Afternoon Run

Evening Run

post race hike up the A

phoenix half marathon - 1:13:36

Morning Run

okay race recap time: it hadn’t ever really worked out that I had been in higher-end shape while racing a half marathon so I really wanted to make that happen this fall. I was originally going to race Indy at the beginning of november but I had an ankle injury for the 6 weeks leading up to it so I decided to do phoenix instead. low altitude, reliable weather, and 6 weeks of solid training leading up to it post injury. I didn’t really know how fast I could do a half but I thought sub 75 minutes (5:43/mi) would be a tough but reasonable goal. I didn’t have too many quality long runs leading up to it but I had done a lot of speed work in november and set some shorter distance PRs so I felt like I was in pretty good shape if my legs were strong enough to hold the full 13. I planned on starting out a bit conservative to see how I was feeling, bc 5:43 pace felt pretty intimidating. I was aiming for first couple miles around 5:50, but I took off with the lead pack and it didn’t feel that bad. I looked at my watch after the first kilometer or so and saw we were averaging 5:37 which was kinda like oh no that’s probably too fast but I’ll keep it up for now and see how it goes. and really it felt fine for a while, I was even chatting with another guy for a bit. by mile 4/5 I started getting worried that I was going too fast because I was already feeling fatigue in my legs. but, my HR was doing pretty well sitting around 170-175 which I know I can hold for a long time. so of course I’m like just hold steady and see how long you can hold it. to my surprise, by mile 7/8 I was actually speeding up a little and it was feeling easier. I started getting some 5:28-5:35 miles in and that was a huge confidence boost. I also passed a couple guys at this point. there was a pretty notable hill from mile 10-11 which slowed me down to a 5:45-5:50 pace, which was actually the only point in the race I was running a little slower than 75 minute pace (crazy!). I pushed hard on the hill knowing I still had quite a bit left and that I could recover in the last two miles which were mostly downhill. I did pick up the pace again to finish the race, overall with a slightly negative split. the last two miles I ran at a 5:28-5:30 pace which again I just couldn’t believe I was holding at this point. I finished in 73 minutes which was 5:37 average, exactly the pace I ran the first several miles at. that’s a 6 minute PR for me in the half and while I had hoped it would be a big PR day for me I really didn’t think I would be much if any below 75 minutes. so I’m super super happy with it. the pace felt so fast the whole time I’ve never run a long distance race where I couldn’t even get a drink I was running so fast lol. 4 consecutive 17 minute 5ks!! a few years ago I would have never ever ever thought I could do that. really gets me excited for the future and to see what I can do with hopefully upping the mileage a bit. I’ll just go ahead and say it but I’m hoping to increase to 60-75 miles per week by late winter/spring and then aiming to run boston in under 2:30, which is 5:43 pace!

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Josh Grundy

Evening Run

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Afternoon Run

Evening Run

post race hike up the A

phoenix half marathon - 1:13:36

Morning Run

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