{"id":344,"date":"2017-03-27T02:33:33","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T02:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racereportblog.com\/?p=344"},"modified":"2025-02-25T20:48:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T20:48:27","slug":"sleepy-hollow-half-marathon-32517","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=344","title":{"rendered":"Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon, 3\/25\/17"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Spoiler alert:\u00a0 this wasn\u2019t my fastest race.\u00a0 In fact, it was probably my longest time for this distance.\u00a0 Yet, it was a great race; I felt strong, persevered, and was surprisingly satisfied despite the numeric result.<\/p>\n

Drove over with running buddy Vassilis Bakopoulos, who in contrast with my planning months in advance on doing this, decides the night before to register at the starting line.\u00a0 That\u2019s the beauty of a very local race.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
With Vas, AFTER the race. Easy to be happy when it’s done!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The weather was ideal:\u00a0 48 degrees, climbing to 52 by the end of the race; cloudy, and I almost didn\u2019t wear my cap (but glad I did \u2013 sweat dripped ahead of me, away from my glasses).<\/p>\n

I am shooting for, nay, cajoling the universe for a PR.\u00a0 I had done this race in 1:36:24 three years ago (7:21 per mile) and wanted, wanted, wanted to do 1:35:30 (7:17 per mile).\u00a0 Left hamstring\/inside of knee had been aching for several weeks, so I was a little concerned that going full out could result in walking 6 \u00bd miles back home.\u00a0 I might end up with another disappointing result, like the last two NYC Marathons.\u00a0 But I wanted to fly, as best I could.<\/p>\n

I put myself about five rows back of the start (edging in front of the people who are edging back, but behind the Serious Competitors who are crowding forward) and we are OFF, beneath the giant American flag and up through the village to the road that goes up, up, up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An explosive start. These guys are incredibly strong — and look how happy the guy in the middle is.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The good news is, I was so focused on being in tune with my body as we started that I forgot to start my watch for the first 15 seconds.\u00a0 That felt like a positive mindset.<\/p>\n

Plan was to run 20\u201d slower than goal pace the first mile, or high heart rate zone 2\/low zone 3 (which was pretty likely, since the course started with 3 miles of up hill\u2026)\u00a0 The groomed trail portion of the race was cut out, because of leftover snow, and I\u2019m fine with that, I didn\u2019t want to be crowded or jockeying for space on the run as well as the starting line.\u00a0 The first mile clicks by at 7:30 \u2013 a little fast, but feels okay, and the lead runners are already spreading out in a chain reaching up the hill, and mile 2 is on target at 7:19, terrific, heart rate a little high but manageable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mile 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

but mile 3 is steeper (the early macho section of our cycling group\u2019s Sunday ride) and my heart rate is creeping towards zone 4, so that mile 3 is only 7:40, with mile 4 closer to target at 7:25, and can I keep this up, and how am I going to make up that 30-45 second difference (which with my confused math seems like even more)?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have anyone in particular to inspire me (Michael Kaiser from New Jersey, my nemesis and inspiration at\u00a0my first half marathon here, is gone, gone, gone very early on \u2013 he does 3:20 marathons and will run Boston in 3 weeks\u2026),<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Michael Kaiser at the starting line<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

and I suppose I could choose any of the bunnies ahead of me, but I am also focused on running MY race, and the bunny I am chasing is the 7:17 mile.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Triathlon buddy Vadim Shteynberg. A powerhouse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So I keep glancing, and if I\u2019m dipping close to 7:30, I kick it up, and just pray \u2013 literally \u2013 that I can keep this going.\u00a0 Coach Debi said, remember, you\u2019ve never been stronger.<\/p>\n

Water stops are few and far between \u2013 3 of \u2018em, the whole race \u2013 but it\u2019s not very warm, and I can barely drink the sips I grab.\u00a0 I crunch down my EAAs after 40 minutes, but forget to take my second dosage\u2026<\/p>\n

So we get to the end of the climb, and start down Route 117 (a four lane highway on most days), and after a rolling uphill, the downhill miles begin.\u00a0 A woman I don\u2019t know, strong and relaxed, passes me and while taking off her outer layer notes, \u201cthose first 3 miles were demanding.\u00a0 You know this course?\u201d So I tell her about the upcoming climbs out of corporate parking lots, and the Phelps Hospital portion, the stupid loop near the lighthouse, and the steep climb at the finish line; she thanks me and disappears into the distance\u2026<\/p>\n

But I am cranking it, me and my watch are friends today, mostly ignoring the HR monitor (it just freaked me out at the marathon), I frankly can\u2019t believe I\u2019m on task and finding the power to keep cranking it out, and these down hills are beautiful:\u00a0 mile 5 at 7:14, mile 6 at 7:00, then 7:07, 7:15, and 7:25 \u2013 okay, my average feels solid, but I know about all the upcoming hills I just talked about.<\/p>\n

And suddenly at mile 9 \u00bd, my left calf starts cramping up, enough that I stumble, not fall but stumble, and the right calf joins in (solidarity, don\u2019t you know), and it gets real painful, real fast.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Meanwhile, Charlie Bennett comes in first place. 1:14:26 = 5:41 min\/mile. OMG, who IS this guy?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And the uphill at the train station is better than the downhills, but I\u2019ve got 2 \u00bd, 3 miles to go, and I am slowing, slowing:\u00a0 mile 10 at 7:55, mile 11 somehow back on track at 7:17, mile 12 (that stupid loop) in 7:56, and then those last empty streets towards the finish line is 8:02, and the up up up hill to the finish line is at an 8:00 pace\u2026\u00a0 But I have pushed through, I sprinted as best as I could hobble the last 100 yards, I get to the damn finish line, cross one electronic mat, then the other.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Results:\u00a0 1:39:56. 7:38 per mile.\u00a0 Not my goal, but the best I could do.\u00a0 And I feel good among my peers:\u00a0 6\/43 for age group, 93\/720 overall, 74\/386 males. And BTW, my Garmin says it was 1,276 feet of climbing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Triathlon and gym buddy, Nicholas Moore.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maybe I\u2019m rationalizing or making excuses, (seen on a t-shirt during my first NJ Marathon:\u00a0 \u201cThe Older I Get, the Faster I Was\u201d), but despite this being the slowest HM I\u2019ve done (32 seconds slower than last year, but with the course change, reportedly\u00a0200 more feet of climbing), I feel really good with this performance.\u00a0 It was my maximum effort, and I had fun (though I didn\u2019t enjoy it, if that makes sense); I pushed hard, and harder when I wasn\u2019t hitting my goal, finding the power to get back in the game; and pushing hard as I could at the end, despite the pain and the unlikelihood of getting a PR or making the podium.\u00a0 It was a lot of effort, but worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Celebrating with Vadim. Civilized races have beer at the finish line.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The off season is officially over. \u00a0Bring it on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spoiler alert:\u00a0 this wasn\u2019t my fastest race.\u00a0 In fact, it was probably my longest time for this distance.\u00a0 Yet, it was a great race; I felt strong, persevered, and was surprisingly satisfied despite the numeric result. Drove over with running buddy Vassilis Bakopoulos, who in contrast with my planning months in advance on doing this, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2017-races"],"yoast_head":"\nSleepy Hollow Half Marathon, 3\/25\/17 - Race Report Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/racereportblog.com\/?p=344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon, 3\/25\/17 - Race Report Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Spoiler alert:\u00a0 this wasn\u2019t my fastest race.\u00a0 In fact, it was probably my longest time for this distance.\u00a0 Yet, it was a great race; I felt strong, persevered, and was surprisingly satisfied despite the numeric result. 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