I couldn’t decide if I wanted to recap this race or not. The race had a start, finish and official results, so I thought why not?
The plan was to tempo the race and to keep it at a relaxed effort. It’s not too exciting but at the end of the day I’m glad I went. I had a good time, saw several friends and made it to work on time.
I mentioned yesterday, but something that played into this race was the fact I’ve been taking a new antibiotic for my skin recently. I don’t have great skin and after going to a dermatologist, they prescribed me an antibiotic. I’ve taken antibiotics before, including for my skin, and never had any side effects. Over the last three weeks, I’ve felt lethargic, sluggish and to be honest not great. My legs have felt fine, but it’s the rest of me that felt run down.
The first mile I found myself first female overall. My legs felt tired and lethargic. Since the run was planned as a tempo run, I wasn’t too concerned. I focused on own race. There were several friends and people I’ve seen around the store running. They were all quite far ahead, and I knew I was not catching them. I hit the first mile in 6:11. It’s right where my half marathon first mile should be and right where I wanted to be for the 5k.
The second mile began a series of gradual inclines that I had no idea were in the course profile. I thought the race was pancake flat but it most certainly was not. I was running by myself, and my quads did not feel right. The second mile I ran in 6:21 and questioned whether I would be able to hit the goal of 19:45.
The last mile I was passed by a few people including my friend who outkicked me in the last .1! All of the small gradual inclines took a toll on my legs. It actually reminded me of the New York City Marathon where you thought you would be on flat ground and never were. I ran the final mile in 6:28.
I crossed the finish in 19:47. I was surprised I was only 2 seconds slower than my goal!
Thoughts:
I could have run the tempo by myself, but the race went to a great cause. I had a great time with friends and have no complaints. I even got a neat glass trophy.
Questions for you:
Would you prefer a gradual uphill or a sharp incline?
Nice tempo run! Not everyone can say they got an award for that 🙂
I prefer the sharp uphill. It’s over more quickly that way, and the strides can come back to being efficient
It’s fun when races and training runs coincide sometimes, its fun having more people around. Nice run and impressive that you were only 2 seconds away from your goal pace!
I was wondering what race comparison tool (if any) you use to determine your half marathon pace/time based on your best 5k to date?
Im sorry about the antibiotic. The only thing that cleared up my skin was eliminating all dairy (except i still have very occasional ice cream). I hate taking any medicines/aspirin/tylenol. They totally make me feel “off”.
My half marathon PR is actually 6:22 per mile so a little bit faster than that 🙂
nice race! and Hi from a new UK reader. As for the hills: If I’m feeling fit I like a long gradual one where I can pick off any strugglers. If I’m not so fit I’d rather get it over with quickly and get back to normal running!
I love that mentality Dave. Picking off the strugglers. Thanks for stopping by!
Great job on the “race-out” (race as a workout) and congrats for winning an award. I hope things feel better soon with the skin conditions and antibiotics, medicine can definitely affect how you feel when running. I think I would prefer a gradual uphill, my run yesterday up the bridge was like that and we had a tailwind pushing us so the point where it didn’t really feel like an incline.
I’m going to go w/ neither! I prefer pancake flat. Lol. I ran NYC this year and I am still scarred from those darn bridges and hills.
Haha, I love that picture of you with the trophy 😀
I was on all sorts of different antibiotics for my skin when I was a teenager. I had pretty bad acne and it covered my entire face…I was so self-conscious and upset about it and the worst was when the light hit my face and it just looked like the surface of the moon with a load of bumps and craters 🙁 I always had some kind of adverse reaction, whether that was stomach-related or feeling particularly lethargic. One type triggered my migraines for some reason. So reactions to them are pretty common.
i would much rather have one short, sharp incline! That way you get it over with. Gradual inclines that last forever just suck away my soul…although I do seem to catch people on them. Don’t worry though – I can’t run downhills to save my life so they soon pass me again.
I think I’m with you Jess. I would prefer to just get the hill done with.
While I don’t like you had a similar issue, I appreciate you sharing it with me. My skin has been a mess the last year or so!
That is the coolest trophy and picture!!! Congrats on another great race. I am so sorry you weren’t feeling yourself that day!!
I’m a fan of using races as training runs. It’s awesome to feed off fellow runners and spectators–you just can’t get that energy during solo runs. Way to stick to your plan and execute!
I’m not a huge fan of hills in general, but I’d definitely take the shorter, sharper inclines over the gradual ones that are dragged out. I’d rather power through and have it over with quickly than suffer for a long time 😆
I took an antibiotic for a while and it worked, but then it didn’t work anymore. I went to a different doctor (because my current one wanted to keep me on the antibiotic and I felt I didn’t want to be on antibiotics any longer) and he gave me Accutane – well, a generic because Accutane the brand doesn’t actually exist anymore. It was the best skin decision I ever made. Seriously, I highly recommend it. The dry lips and monthly doctor visits/online quiz crap is well worth it. So if it comes down to that, do it!
And as always, kick ass job running.
It’s funny you mention accutane. I know it’s probably an awesome drug but my mom had serious side effects to it! Obviously everyone is different but I’ve always worried about. Thanks for your insight, I’ll definitely have to keep it in mind!
I was really worried about it too, but only ended up experiencing the regular dryness that comes with it. My dermatologist also had me on a low dose because he understood my concerns so I think that made a big difference. He also said I could go on an even lower dose, but then I’d have to stay on it longer. Since I had no issues, I stuck with the dose he gave me and was off it in a few short months. My husband had taken it at one point too and had really bad side effects, but we figured out his dosage had been much higher – he was also only in high school at the time! Skin issues suck so I definitely feel your pain. Good luck!