Last Saturday I ran the Rochester Half Marathon.
Temperatures in the upper 50’s made for perfect running weather. Not unlike last year’s race which also benefited from similarly cool temperatures. My time this year: 1:28:54. My goal was to break 1:30:00. Wahoo! Goal accomplished.

My pace turned out to be 6:47 per mile, which is great considering I ran the first six miles around 7:00 pace. In fact, my first mile was 7:08. But that was my plan; to start slow and gradually run faster until I hit 10k race tempo around mile 6 or 7.

In fact, the last half of the race I ran at about 6:30 pace, which is my 10k pace…possibly even a 10k PR. Wow, that tells me that I probably should have gone out a little faster than I did. That kind of a negative split isn’t terribly efficient. Ideally, my first mile should have been a 6:50 rather than a 7:08.

I think nailing the correct pace is the single most effective way to run a successful race. At the beginning of a long race, however, it is remarkably hard for me to gauge how fast I’m going because I’m surrounded by people who are all running faster than they should. I’m looking at various runners and saying to myself, “There’s no way that person can stay at 7:00 pace for the rest of this race.” Turns out I’m usually right. Many a marathon or half marathon is ruined in the first three miles for that reason. Most racers start faster than they should.

I got 40th out of 327 males and 6th out of 24 in my age division. Last year I ran about a 1:33…starting even slower than I did this year. I figure I’ll start just a little faster next year and hit it just right.

Last Saturday I ran the Elvelopet 15k in Decorah with my friend Brian. The last time I’d been to Decorah was to see Greg Brown and Iris Dement play at a Seed Savers, which was several years ago.

It’s always fun to go back to Decorah, and even more fun to be back there to take in Nordic Fest. One summer, while working as a DJ at KWLC, the Luther College radio station, I announced the Nordic Fest parade live from the balcony of one of the buildings downtown.

This year, however, I was there to run the Elvelopet 15k. For those of you who don’t do well will km to mile conversions, is about 9.32 miles. The course proved to be remarkably hilly with two rather profound changes in elevation — one in the first half of the course and the second in the later half.

As an example of how steep the first climb was, I ran the entire race at about 6:51 pace, but the mile that encompassed that hill I ran at 9:10. Needless to say, I had to run consistently fast for the rest of the race in order to make up for that rather slow section.

My overall time, 1:03:53, put me at third in my age division. The guy who got second only beat me by 3 seconds. Had I known the finish was as close as it was after the 9.0 mile marker, I might have tried to stay with him as he passed me rather than just letting him go.

I considered it a successful race, especially given the terrain and the fact that I hadn’t run a 15k since high school when I ran the Steamboat Classic in Peoria, Illinois at about 6:24 pace. Needless to say, that was a much faster course…and I was in a bit better shape then than I am now.

I’m slowly starting to increase my mileage a bit, including one or two double sessions each week. Ideally, to run a fast 15k or half-marathon, I think I need to run at least 45 or 50 miles a week. I’m also working on making my running form more efficient, getting my cadence up to about 180 steps a minute. As a result, I’m finding, for some reason, that my hamstrings are getting a bit more of a workout. I spend more time stretching than I ever remember having to do in high school or college, but do feel that my form is getting better.

What has been truly helpful as I’ve trained over the last couple years is a book recommended to me by several coaches I know: Daniels’ Running Formula. His “VDOT” system is an outstanding way to make the most of every workout, scientifically. According to Daniels, it is very important to know why you’re doing the kind of workout you’re doing rather than indiscriminately running to “get in more mileage.”

Anyway, getting back to my thoughts about the Elvelopet 15k. If you’re in the area, check out this race. It’s tough, but beautiful. And if you’re not a runner, check out Nordic Fest…especially if you’re a Norwegian, but even if you’re not, you’ll still have fun.