First race of the year

Egersund half marathon March 9, 2013
21.1km 1:37:18, new PB

Finally the start of this years race season. I thought a half marathon would be a nice way to check my fitness and since there are few bare roads in this part of the country I had to travel to the Oil Capitol Stavanger and meet up again with the Original Bar Runner Phil. Just the notion of flying out to do a race gave me rather childish sense of professionalism, which went away when I ordered a couple of beers at an airport bar.

The Bar Runner has landed

Phil and I drove down south in the scenic west coast landscape to Egersund, which is a lovely little town where we stopped for a coffee as we were very early for a change. Phil let on that he hadn't trained at all and was worried that he would come in last and I was very nervous and feared that running on bare asphalt would destroy me. I guess we were preparing excuses for failure, but I think being nervous before a race is a good thing, though I was more giddy now than I can remember ever being.

We were the only ones wearing shorts, but we compromised with wearing gloves which I wouldn't regret as it was cool and windy. After warming up and proffering more excuses we went to the start and did a White Man High Five before counting down for the start.

Real men don't wear tights

My goal for the race was a new PB(1:45) and I would be disappointed if I didn't break 1:40, Phil said he expected a 1:35 and I guess I secretly hoped to better that.

The race started suddenly and I went off very fast. Way too fast, as it turned out. From the school and out to the road I tried to get in a good position among the lead runners. I overtook a lot of people and were perhaps 10-15 runners behind the lead. After a kilometer there were two groups falling in line against the headwind in front of me, taking turns in front. I was just out of reach of the second group, never gaining and struggling to keep up. My shins flared up and felt really inflamed, after 3K the group distanced itself and I got caught by several runners. My paced dropped and I struggled so bad I considered for a few moments of dropping out. I looked at my watch and I was surprised that my average pace was just 5:00/km because I felt really slow.

After the aid station at 5K I had let a lot of people pass me and it got to me, I tried unsuccessfully to keep up with a line of runners as the wind took its toll, but I was still low on energy. A lone runner struggled to overtake me so I decided to hang on behind him. He kept a steady 5 minute pace and he kind of shielded me of the wind so I could recover. It didn't take long for me to feel the strength coming back and my shins felt better.

I had to be disciplined not to pick up the pace and break away, I thought staying behind him until the turning point at the halfway aid station would where I would run off was the best strategy, but I felt impatient and wanted to pick up the pace.

At the turning point I ran up alongside him, offering to pull him along, but he just gave me a thumbs up and so I took off without feeling guilty of cruising in his wake for the last few Ks. Not long after I heard someone catching up was surprised when an older guy screamed past me, I thought it was my previous windshield who was behind me. The old guy was my new target and I picked up the pace once again. I was overtaking a lot of runners on the way back and I saw that I was also gaining on the Old Guy. Now I was running as hard as I could. My laces came undone and my face was raw from wiping my face with my gloved hand.

In the last straight stretch into Egersund I overtook an attractive girl, but I ruined my chance of making a good impressions as I almost tripped on my own shoelaces. In the last K the road turned to the right and went under a railway and I finally caught the Old Guy, he was surprised and started to pick up the pace. In the last climb I went as hard as I could and was on the verge of blacking out when I crossed the finish line.

A volunteer offered me some bananas, but the thought of eating just made me want to vomit. I went to the car and got something to drink and rest and wait for Phil.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/282176253

Pros:
The finish was pretty good, I maintained a nice and steady pace from 10k and out. I think I recovered pretty well after the start and conserving energy behind the guy from 5k to 10k was an astute move.

Cons:
The Idiot Start. I never seem to learn. Instead of finding my own rhythm and pace I jockey for position and run on others. I really need to learn from that. I guess I could have shaved a few more minutes of the time if I had started easier.

In the end I got a new PB, but the start overshadowed the whole race for me, but it was soon forgotten as we had some beers and Jägermeister later that evening. Even though I really enjoy just the training runs in itself, it is also great to run with and compete with other people and see improvement. I don't train and run to compete, but it certainly helps bringing out the extra gear and effort.