Category Archives: Running

I ran a 1/2 marathon

1 minute, 3 seconds

I think all 3.2 readers of my blog already know it, but I ran a 1/2 marathon at the beginning of this month! I ran the 2015 Red Rock Canyon 1/2 marathon.

There are three amazing things (for me) about this:

  1. I completed it. This was my only goal, w00t!
  2. I overcame the profound doubt I’d ever be able to run longer than my longest training run (12mi).
  3. Out of all my runs in my 10 weeks of training, my race was my fastest run of all (6.15mi/hr).

Though I thought #3 meant I raced fast, but it could have meant I trained especially slow ;) Here’s the data my phone spat out when I was done:

Screenshot_2015-03-07-09-52-14 Screenshot_2015-03-07-09-52-26As I was starting to train 10 weeks before the 1/2 marathon, I looked for, and found, a training regimen that was 10 weeks long.  In case it’s of use, I used Marathon Rookie’s 1/2 marathon plan. I strongly suspect that the reason I did so well in the actual race is that every run I tried to have the first half be all up hill and the second half be all down.  Red Rock’s profile is  ~6 miles up for ~1000ft of climbing.  The rest of the course is down hill and a few rollers until the end.

I’ve only run once since then, so who knows if I’ll run another 1/2.  I don’t ever feel I’ll run a full marathon; that’s too many miles.

Gmaps Pedometer + Google Calc = 8.94607843 minutes per mile

0 minutes, 41 seconds

I just got a new pair of running shoes and I wanted to take them for a spin. I have no idea how fast I run because I only run with an ID. I don’t have a watch, a GPS or anything else. Well, OK, I do have my first ever pair of running shorts. However, those don’t tell you where you are or what your mile splits are.

You know how to most easily track your route and distance (again, with out a GPS)? Gmaps Pedometer! It’s a google maps mashup that allows you to easily double click your local (or remote) running route.

After I had done this, and I had noted the time I left and returned, I had this math to do: 4.08 miles per 36.5 minutes to minutes per mile. I thought, heck, why don’t I drop it into google and maybe they’re that smart? Sure enough, they are. Thanks Google!