The Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) is probably my favorite race distance. It allows a sustained effort but does not require the level of immediate pain that shorter races need. I returned to Lake Merced on September 20 for the DSE's fourth annual Lake Merced Half-Marathon. This is the race for which I aimed my training over the summer.
As far as I am concerned, any half-marathon below an hour and half is good. Last year I ran this race in 1:28:15 (6:44 average pace). I was aiming for faster, but realized I did not have the legs for it that day. I backed off to a more manageable pace after the first loop and had an enjoyable race. I ran the Kaiser Half-Marathon in February of this year aiming to get a qualifying time for a seeded entry to the Bay to Breakers. For a masters runner (age 40 and over) that was 1:27:00. I ran a beautiful race until about mile 9 and then the wheels fell off. It was like a switch clicked and the rest of the race was a real struggle. I finished at 1:26:59 chip time (6:38 pace) and 1:27:00 gun time (one posting even showed me at 1:27:01 - I ignored that one). I got my seeded entry, but it was as close as you can cut it.
So, my goal for this race was to beat my last two half-marathon times. I also aim for about 6:30 per mile with no individual mile above 7:00. Some miles may go a little faster, some a little slower. With hills and fatigue, 6:30 is not possible for every mile. On a downhill or with the wind at your back, the pace can be a little faster.
There is a 4.5 mile paved bike path around Lake Merced. The half-marathon is three loops. The third loop is cut 4/10 of a mile short by taking a bridge at the south end of the chain of lakes. The race starts and ends at the Sunset Boulevard parking lot at the North end of the lake.
Loop One: This was DSE's biggest half-marathon with 216 finishers. The prior years were 130, 111 and 88, respectively With that big a group running the width of a bike path, I wanted to get a fast start to try to stay out of as much congestion as I could. Somewhere toward the end of the first mile I fell in with a group that had a couple of guys from the Olympic Club and one guy with a 7 Oaks Tri Club shirt. It turns out that the 7 Oaks Triathlon Club is located in England, Southwest of London. I was able to keep with that group until the first water station. I took some water and it cost me contact with the group. Loop one went well with times from 6:34 to 6:12.
Here is the group finishing the first loop, I am the runner in the middle of path completing the turn behind them.
Here I am approaching the second water stop, at the end of the first loop. This photo was taken shortly after the one above. I was getting ready to pick out my cup of water.
Loop Two: Last year, the start of loop two was where I realized I could not keep the pace I wanted for two more loops. This year, I was relieved to feel like I could sustain the pace I wanted and pushed on. At this point I was mostly running on my own. I passed a couple of people who were struggling and I was passed by a couple of people who had more than I did at this point in the race. I came around to the same water station at the end of the loop two. My times ran 6:22 to 6:39.
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Loop Three: The half-marathon started a little after 8:00 AM. This race also includes a single loop 4.5 mile race that starts about 9:00 AM. As I hit the Sunset parking lot and continued on the bike path that is around the perimeter, I could see the 4.5 mile participants lining up and starting. I came to the start of the third loop just as the last of the starters got to the same point. I had to work my way through most of the 4.5 mile race participants. That might seem like a frustrating situation, but it is actually a little helpful on the third loop. It is distracting and gives you something to think about other than how tired you are. So, I rose to the challenge and carefully picked my way through the crowd for a mile to a mile and one half. Splits are harder to figure on the final loop because of the short cut across the bridge. So, it was little harder to keep track of my times. I think I was in the 6:35 to 6:45 range for each mile with the last half mile (closing in on the finish line) at 3:11.
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A very successful race. I finished in 1:25:43, a 6:32 pace. I was 18th overall and took first place in the 50 - 59 year old division. The weather predictions had been for the first day of week-long heat wave. It turned out to be overcast and cool with a light breeze. The conditions were good for racing and contributed to a good performance.
That is probably the end of racing at Lake Merced for a while. My next race is the annual Bridge to Bridge on October 4.
Aerial photo by RoyTennant
Race photos by Paul Mosel (c) 2009
We started on time and my first mile was just under a 6:00 min./mi. pace. Too fast, but it still felt comfortable We were running down the Embarcadero, past a variety of piers. At Jefferson, we made the turn to the Fishermans' Wharf area. We had traveled along the East side of the peninsula and were now moving across the North side. Second mile, at 6:15, was more manageable. Next, it was into Aquatic Park and over the McDowell Grade at the back of Fort Mason. The downhill takes the race through The Great Meadow and into the Marina District. With the hill, turns and such, my next couple of miles were in the 6:30 area. We went past the Marina Green and into Crissy Fields, turning around at the Fort Point parking lot. I lost concentration on the Crissy Fields path. Along with that, running into that stiff breeze and on dirt, I fell off pace for the sixth mile. After the turn-around, we headed back on Old Mason and I picked-up the pace. Then it was a right turn into the Presidio, up a hill and to the Parade Grounds.
