Miami Half Marathon

Just got in from Miami about 1:00 a.m. this morning and it was a great vacation/running trip. Spent the first few days on the beach, catching a Miami Heat game (beat the Pistons by 1 point), and soaking up the sun before our marathon (Shane and Alicia) and my half. I haven't done much of anything in terms of training since the Memphis Marathon and - let's face it, I didn't do much preparation for that one either. But my head was in a better place for this race, and I feel my confidence and fitness is at least to the point where I can run a half and feel pretty good with little training.

The morning started off kind of chilly - 54 degrees at the start - and was one of the earliest races I've been in with the gun going off at 6:15 a.m. This of course being due to the Miami weather, and the fact that it was a warm and humid 75 degrees by 11:00 a.m. that day. Alicia and I quickly got separated from Shane since he's a bit faster, and we ended up trying out a new interval of 4:1 rather than our usual 6:1. This felt pretty good throughout the race, and I never really felt that I got tired, or that I was looking at my watch numerous times counting down the minutes to the next walk break.

I filled up on Muscle Milk and Gatorade pre-race, and had to make my first pit stop two miles in. Much like the New Orleans half marathon just 11 months prior, this race felt like it went by quickly. Before I knew it we were running up Ocean Drive and hitting the 5 mile mark. At 6 miles, another potty break called and we lost 3-4 minutes due to some slow urinators.

I continued to feel good throughout, and Alicia and I even managed to run up the small inclines as we entered onto numerous bridges throughout the race - this is a good thing for the both of us as we tend to lose it during the hills and end up walking at least some of it. At mile 9 or so my thighs could feel the burn and it was only then that I really started to feel the effects of the prior miles.

Alicia and I had planned on splitting up at the marathon/half split-off, but after a short walk break I wasn't quite ready to pick it up again, and Alicia took off at the 11.5-12 mile mark. I continued with the 4:1 intervals, and sprinted to the finish line the last 100 feet or so to make it a solid 2:48:00 race - a measley 12:50 min. mile. Not my best attempt, but certainly not my worst either.

I've been talking to some folks about getting involved in some kind of structured workout plan. I'm looking into P90X at this point, and am hoping that with some determination and guidance I can pull off getting more toned, adding strength and endurance, and helping out my cardio for the upcoming races this year. 2010 was a great year as far as quantity and, I do have to admit, Rev3 Knoxville and the San Francisco Marathon were two races that I truly felt I trained hard for and ended up being fantastic events for me. In 2011 however, I will have the Half-Rev in September, and need to make sure I'm in tip-top shape come race time. With that said, here's to getting back on the treadmill/bike trainer/swimming pool and hopefully another PR in the upcoming Shelbyville Tri Series and Triple Crown races.....