Half-Marathon at 13 Months!

[MikeHeim]

Two days shy of my 13-month anniversary, and one day shy of my 30th birthday, I yesterday completed the Orange County half-marathon. My goal was better than two hours, and I actually accomplished that with a little room to spare at 1:59:23. It was by far the slowest I have ever run the 13.1-mile distance, but I actually was prouder of this race than any I can recall in recent memory as it signaled the end of my post-op recovery and the return to serious distance running. One thing I found interesting is that my heart rate increased at almost every mile. I never bothered with a HR monitor until after my surgery, so I have nothing to compare it to, but here was the breakdown:

Mile 1 – 112
Mile 2 – 119
Mile 3 – 127
Mile 4 – 129
Mile 5 – 125
Mile 6 – 133
Mile 7 – 136
Mile 8 – 136
Mile 9 – 138
Mile 10 – 138
Mile 11 – 141
Mile 12 – 143
Mile 13 – 146

The highest I got was a HR of 151 during mile 13 (someone’s idea of a cruel joke was to put the biggest hill of the race on the last full mile) and my overall average was 136. I actually thought that my HR would get to a certain level (130’s) and pretty much stay steady the rest of the race, so I was surprised by the steady climb. I know a lot of people have asked about exercise HR in this section, so this is my contribution. The biggest difference I have noticed while running so far is that hills fatigue me much more than they used to. I traditionally ran hills very strong and passed more people there than any other part of the race. Now I notice my pace slow considerably and I typically feel REALLY bad by time I get to the top. I don’t have any explanation for this as of yet. Anyways, I just wanted to post this to give some idea of how fast recovery can be. Until I can again run full marathons in the 3:40 range I will not consider myself “fully” recovered, but I was really happy to get by this milestone.

 

[SumoRunner]

That progression looks right to me. I would have expected a gradual increase rather than steady state. I've seen graphs of many marathoners that do just that.

Are you on any drugs? That might account for the fatigue on uphills. Or maybe it's just from the extended downtime pre-surgery and you'll have to train on hills more often to get the glute strength back.

I'm on a beta blocker which trims the max rate, so the most stressful portions like uphills will hit my limit. Don't tell any MDs on this board but I used to stop taking the beta blocker the day before a race in order to be able to push the max HR a bit higher. I don't do that any more since the difference between an 11 and 12 minute per mile pace is academic.

 

[StretchL]

CONGRATULATIONS, MIKE! THAT'S AWESOME!!!

...and inspiring.

 

[kodi]

Congratulations Mike on a job well done. I remember you mentioning this before and was waiting for your post. I like your attitude about being the prouder of any race of recent memory. I was the same when I did my first 5K after surgery. I'm a little surprised at the increase in the HR unless of course your pace also increased. I seem to be able to maintain a fairly consistent HR with a consistent pace. I've never been much of a hill runner even tho I get to do lots of them here, but I am also working harder to get to the top of them now also. You're doing great and I hope that you will get to see that sub 3:40 marathon before long. I know when I get back to the longer distances a sub 2:00 1/2 and a sub 4:00 full would be glorious.
I'm running a 5K this weekend in St. George, UT. It is my second goal; to complete it non-stop. The weather for me might be a factor since it's anticipated to be in the low 30s at the start. I am prone to exercise induced asthma and the cold weather really affects me.
Congratulations once again and keep up the good work, it sure inspires me and helps in my workouts.
Oh yeah, BTW, Happy Birthday. Only 30? You're a kid yet, younger than my own.
Mel

 

[Philip]

Congratulations on a great race!
If you trained at this distance prior to the race how long did it take you to work up to the distance?
Philip

 

[MarkAlan]

Thats awsome!!! Hell of a run for anyone!

 

[LLJ]

Holy Crap! You did Great!!! My first 1/2 marathon was done 3 months after and I walked!!!!(3 hours) It's much more fun to run under 2!!!! You go!
LLJ

 

[Philip]

Mike, I just noticed: Happy birthday!
Philip

 

[WayneGM]

Congratulations on the milestone, Mike. Awesome!

 

[tprice54]

Congratulations

Congratulations

Mike, great time. My heart rate always continues to climb, even in full marathons, but at a much slower rate as the race progresses. You now have given me a new goal. I should be over the mountain this month...so next Jaunary, a half marathon in under 2 hours....so I have written!

 

[Mary]

Congratulations, Mike!
It's wonderful to hear how well you have recovered.

