Monday, July 14, 2008

Jungle Run Half Marathon Quickie Race Report



Sunday 13.1 miles/1:54:17/8:43 average pace


The Jungle Run Half Marathon takes place in Los Gatos. The first half of the race course covers city streets and the second half is on the Los Gatos Creek Trail, where I've done several long runs. It was a beautiful morning - perfect for a race. The temperature was in the 60's, a bit of morning clouds blocked the sun, and once the sun was out were ran primarily in the shade anyway. It was mostly flat with a few short steepish hills.


I ran this as a "training run" because I really haven't been focusing on my running and haven't put up many fast times lately. I've averaged about 20 miles a week for the past couple of months with about two or three weekly runs. I've been doing a ton of biking and swimming, which has helped my overall fitness, but my running speed has suffered a little.


The good news is, even with minimal training I can still bang out a half marathon no problem! This was a great workout, a big confidence booster for my half-iron tri in 3 weeks, and a fun day.


I won't break it down by mile, because I felt pretty much the same the entire race. I held a comfortable, but not quite easy, pace throughout. I entertained myself by watching the people around me and enjoying the scenery. I felt strong and didn't have any "low" points. I drank lots of water and ate my Luna Moons. I didn't walk at all! My miles were fairly consistent between 8:30-8:40, but I had a three mile stretch of 9:00 ish miles, and I ran one 8:12 mile. My last mile was just over 8:00. I saw Zach and our friend Tim (this was his first half marathon and I made his training schedule for him and sorta coached him, thankyouverymuch!) as I entered the Los Gatos High School Track and they cheered me on. I passed a few people as I blazed around the track to the finish line (obviously had a bit of energy left). Zach and Tim had finished a loooong time before me, so they were right there to watch me finish. Check out Zach's blog later for his race report, impressive stuff.


I feel really good about my performance. It was one of my slowest half marathon times, but given the conditions I'm happy. I know for sure that I can finish the half marathon in my tri, even if it is a few minutes slower. I'm not very sore today and will continue right along with my tri training. Only 3 weeks to go, which means this is my last BIG week and then I taper.



So I ended up with a pretty strong week, especially on the run front. Here's the last couple workouts I did before that race:

Friday am: run

4.0 miles/34:27/8:37 average pace

Saturday am: bike

20.0 miles/1:24:31/14.2 MPH

Easy spin on the Iron Horse Trail

TOTALS for the week: 28.1 miles run, 75 miles bike, 6850 yards swim

TOTAL training time: 12 Hours

Have a great week everyone! :)

14 comments:

Aron said...

awesome job on the race! your tri is just around the corner!!!

Unknown said...

Great job! Nice to be able to put in a solid performance in a "training race."

KK said...

Nice work! Hooray for cooler temps and confidence boosters :).

I can't believe the taper is almost here. This summer has FLOWN by. You are ready!

Ewen said...

Looks like Zach would have been onto his second beer by the time you finished ;) Huge PB for him! Almost under the 100 minute 'barrier'.

You weren't too bad yourself. The "no low points" will go down well in 3 weeks. Congrats to your pupil - nice coaching :)

Nitmos said...

Nice job on your "warm up" half marathon. Many folks would kill to break 2 hours at that distance. Sounds like you are rounding into terrific form for the tri. Rock on!

jahowie said...

You should feel really good about your performance. That's a very good time. I can't wait to hear all about your tri. :-)

Michele said...

You are so ready for that half iron. You will rock it.
Congrats on an awesome training race. No low points is a great feeling.
Now enjoy the taper, you have earned it.

ncrunner12 said...

Nice job! Can't wait to hear how the tri goes, good luck!

Aron said...

oh and i was thinking, maybe your new job should be coaching :) seems like the "jen plan" works pretty well!!!

Arcane said...

Well done. Enjoy the taper!

ShirleyPerly said...

Nice job on the training marathon! I bet you could actually still run a marathon with little difficulty :-)

But with two other sports to work on and coaches always saying to work on your weaknesses, it's tough to do much more running. I know ...

Enjoy your taper!!

Petraruns said...

Wow Jen - I've just taken the time on all that has happened to you in the past few weeks while I've not been commenting / posting .. wowo you don't sit still! Good attitude re your job - it's good to see you using the time to train and enjoy yourself I am so excited for you for August 2nd! You will be in great shape I'm sure. I'm rooting for you!

Gotta Run..... said...

Wow... you should feel great about that Half Marathon. You know when you finish any race and have a lot in the tank you are right on track training wise.

Way to go Jen!!! Love how some of it was on trails. Very cool.

Anonymous said...

Nice job on the half. You are going to rock the tri. It is almost here!