Balls to the wall.
I decided that would be my mantra late last week. Since the Philly RnR was not my goal HM this Fall (the Philly HM is), why not go balls to the wall and put it all out there? The worst that could happen is I blow up during mile 10 and have a miserable race. I’m so conservative sometimes, I just wanted to run like a lunatic and ignore my gut telling me to slow down.
So that’s exactly what I did. I wanted a 1:45 finish time (8:00 average pace) so I went – balls to the wall – out at 8:00 pace at mile 1.
Splits:
Official time: 1:45:12
That’s a 2-minute PR from last November!
At mile 10 I realized I could make 1:45 if I sped up a bit. I could not get over how good I felt. I haven’t done speed work since May – could this really be from ultra training? Absolutely.
A runner’s speed is limited by their aerobic capacity. But after 10 marathons over 8 years, I didn’t think I could further improve my endurance (significantly improve, at least). Endurance was always my strong suit while speed was my Achilles heel.
That’s a small reason why I wanted to train for an ultra. If my aerobic capacity could be improved, ultra training would do it. And if my aerobic capacity improved, I may be able to run faster – despite doing no speed work.
So my ultra training turned into a little side experiment for me – with excellent results! The weather was also a factor in my performance today as was my no expectations mentality.
But on to better things…
Today my niece (she’s only 17!) and my sister-in-law became half marathoners!
Congrats girls – I am so proud of you! Enjoy the post-race high…you earned it!
CONGRATS! That’s awesome! I agree with you about ultra training. I watched a friend of mine go from a 3:19 marathoner, then run a 100 miler in July and run 3:04 in NYC that fall!
Nice work!!!!
Wowzers, great job! There’s not much else that tops an unexpected PR 🙂 So what’s your plan now – more ultras or PRing is shorter races?
That’s awesome!!! And congrats to your niece and sil, too!!
hoooray! Kristy, that’s so awesome – congrats! I love your idea of running like a lunatic and going all out. I’m often too conservative too, and it must have felt great to just go out there and kick ass. Nice work, lady 🙂
Congrats on the PR! Ultra training is what made me faster too, it sure wasn’t track work haha
AWESOME! Balls to the wall indeed! Looks like you went a bit crazy on mile 2! 🙂 Love it! Congrats to you and to the relatives for their half marathons. Such a fun day for all of you!
Awesome job! I love experiments – running is science! Well, sometimes. Anyways, nice job and YOU enjoy your post race high!
Wow, Kristy! this is amazing! Way to go, girl!
That is fantastic! I love the mantra. I do the same thing where I chicken out and slow down at the beginning. I think your blog is my only source of confidence about my upcoming marathon, haha. So when will you be signing up for a 50 miler?
Woohoo! See – trail training works wonders 🙂
Nice job!! It’s great that you PR’d after your season of ultra-training. Clearly, it’s working. 🙂
Are you running anything between now and the November Philly half?
WONDEFUL, Kristy! Great job–sometimes risk-taking pays off!
Nice PR! I just found your blog today and really like it! I look forward to following you.
YES!! Congrats on the PR!!! So awesome. Enjoy your PR high 🙂
Awesome race, Kristy! Your ultra training has really paid off! I knew you would do great! Congrats!
You are AMAZING!!! I knew you were going to PR. You do know I am definitely hiring you next year when I run a marathon, right? I want to come in under 4 hours and you will be my coach.
Congrats to you again and to your family you are now half-marathoners (and perhaps marathoners soon!).