 

[msiwik]

Outstanding

Outstanding

Two days shy of my 13-month anniversary, and one day shy of my 30th birthday, I yesterday completed the Orange County half-marathon. My goal was better than two hours, and I actually accomplished that with a little room to spare at 1:59:23. It was by far the slowest I have ever run the 13.1-mile distance, but I actually was prouder of this race than any I can recall in recent memory as it signaled the end of my post-op recovery and the return to serious distance running. One thing I found interesting is that my heart rate increased at almost every mile. I never bothered with a HR monitor until after my surgery, so I have nothing to compare it to, but here was the breakdown:

Mile 1 ? 112
Mile 2 ? 119
Mile 3 ? 127
Mile 4 ? 129
Mile 5 ? 125
Mile 6 ? 133
Mile 7 ? 136
Mile 8 ? 136
Mile 9 ? 138
Mile 10 ? 138
Mile 11 ? 141
Mile 12 ? 143
Mile 13 ? 146

The highest I got was a HR of 151 during mile 13 (someone?s idea of a cruel joke was to put the biggest hill of the race on the last full mile) and my overall average was 136. I actually thought that my HR would get to a certain level (130?s) and pretty much stay steady the rest of the race, so I was surprised by the steady climb. I know a lot of people have asked about exercise HR in this section, so this is my contribution. The biggest difference I have noticed while running so far is that hills fatigue me much more than they used to. I traditionally ran hills very strong and passed more people there than any other part of the race. Now I notice my pace slow considerably and I typically feel REALLY bad by time I get to the top. I don?t have any explanation for this as of yet. Anyways, I just wanted to post this to give some idea of how fast recovery can be. Until I can again run full marathons in the 3:40 range I will not consider myself ?fully? recovered, but I was really happy to get by this milestone.

Impressive result. Would love to have you on our marathon relay team in Sept. Mark

 

[BillCobit]

Congrats, young man! Keep achieving and inspiring.

 

[Aussie Chris]

Hi Mike,

Congratulations. You really have raised the bar this time. Always good to have you guys inspiring us who follow.

Have you got any surfing in recently, or has all the leasure time been taken up training for the marathon?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[MikeHeim]

Hi Mike,

Congratulations. You really have raised the bar this time. Always good to have you guys inspiring us who follow.

Have you got any surfing in recently, or has all the leasure time been taken up training for the marathon?

Cheers,

Chris

Most of the leisure time was actually taken up by running. I've tried doing the surf/run combo in the same day without much success in the past. I typically am so dehydrated after a couple hours of surfing that I have no chance of doing much of anything athletic for the rest of the day.

Anyways, I was planning on hitting the water this past weekend, but the surf was almost nonexistent and we've also been getting a bad case of the early morning winds. Bad combo. Maybe next weekend.

 

[tommy]

Impressive. Good job managing your HR.

 

[mtkayak]

Congrats Mike! Well done, I may do a 1/2 Marathon in March, no way I could do in less that 2 hours. I may even walk it

 

[Mark Wagner]

Congratulations Mike. Awesome time! Keep it up!
I am just now getting out and starting to disipline myself with scheduled maintance runs. I admit I slacked of considerably during the the holidays. July 8th I plan on running the Seafair Marathon for the second time. Killer hills! I vowed I would not run that marathon again, but somehow I have talked myself into it again! Again, awesome post op time!

Mark

 

[kodi]

Mike or anyone looking for a fast 1/2 or full marathon.
I was thinking about you yesterday when I was talking to one of my friends about 1/2 marathons and running in general. If you are wanting a good fast 1/2 marathon and being a Southern CA resident, here is one for you. It's the Fontana Days 1/2 and 5K. http://www.fontana.org/
When I lived in SoCal I ran it in 1984,5,6, and 7. I also ran it last year. It is all downhill except a bump in the road where it crosses over the 210 FWY. When I ran it in 1987 I PRed for a 1/2 with a time of 1:26:53 at the age 49. I knew when I ran it in 2002 that I would be slow and hoped for a 9 minute mile. I wasn't supposed to be doing long distance like that anyway but my time was 2:02 and change.
If your looking for a good fast marathon course, I'd go for St. George, UT. It is the first Sat in Oct. It is a wonderful and beautiful course and my favorite marathon. The support and hospitality is almost beyond comparison. My PR there is 3:29:03 at the age of 58. There are different registration options, one is a lottery. Here is their URL http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/. When I ran it in 2005 (against my doctors wishes) I ran 5 miles and walked 5 minutes and ended with at time of 4:24:23. I've run it 10 years in a row and altho I don't think I'll be ready for it this year (but considering it) I plan on doing at least the last 10 miles. Another fast one is Ogden, UT. It is also a great course and is May 19 this year. I personally think this could be a PR marathon for a lot of runners if they trained properly. My best time there is 4:01:42 (age 63). I've run it three times and never trained for it...I'm kind of dumb that way and have friends that can talk me into a marathon if it's more than 6 weeks away (well at least before my surgery). If you have any interest in any of these you can post here or PM me.