The Quest for 1:20!
By: Geoff Dunbar
When I saw that my name was on the list for “Letter From a Board Member” for this month’s newsletter, I had trouble coming up with inspiration for what to write. Something about how to get involved with the club? How to give back to running? I had all these virtuous ideas; only one problem: Boring! I didn’t want to write about that. So, since I’ve got a captive audience of newsletter readers, I decided to write about my favorite thing: my running! If you don’t want to read about my running, you’ll probably want to go ahead and skip to the next article.
So, without further ado:
The Quest for 1:20!
The one major goal that I’ve had as a runner that I have not achieved is the 1:20 half marathon. And, spoiler: Now that I’m 49 and definitely slowing down (in terms of pace only!), it’s never going to happen. I would even count 1:20:59 (6:10 pace) as a 1:20 half, though a stickler might insist on 1:20:00 or even 1:19:59 (6:06 pace).
Let’s start with the early years. I started running seriously when I was almost thirty (in 2000), coinciding with the birth of my first daughter and the need for a sport that didn’t have pre-set schedules or long time commitments. My early goal was to finish a half marathon (perhaps proceeding to marathons), which I achieved at the cost of serious IT-band issues. As that point I switched focus in an attempt to avoid injuries, focusing on running shorter races (5K/10K) faster. It turns out that to run fast, you need to run quite a bit, even if your race isn’t so long.
After about 10 years of this I was running 40 or 50 miles a week anyways, I started to eye the half marathon again. Looking around at the New Hampshire races, Nancy and I thought that the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon, down in Hampton NH, would make a nice goal race for 2011. Based on my paces for other races that year, the 1:20 seemed like a pretty achievable goal on this flat, fast course. On race day, however, we were faced with driving rain, high winds, and it was not to be. I remember seeing Nancy at the finish with two jackets tied around her waist, as she was so miserable at the start that she didn’t shed any layers until much later when she heated up. Splits and results:
6:15, 6:23, 6:28, 6:13, 6:21, 6:11, 6:24, 6:17, 6:20, 6:25, 6:14, 6:11, 7:03, total 1:22:51. 11/1789 overall, 1/93 age group.
I see a lot of miles in the 6:10 range, but when the wind kicked up and the rain became a deluge, running that fast was not possible for me.
Encouraged by the Smuttynose performance, I wanted to take another shot in 2012. First up was the Wallis Sands Half Marathon, a race in the New Hampshire Grand Prix series. Wallis Sands is down on the Seacoast, so flat and fast, but the race was in May. I was planning this race as a tune-up for a real shot at Covered Bridges in June (next paragraph!), because I didn’t think I’d gotten enough serious training that early in the season. Then the race started, and I was absolutely crushing it! Here the splits are:
6:14, 6:13, 6:12, 6:11, 5:59, 6:08, 6:19, 6:14, 5:51, 6:01, 6:00, 6:17, 9:05, total 1:22:49. 9/821 overall, 2/36 age group.
“What about that last mile”, you ask, “Crash and burn, huh?” Actually, no: all of the mile markers in the race were just a little short (and I didn’t have a GPS watch)! So the last “mile” was actually almost a mile and a half, and I had been running 6:20 miles all along.v
Next up was June 2012, the Covered Bridges Half Marathon. I was in great shape for this race, training well, and the pretty flat, downhill course should be perfect. 1:20 here I come! Splits and results:
6:04, 6:04, 6:13, 6:08, 6:07, 6:23, 6:13, 6:32, 6:20, 6:30, 6:20, 6:34, 6:18, 1:06, total 1:23:00. 8/1823 overall, 2/131 age group.
If you look carefully, you’ll see I was on pace for 1:20 through about mile 8. At that point, the course has a steep uphill, and then the sun came out and the humidity rose. I was still running well (and passing people), but conditions were not ideal for a fast finish. So, another miss. Also, in a developing theme, I was actually 2nd in age group (40-49) but awarded first because the overall winner (Hi Rich!) was in my age group. Winning a big half marathon at 40 is a very impressive achievement, and I am always humbled by Rich Smith.
Fall 2012 we have a little detour. I was in peak fitness, I think the fastest I’ve ever been. However, the fall NHGP race that year was not a half marathon. It was the Granite State 10 Miler, a hilly 10 mile race in Concord. I ran really strong, a 1:00:41, 6:04 pace. That is the day I would have run a 1:20 half marathon if it had been a flat course with good weather. I had a great race, though, so no regrets.
My next shot was fall 2014, the CHaD half marathon was the concluding race in the NHGP. I’m not a particularly strong hill runner, though, so there was no way. See Strava for splits:
https://www.strava.com/activities/212072099
Results: 1:26:42, 14/786 overall, 3/69 age group.
I did not have a strong finish with the hilly last 5 miles of the race. I didn’t completely blow up, but it felt like it. Ugh.
2015 was a really special running year, both for myself and for the club (more on that below). First up, the schedule worked out well, so I decided to take another shot at Covered Bridges. This day, it was perfect running weather, cooler and less humid than last time. You can see my splits on Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/320485271
Very steady pace (except slow mile 8 with the hill), strong finish. Results:
1:23:14, 12/1948 overall, 1/118 age group.
I have very fond memories of this race. The problem is, at 44, even “fit” me was going to have trouble getting down to the 1:20 barrier. Side note: Kudos to Rich Smith with another overall victory at age 45!
Then, fall 2015, the final race of the NHGP was the White Mountain Milers Half marathon in Conway NH. Despite the name, this is a pretty flat and fast half, through the town of Conway. If you look at my Strava splits:
https://www.strava.com/activities/420298758
The first 4 miles were around 6:30 pace, with a decent headwind. I remember running this part with Rob Edson, and trading off leading to cut the wind a little bit. After 4 miles, the course turned away onto a country road out of the wind, and conditions were perfect. For the next few miles, I remember feeling great, “The next mile marker already? Wow, another 6:15 mile!” Results:
1:23:05, 13/416 overall, 2/25 age group.
This was a great race for me, and made better because this race was the capstone of UVRC’s NHGP winning season, the first time we ever won the series. But, at age 45, running a near-perfect race only got me a 1:23 half. The 1:20 dream was dead.
Sadly, following the 2015 season, my old IT band issues flared up again, and I haven’t been able to put in the training to really excel at the 13 mile distance. In fact, I’m finding it better not to race half marathons at all; serving as a pacer is also rewarding, and much easier on my body. I might well race another one in the future if my training goes well, but the finish time will never be as low as in the good old days.
So, the quest has failed. That said, while running a 1:20 half was a goal, I’ve overstated the importance in this article. It would have been nice if it happened, but I have gotten immense satisfaction from the training, racing, and all of the running I’ve done for the last 20 years. I’ve had (and have!) many goals in running, and my main goal has always been to be the best of myself, doing something that I love. Running has definitely fit that desire, and will continue to do so for years to come (knock on wood).
Postscript, for the other middle-aged plus folks out there; you know what I’m talking about… it’s age grading time! If you take the WMA age grading calculator, my 1:23:05 at age 45 comes out to a quite respectable (for me) 77.3%. Turn the knobs back to age 40, and a 77.3% age grade is: A 1:19:49 half marathon! So, mission accomplished?
