Testing Your Limits (first sub 90-min half marathon)
The only way to find out what your limits are is to test them. I experienced this first hand at the Edwards AFB Run with History half marathon on 18 May 2019, a great annual celebration of running and fitness hosted right on Edwards Air Force Base. Being able to run on the history Rogers dry lake bed, where so many historical aircraft have touched down, from the X-15 to the space shuttle, was pretty awesome. It also represented a perfect building block in my continued workup to the Old Cascadia 50 miler in June as part of our Kathrine Portillo fundraiser drive.
I have wanted to break my previous half marathon record for quiet some time. It was a 1:36:40 at the 2018 Bayshore Half Ironman distance triathlon, and equally important, wanted to bounce back after my abysmal performance at the 2019 Bayshore event, where i barely managed to grind out a 1:59:20 on the half marathon run course. The obvious goal was clear, I would not settle for less than a sub 90 minute half marathon.
The quest for a sub 90 minute half was a perfect test of mental and physical resolve. Not in the least because we had our Test Pilot School class naming ceremony the night before, lasting well into the wee hours of the morning of the race. Nonetheless, i felt attacking my half marathon PR on 3.5 hours of sleep would be a perfect test of my overall fitness goal for the year: to maintain a solid and reliable baseline upon which i can build my road to my first 100 miler in 2020.
My race strategy was simple, stick to the lead pack. When i showed up to the race start, there were only about 50 people racing the half marathon distance (there was also a 10 and 5K run). Once the horn sounded, one guy quickly paced himself to the front, and away, from the rest of the pack. I would end up chasing this man, Alan Squyres, for the rest of the race. My hat off to him, he was very fast and i am pretty sure he negatively split his run. Trailing him by about 100 yards/30 seconds pretty consistently for the first six miles, he hit the afterburners about halfway and increased his lead to a full 3 minutes by the time he crossed the finish line. A very strong performance. I will have to admit that i would have probably not have run a 90 minute half it wasnt for him pushing me so hard. I certainly red-lined my heart rate for the majority for the race, being well into my anaerobic heart rate zone for the entire 90 minutes, even setting a new max HR of 189.
I showed up to the race on very little sleep and after eating a sub-optimal dinner the night before (does 1 and a quarter Domino’s pizza count?), and wanted to test my limits. I wanted to see what my body could do. I certainly was not disappointing in the results. Yes i cleared my own goal of a sub-90 minute, but that does not compare to the valuable struggle that made me stronger and more resilient, adding to my body armor of which i will need plenty during my 50 miler in just a few weeks time.
