Half Marathon Goals
Yesterday I went out for a run, not sure of where to go or how far to run, but I wanted to run at least six miles depending on how I felt. I got dressed, ate breakfast, drank coffee and some water and around 9AM headed out. I felt pretty great, ran around my neighborhood, was keeping a pace of around 9:20~ per mile, and on when I hit seven miles on my way home, I just decided to keep running.
I keep my pace at 9:30 per mile and kept running, until I hit 13.1 miles. I ran it in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 29 seconds…6 seconds faster than my half marathon PR, the time that I’ve been trying to beat for the past three years.
I had no race bib, no timing chip, no water stops, no spectators, no Gu, medal, nothing. Just my headphones and myself. I guess I didn’t need any of that stuff to hit my goal. Had this been an actual race, I probably would have shed some tears! But, it felt so anti-climactic. I was just out for a run.
I have no idea how I kept running without stopping for water or fuel. The only time I stopped was at a redlight on Western Avenue. I never felt tired or hungry. I just kept going, and repeating to myself you’ll never know if you never try. I wanted to see if I could hit my goal on a training run, and I did. I knew I had it in me somewhere.
My original goal was to run the Hangover Half Marathon at a 9:30 pace, but now I know I can do that–so I’m going to try to run it in 2:02:XX, averaging at 9:20 pace. I know I can do it!
Now, my question is…do you consider non-race times as unofficial personal records?
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4 Comments
Victoria
Such an awesome run! You will totally beat 2:02…maybe even faster.
Jen
Thanks Victoria! I have dreams of sub 2:00…but I don’t know if I can do that!!
Darlene
That’s great. I am never motivated to run fast unless I am in a race.
Darlene recently posted..Sayonara to Foot Pain?
Mer
Sub 2-hours is my goal too. I did my first two half’s in 2013 and I think 2014 can be the year. I’ve never considered training runs PR’s, but I’ve also never had a full 13.1 training run which is faster than I was on race day. I wonder if not stopping at water stops or slowing down to take in nutrition contributed to your faster pace? I always wonder if I really lose much time opening up my Gu’s and choking them down and walking through a couple of water stops. I justify it by thinking that it will increase my overall pace, but maybe it’s all a wash? Either way – awesome for you to have such a great Sunday run. So much of running is mental and just knowing you did it when you weren’t really trying to will no doubt propel you even further on your next race day. I bet you’ll have a new “official” PR before you know it!