Sunday I raced the Big Beach Half Marathon in Gulf Shores, AL. This was the target race for my recent training cycle.

Official time

1:59:09

Average pace

9:06/mi

VDOT

37.5 (@ 70°F)

Splits

Mile 1*
(* from GPS splits.
I missed the Mile 1 marker.)

9:14

Mile 2*
(* from GPS splits)

9:17

Miles 1–2

18:43 (9:22/mi)

Mile 3

8:57

Mile 4

9:40

Mile 5

8:47

Mile 6

8:51

Mile 7

8:50

Mile 8

8:30

Mile 9

9:55

Mile 10*
(* from GPS splits.
I missed the Mile 10 marker.)

9:19

Mile 11*
(* from GPS splits)

9:06

Miles 10–11

16:57 (8:29/mi)

Mile 12

9:56

Mile 13

9:07

Final 0.1 mile

0:59 (8:07/mi)

Ranking

Overall

144/842

Male

91/?

Age Group (M40–44)

21/41

Event Page

Big Beach Marathon, Half Marathon & Safari 5K

Strava Activity

Big Beach Half Marathon

Training Recap

Since running the Nashville Marathon in 2023, I’ve been really slow in building back my mileage. I’ve been around 20 miles/week for a while now, just nudging my volume a little with each training cycle.

This race, however, was for my friend, Steve, who ran the marathon to celebrate his 60th birthday. I figured he was doing a stretch for the marathon (every marathon is a stretch, especially the first one), I could stretch for the half marathon. Jack Daniels recommends a minimum of 30 miles/week for half marathons. Instead of focusing on building mileage for the training cycle, I did my normal bump and did my normal workouts. I would run the half marathon as fast as I could with my regular running volume.

Race Strategy

Given the low training volume, I didn’t think my VDOT equivalent pace of 7:59/mi was realistic. I’ve come across a running “rule” that for every 5% reduction in pace you can double the distance. I broke down the race into rough quarters, each with a pace limit to make sure I don’t blow up:

1. Miles 1–4: 9:15/mi (.95 * .95 * .95 * 7:59/mi)
2. Miles 5–7: 8:48/mi (.95 * .95 * 7:59/mi)
3. Miles 8–10: 8:23/mi (.95 * 7:59/mi)
4. Miles 11–13.1: 7:59/mi, but really no limit

Additionally, I knew a general effort level from racing the Atlanta 10 miler multiple times: I didn’t want to be breathing harder than 3 steps per inhale and 3 steps per exhale.

Race Conditions

The race course started at the beach before almost immediately turning inland. It then went onto paths and boardwalks in and around Gulf State Park. The boardwalks finished onto an RV campground, and the course then crossed Beach Boulevard on a pedestrian overpass and continued along the far side of Beach Boulevard. The final quarter mile or so turned off the boulevard towards the finish.

The weather was forecast for strong winds and, eventually, rain. The temps were in the 70s with a feels-like in the 60s.

My friend, Tomina, and I often race at similar paces, so we started together and expect to finish in similar times.

The Race

The race started on time, and we did our early turn inland. Tomina left me early as I tried to keep my pace slower than 9:15/mi. We were on roads for about a mile before getting to the path. Tomina passed me during this stretch after having to stop for a potty break. With the protective tree cover, the winds were a non-issue. The first four miles felt easy. I had to repeatedly pull myself back to stay under my pace limit. I averaged 9:20/mi for that section.

The next three miles also went well. I was feeling really good. This pace turned out to be about the effort that I wanted to maintain. Only occasionally did I have to temper my speed, and that was usually on short downhills. I averaged 8:49/mi for this stretch.

Around mile 8, my hip flexors/adductors got really tight. Every incline felt like I was pulling up concrete legs. The race became a struggle. I averaged ~8:58/mi for this section (assuming an even split between my missed 10-mile marker and the 11th mile, which is unlikely).

I tried to move to 5k race effort for the final 5k, but my pace kept flagging as my hip flexors/adductors complained with every step. I managed some spurts of speed, particularly coming down from the pedestrian overpass, but nothing sustained. The stretch along Beach Boulevard was particularly difficult as nothing protected us from the wind coming off the ocean, and it was a long straight stretch so visually it seemed to go forever. 5k race effort yielded slower and slower pace over that stretch until turning off the road. I was able to pick it up again with my “kick” reaching a measly 8:03/mi. My average pace for that final 5k was 9:12/mi.

Debrief

Even with the hip tightness (cramp? not sure), I’m happy with my effort. Except for the first four miles, I was at my target effort level, even as the corresponding paces slowed. This was probably my longest sustained race-pace effort. Maybe some Blue Ridge Relay legs would beat it, but certainly among the (few) half marathons I’ve run, this was the best effort. My first half marathon remains my fastest one.

With a VDOT of 37.5, this was my slowest race effort since I’ve been tracking my VDOT (2016). Maybe I’ll give the distance another honest effort when my training volume is higher.