Tricky kilometer pacing leads to big PR?

So being the nerdy pace-obsessed runner that I am, I prepared for Royal Victoria Half Marathon by making an Excel spreadsheet.  TaDa!

Total Time Km Pace Mile Pace 1:58:00 0:05:37 0:09:00 1:59:00 0:05:40 0:09:05 2:00:00 0:05:43 0:09:10 2:01:00 0:05:46 0:09:14 2:02:00 0:05:49 0:09:19 2:03:00 0:05:51 0:09:23 2:04:00 0:05:54 0:09:28 2:05:00 0:05:57 0:09:33 2:06:00 0:06:00 0:09:37 2:07:00 0:06:03 0:09:42 2:08:00 0:06:06 0:09:46 2:09:00 0:06:09 0:09:51 2:10:00 0:06:11 0:09:55 2:11:00 0:06:14 0:10:00

If you say that you aren’t impressed, you must be lying.  This chart is darn interesting.  So you see, since Canada uses km, I had to run in kilometer pacing!  The goal was: at least as good as SJJ Half, which was about a 2:06 and a 9:37 pace.  Because I went into RVM slightly injured, sick, and tired, I was thinking that I at least had to stay under a 10:00 min/mile pace if worst came to worst.  My secret goal though was to be sub-2:00, but after SJJ, I didn’t think it would be possible.  But nevertheless, I wrote the 1:58 and 2:00 total time paces on my forearm to help remember my goal paces.

So here are what my km paces ended up being:

Kilometer Time Comments 1 0:05:51 2 0:05:50 3 0:05:38 4 0:05:19 5 0:05:29 5k split: 28:09 6 0:05:38 7 0:05:31 8 0:05:19 9 Missed it! Ah! 10 0:10:49 10k split: 55:27, 5k split: 27:18 11 0:05:31 12 0:05:30 13 Missed another one. NO! 14 0:10:53 15 0:05:15 5k split: 27:09 16 0:05:19 17 0:05:25 18 0:05:38 19 0:05:15 20 0:05:33 10k split: 54:21, 5k split: 27:12 21 0:05:18 21.1 0:00:21 TOTAL TIME 1:55:25 SUB-2:00! 8:48 mile pace!

A few things of note.  My first 5k split was the worst, because my first mile was the slowest.  I started slow and still thought it was too fast, and then I thought my first 5k was too fast, but I guess it worked out in the end…  My other 5k splits (at 10, 15, and 20) were within 9 seconds of each other.  Pacemaster.  Just kidding.  But also, please note that my 20k split for the 10k was over a minute faster than my first 10k split.  I enjoy negative splits.  They make me feel as if I did something right.

Ok, so SJJ was about a 9:37-9:38 pace, and RVM was a 8:48 pace, with over a 10 minute PR.  I know I’m still no super runner (like Dathan Ritzenhein who ran a 1:00:00 for a bronze at the World Half Champs on the same day in the UK… dang, if only he had leaned at the line, he would have gone sub-1:00) and never will be winning age division awards event, but I’m still on a bit of a happy high from the big PR.  The hard work paid off, and I wasn’t going to let all the training go to waste, because I felt like just getting by.  I didn’t think it would be possible for me to run that pace and time, since one mile at that pace has become a slow, long-distance runner challenge for me.  I feel truly blessed and fortunate, and I’m so grateful for that race.  Maybe I might be a little bit of a runner after all?  Or maybe I’m just ready to continue on running and to finally find joy in running.

• Daryl Hannah