Mandy Moore, you were worth the wait

Last Sunday my brother Ed called to see if I wanted to do a half-marathon benefitting the Gynecological Cancer Foundation (GCF). He’s a gyn-oncologist (as his girlfriend Kristi says, cancer and vaginas are his two favorite things…) and was coming to DC for a conference and the inaugural GCF half-marathon. I'm obviously anti-cancer, but I wasn’t very enthused about the race at first because I’m trying to build my mileage and focus on workouts right now. I ended up deciding to do it as a marathon pace run rather than a race so that I didn’t have to back off before and –hopefully- won’t have to miss any workouts this week. Plus, I was powerless to say no when informed of the race’s two main draws, the deep prize purse and appearance by Mandy Moore.

When I arrived at the course I saw swarms of Africans standing around the registration booth. I was hoping that some of them would be doing the 5k but no such luck. Still, prize money went 10 deep, $1000 down to $75, so I figured I had a good shot at earning back my entry fee at least (figuratively speaking since Ed had sprung for it. Thanks, Ed). The start was delayed for a few minutes to accommodate a “special guest.” Mandy Moore had apparently taken a last-minute bathroom break. I forgave her though because she was very well-spoken at the awards ceremony and seemed like a really nice person, passionate about the cause, etc.

My marathon goal time is 2:46, so I decided to try to run 1:23 (6:20/mile) without going too far out of my comfort zone. If I felt like I was pushing too hard to run that pace I would slow down; I really wanted it to feel like marathon pace. I started off at 6:30 for the first three miles and felt relaxed. I gradually dropped down to 6:20-5 for the next 7. I really locked into this pace, coming through 5 in 32:08 and 10 in 64:12. I finished up the last 5k in 6:20s… Everything went pretty much according to plan! I’m tired but not too much more so than I am after my usual long run… Poor Ed is a different story. He trained seriously for a triathlon this fall but hasn’t run in the six weeks since. He hit his goal time of 1:55 (8:45 pace) and placed 13 out of 52 in the gynecological surgeon category but is really paying for it with soreness. Luckily his spirits were lifted at the post-race brunch after seeing Miles the dog rocking a pronounced limp, Elizabethan collar, and elaborate bandage around his front left paw… it could always be worse.

My dad won his age group in the 5k and Kristi was in the top third of her age group.

Jamal remains missed.

STATS
Weekly Mileage = 80
Cross-training = 2 x 1 hr elliptical
Workout 1) 2 mile cutdown (starting at 95 and ending at 80), 3 x 1200 (starting at 85 and ending at 82/83).
Workout 2) Half-marathon at marathon pace. 1:23:55 (6:24/mile), good for 6th and $250 in prize money.