I'm not going to write a full recap on this one- it didn't go well and was pretty disappointing. This was a big goal race of mine and I was really confident I could do well. I had been chasing the sub-1:10 barrier in the half since fall 2022 and Las Vegas felt like the place to cross it off. Here's why- with the exception of a subpar race at Pittsburgh, every half I had run was faster than the last. The last one was especially encouraging- 1:10:20 in Berkeley with 600' of elevation gain and an 8mph headwind. Las Vegas was flat, no wind, and only 5 turns or so (meaning less extra distance run)- if I could get into the same shape as Berkeley, a much faster course would put me comfortably under 1:10. I had some concerns about getting into the same shape with a lot less time to do so, but really crushed long run workouts the prior two weeks and fitness seemed to be ahead of where I was in the fall. So I went into Las Vegas with confidence.
And I came out with crushing disappointment. Realistically, I thought a great result if everything went right would be in the 1:08:50-1:09:20 range. I thought if I was slightly off but still strong, I could run under 1:10. I also had some concerns about coming off some training week but I came off a 90 mile week going into Berkeley and ran great. I figured if I was a bit heavy from the training, maybe I'd run in the 1:10s.
Not even close- 1:13:30s. Really a worst case, F- scenario. I think at absolute worst I'd expect a 1:11 with the shape I seemed to be in. This one went really wrong and it was really disappointing as this was a big one for me. I had a handful of disaster performances in 2023, but they never aligned with the goal race.
What happened: Pre-race in Henderson the day before, got materials from the expo which was huge. Then just chilling out in the hotel room for a long time- race started at 4:30PM which I wasn't a fan of at all. Started warm up at 3PM, broke into several parts and took the monorail to the closest stop. I thought I had plenty of time with 45 minutes to go, but the race setup was an absolute disaster and it was very difficult to get to the start. Stuck in giant crowds that weren't moving at all and totally unclear where to go. Not able to pee but got in two strides. Felt decent.
Got off the line with another issue, guys with fanny packs, tights and even one wearing the race drawstring bag on his shoulder were ahead and I had to surge around them. Got into good position shortly but found myself running way too fast. Slowly settled down the whole mile but my legs were feeling fairly heavy/flat which is not something I had experienced in the first mile of a half before. Through the mile a bit quick in 5:07 and then Mile 2 was already the beginning of the end. I went from feeling flat to being really heavy, struggling, stomach and chest discomfort, very uncomfortable/tight left foot and running over 5:20 pace now (goal was to maintain 5:15s). I thought I might just be having a weird rough patch but was still over 5:20s through 5K and already off the goal feeling awful. I was really thinking about dropping out as clearly this was going to be a rough day, but remembered I had checked my bag and it was stuck in a highly secure area at the finish. Got through 4 miles right around 5:20 flat pace and started to think it might the hardest race I've ever run but maybe somehow I can gut it out and get it done. One black guy seemed to be similarly fading ahead and I tried to focus on him. I was plummeting in pace when I got passed by two guys with one drafting off another. I was ready for them to blow by me, but I tucked in behind and suddenly a lot of my issues were gone. I was heavy but the other stuff stopped bothering and we were running 5:15s again. I thought this was my chance back into the race. I kept pulling even with the second guy before realizing I'd be smarter to stick in the back until 10ish then make a move. This felt pretty good. When I took my gel I was feeling great and ended up not only moving to lead the group, but starting to drop them. I pulled to the side of the road to throw my gel out in a trash can I saw, which was stupid because I twisted my ankle on the unevenness and I'm not even sure I got it in the trash can.
I got to 7 miles on renewed energy and positivity, and probably still on a sub-1:11 pace before my legs totally went. My quads locked completely around the 7 mile mark. It was like my muscle there had been replaced with bricks. I finally caught the black guy around here, but he pulled the side and dropped out. I almost certainly would have too if not for my gear bag being at the finish line.
Not much to say about the rest of the race. My legs were just not present and I couldn't maintain faster than 5:45, but a lot of 5:50s/6:00s. It was really frustrating because after Mile 8 I'd think about my effort and it felt really relaxed, like marathon effort (this is goal marathon pace). But my legs were so heavy I just couldn't go faster. At mile 10 my heaviness was so bad I thought for sure if I stopped for a second to stretch my quads this would give a lot of relief and allow me to run the last 5K much faster. I did so, taking about 10 seconds to stretch and then resumed. It was slightly better but still couldn't do much. I tried to pick it up slightly but didn't want to totally destroy my legs for next week for a mediocre result. Kept it just hard enough to keep myself from getting chicked and passed one who seemed to totally give up (walking) in the last 400m.
1:13:35. The last few miles I had really thought the effort wasn't hard and my legs were just holding me back. After pretty much every race and hard effort, I (and most other people) instinctively put my hands on my quads/knees to catch my breath. Didn't need to do that for this race, just walked through not taking a moment to stop as I really just wasn't all that tired. Certainly didn't feel like I had raced if not for my trashed legs. Didn't feel like I raced from a cardio standpoint. Really long "walk of shame" back to the hotel, further than I thought. I was very upset and disappointed after this one. I hadn't bombed a major race like this in quite some time. I had some ugly performances in 2023 but they never aligned with a major race so I was able to dismiss it quickly. This was one of my biggest race opportunities in 2024, flat and fast course and sub-1:10 was there for the taking. And I was absolutely terrible. Easily my worst performance at the half marathon. It was tough because I don't know when I'll get a good opportunity in the half again, and this one was on me. The last time I totally bombed a key race was in college when I believed my bad results were from poor training from my coaches. Now I had been "coaching" myself since mid-2022, with very promising results since and this was the first time I felt I really screwed things up. Sure, I had some disappointing races here and there but never got it 100% wrong like today. I was very confident I could have the race of my life here too, but clearly misjudged things.
The disappointment actually wore off after a few hours which was surprising because I was expecting to feel that one for some time. Once my soreness wore off after a few days, it was in the rearview mirror. Looking ahead to the marathon now, where I should have fresh legs after a taper.
Looking back, I clearly made a training mistake. I think back to back 90+ mile weeks with a hard midweek workout and a very hard 22 mile long runs both weeks left me with dead legs for the race. I didn't worry about it because I had a 90 mile week with 22 mile long run prior to Berkeley, but the week before that one was not as much, and only a 15 mile long run or so. Plus the intensity of the two fall weeks was a lot less in general. Lesson learned: I can't run two big marathon weeks going into a half.
Other thoughts:
-I thought this course would be perfect from a flatness/lack of turns standpoint. Still fast, but I felt slightly better about bombing as the course was not as fast I thought it would be- still ran an extra 0.2 miles according to my watch, and got close to 200' elevation. Reasonably flat, but not pancake like I thought.
-Competition wasn't totally stacked here either. I ran 1:10 at rock n roll san jose and didn't crack the top 30, I was close to top 10 today with a 1:13. Also just about every one on strava, even those who ran a good race was running a significant positive split.
-I thought there were no positives to take away from this, but did I add Nevada to states raced in for 15 total. Not sure what my next state would be, may be a while.
-I don't like Las Vegas at all. My complaints about Southern California feeling like a giant strip mall/shopping center are valid, but Las Vegas is on an entirely different level. It's big and flashy, but offers very little of substance to actually purchase (maybe the shows are good). The one good thing about the city is it's proximity to really cool nature/trails.
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