XTERRA XDURO Half Marathon World Championships

XTERRA Press Article

I was about 15 minutes short of my goal of 2 hours. But, with the diminished training, I'm glad I finished strong. And more importantly, I enjoyed the beautiful course and made some friends.

Keawe rode his road bike from Ward and was really pumped to do the race. He regularly does trail runs around the islands, just for fun.

Will and I kept each other motivated during the last 5k of torturous hills.

Rachel and I shared similar strategies for handling the hills. I was compared to her dad in regards to injuries and training. She has numerous runs under her belt, including a 50k 2 weeks ago!

Length 21k (13.1 miles)
Starting Elevation 50'
Lowest point 27'
Highest point 892'
Total climbing 2900'
No paved sections

Finish Time 2:14:37.2
Pace 10:17min/mile
Overall Place 129/357
M 30-34 Place 18/45
Race Results

In Zone 152-170 0:14:36
HRM 197
HRA 175
2411 Calories
20% Fat

See if you can find me and my 2 new friends, Will Atkinson and Rachel Samuels in the Photo Gallery

Video

I took a nice 10 minute warmup, working up to an uphill sprint. I started off with a nice and easy pace with the goal of soaking in the scenery. I checked my HR often, which I kept around 183-185 for the first 5k. Sticking to my plan, I walked every hill, including the first hill which we approached in the first 10 minutes.

My HR maxed during an exhilirating rapid descent down several hundred feet of gravel road. Headwind was strong while encircling the ridge. After a near vertical mudded foot trail, I found my zone and kept my HR steady at 180 while talking with a local paddler whom I forgot to get her name. That slippery slope was the most enjoyable part of the race, which probably explains the near 15 minutes in the 152-170 zone.

My right calf began to cramp up about 10k in but I kept it loose and it wasn't bad enough to drop out. I practiced running tall with a rigid core, and relaxed arms and legs. Breathing wasn't an issue at all.

I chewed gum for half the race, and held 2 gels for longer than needed. It was psychologically comforting, cause I felt weaker when I dropped them at the start of the 5k loop.

I remembered to cool down and stretch after the race, to help accelerate my recovery period.

I am grateful to the race directors for keeping quiet on the course route and making it an adventure for us. Congrats to all who competed and thanks to all who made the event possible.

It was a great experience and I look forward to doing it again, as well as other trail runs and long distance races.