My slowest half marathon, ever. What I learned from it

Yes, it has been a month (or so) since I last wrote in this blog. I’ve chronicled my thoughts on paper.

Yesterday, I did a shake down workout before watching the games on TV. Highlights: 180 x 1 bench press, 30 reps of pull ups, and my right knee bothered me more than I wanted it to during my 17:30 mpm 2 mile walk.

So, last night, after dinner and after watching Illinois State lose to Northern Iowa on ESPN (painful 28-21 loss; come to think of it, the Illinois 42-19 loss to Ohio State was a bit easier to take; though Navy’s 24-20 loss to UAB was terrible.), I got on the road. You guessed it: low tire warning. That added 30 minutes to my trip.

The sunrise was spectacular.

I lined up behind the 3:10 pace leader and knew that I had to take it out “easily”.

The back story: training had been going ok until September 2 (Wednesday) when my knee absolutely blew up when I was doing my banded PT exercises: in particlular, the supine “psoas march” and the “quad sets”. Was it a hyper-extension injury? Scar tissue? Good old fashioned arthritis attack? Who knows: I could barely walk on the thing.

My goodness, it hurt. I thought about scratching from the half right then and instead going to the walk in orthopedic clinic.

The rest of the week, my walks were a gimpy 1, 2.1, 4.1 (16 minutes per mile), 4.2 (16 minutes per mile).

The next week I recovered somewhat (32 miles, with a 10 miler and two 5 milers at 14:40 and 14:05, both on flat ground), then it was time to shut it down to rest for the half. Still, it was mostly very short (2 miles at 13-ish). I did not have the 13:40 pace 10k walks I had going into April when I walked the Lincoln Presidental half in 2:54. Chat GPT suggested that I am for 3:15.

So, I knew that I was not in walking shape, and that I was worried about my knee. So, I wore braces, took 2 naproxen and took it out at just under 14 minutes. I noticed that the knee was a little tender but not serious.

But I can honestly say that the knee was not what was holding me back; in fact, my LEFT knee (see my 2025) started to tell me “I’ve missed you!” And I was in denial: the 14:15 that I was walking was WORK; naively I expected that pace to be “stroll in the park” easy. It wasn’t. Damn.

And to be brutally honest, between miles 6 and 8 I resented it. Mentally, I was “why is this so f**king hard? This used to be my 100 mile pace!” But 2004 was a long time ago, and I was coming off of an injury and I was in dreadful walking shape.

So between miles 8 and 10, I tried to be “less grumpy old man” and more “be grateful, you stupid a**hole” I did have an exchange with a younger guy (40’s-50’s) around mile 10: he tried to talk to me and explained that this was his first one. I responded “you seem to have a lot left; you should do well in your final 5k.” He said “you look like a seasoned runner” (polite way of saying that I was old and washed up). “Do you do a lot of these?” Me: “not anymore.” He wished me well and said “we are alive and have purpose.” My response: “I am not so sure about the “alive” part.” I was suffering and resenting it; I should not be suffering at 14:30 per mile!!!

In the final 2 miles I could see the 3:10 pacer and thought about catchig her. A thought is where it remained as my miles sliped to 15:09 and 15:50. I was whipped. The final mile was mostly limping and attempting to move forward.

As I crossed the finish line, the race director, who knows me, hight fived me and said “you picked up another one.” And today, that was good enough.

My knees were ok; I had just over-walked my training.

And I learned this: yes, I was disappointed with my 2024-2025 half marathon walks; I don’t like being slower than 3 hours. But I walked as well as I did BECAUSE I was trained. I saw for myself what I am like without proper training.
Yes, I am grateful I could do what I did today; when my knee blew up I had mentally scratched from the race. But I now respect my recent times just a bit more.

First 5 miles: 1:11:24 (hopeful)
Second 5 miles 1:13:20 (damn, this is WORK)
Final 5k: 49:05 (well, s**t!!!)

My post covid, post lumbar problems walking halfs:

2024 3:05 (Mahomet)

2024 3:03 Quad Cities
2025 3:01 Quad Cities
2026: 2:54 Lincoln

2026 3:13 Quad Cities

Walking history (Half Marathons)

September 2003: 2:17 (Appleton Fox-Cities powerwalk division)
January 2008: Austin 30K 3:50:56 (about 2:40 for the half marathon split)
September 2008: 2:25:13 Quad Cities
September 2010: 2:39:13 Quad Cities (surgery that summer)
September 2011: 2:40:53 IVS
September 2011: 2:22 Quad Cities
January 2012: 2:34 First Light
June 2012: 2:30:18 Galesburg
September 2012: 2:24:46 IVS
April 2014: 2:25:26 Peoria Heights
May 2014: 2:19:15 Peoria
September 2014 2:35 (IVS)
September 2014 2:24:17 Quad Cities
September 2015 2:38:13 IVS
June 2017: 2:47:24 Galesburg
July 2017 2:42:19 Chicago RR
August 2017 Mahomet Half marathon 2:52:33
October 2018 Whisky Daddle Half Marathon 2:29:23

August 2024: Mahomet Half Marathon 3:05:09.

