that pretty much makes you a badass for racing this weekend :)
ReplyDeleteand you know he was totally checking out your ass.
Awesome job!!
ReplyDelete