September 2024: Quad Cities Half Marathon 3:03:37

September 2025: Quad Cities Half Marathon 3:01:27
April 2026: Lincoln Presidental Half: 2:54

Quad Cities History
1998: 3:55 as a runner (hot)
1999: 3:45 as a runner
2000: 1:40 for half of a relay
2001: 1:49 for half marathon (week after giving blood)
2002: 4:44 marathon as a walker
2004: 5:12 marathon as a walker
2005: 5:34 marathon as a walker.
2007: DNF at mile 23 (walker)
2008: 2:25 half marathon (walker)
2009: 5:28 marathon (as a walker)
2010: 2:39 half marathon (as a walker; knee surgery in July).
2011: 2:22:27 (half marathon powerwalk)
2013: 2:20:59 as a runner
2014: 2:24:17 powerwalk.
2016 DNF mile 20 (run/walk) heat
2017 DNF mile 20 (walk) heat
2018: Marathon powerwalk 6:14:11.
2019: Marathon powerwalk 6:42:06

2020: virtual 1/2 3:33:50

2024 Half Marathon walk 3:03:37

2025 Half Marathon walk 3:01:27

2026 Half Marathon walk 3:13:45


10 days!

Well, life has been a lot of work stuff, and evenings watching The Chelsea Detective and Grantchester with Barbara. I’ve kept up with the walking, getting regular 10 mile walks on Saturday, and the lifting.

Of note: twice this week I got 3 sets of 5 x 160 on the bench. Yesterday, I managed 3 “not strict” sets of 10 pullups. And last Sunday, I got 10 x 225 low, 10 x 255 4 inch and 10 x 300 6 inch trap bar deadlifts. The rest is same-old, same-old.

I’ve written about personal stuff in a paper diary. I did get 10.2 miles of walking today, including “the spur” and 3 lower loops in Bradley park. Pace was 15:3x ish, on a cool day, and I am not wiped out.
Left leg: tingles above and on the side of the knee; very surface like; same side as the hip flexor strain.

Most of my bandwidth has been occupied by work issues that should remain private.

Beyond absurd

Yes, today has been a dumpster fire.

And it will not get better. LOL

Workout notes: yesterday, 4.25 miles at 14:06; contruction in lower Bradley Park. They are EVERYWHERE.

Today: 2 mile walk; pull ups: 5 sets of 6, 10, 2 sets of 5. bench: 10 x 134, 8 x 155, 15 x 134. 2 sets of 10 x 94 high incline. trap bar (4 inch handle) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 228.

The one naproxen isn’t as awesome as 2 but is doing the job. some side tug, hip flexor, tingles at the top of the knee. Probably L4.

Not keeping up at all

And what a week it was. But what I am recording: baseball games and workouts. Bleah.

Workout notes: fighting through a hip flexor problem. debating whether to use NSAIDS or not.

Tuesday: suffocating, slow 6.3 mile walk on the Riverfront. 16:26 mpm
Wednesday: weights; included 10 x 150 on the bench, 10 x 225 trap bar dead (low) and the tough 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 set of pull ups (among the 50 reps) and 2 mile walk.

Thursday: 6.4 mile walk in Bradley Park (3 lower loops); wet, miserable, humid. 15:28 pace

Friday: 2 mile walk. Failed at 18o on the bench; 3 sets of 5 x 155 on the bench, after getting 19 reps with 134. Etc.

Saturday: 77 F, 92 percent humidity. Ugh. 16:21 for a rough out and back segment, 2 mile loop, 1.1 loop, then extra. 10.25 miles; blistered my heel with old shoes; hip flexor sore. Slippery. Extra 1 mile at Dozer between double header games

Sunday: 2 mile walk; trap bar: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225. 4 inch: 10 x 255

Today 2 mile commuter walk; faster tempo on the weights (3 sets of 5 x 155 bench, 2 sets of 10 x 94 high incline, one o 5 x 105, 5 sets of 5, 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1, 2 more

Chiefs baseball
What a week it was. Tough 7-6 loss on Tuesday. Easy 8-4 win on Wednesday, 5-3 on Thursday; the latter 2 games were basically empty.
Double header on Saturday: 3-2 and 2-1 losses.

Sunday: the visiting Sky Carp bombed Chiefs pitching for 7 home runs and a 16-0 lead after 7 and cruised to a 16-6 win, with the Chiefs getting two walks for runs and a grand slam in the bottom of the 9’th.

Cleaning up the mess

Workouts:
Friday: 2 mile walk; weights: unremarkable. I did get 180 (single) and 3 sets of 5 x 155 on the bench; rest was routine
Saturday: OMG, this was one of the toughest slow 10 mile walks, ever. The pace was 15:45’ish and I did a spur, 3 lower loops (surprisingly low traffic) then finished with The Barbara to get 10.25. Note: I got passed by another walker. It had to happen sooner or later, and this was the first time in Bradley Park. This was a tough walk; 78 F with close to 80 percent humidity.

Sunday: Dozer loop walk (2 miles); morning: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225 low, 10 x 255 4 inch. My legs were sore BEFORE the lifting.

Monday (yesterday); mixed up pull ups: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 set, 1-2-3-2-1 set, 5, 5, 6, 4 after that. Got gassed by the pyramid sets (10 seconds rest); form was terrible in the final reps. Bench: missed 180 twice, got 3 sets of 6 x 155 though. high incline, curls, 2 mile walk.

Tuesday (today) 80 F, 80 percent, and so my 6.4 miles along the river were pretty bad; 16:15 type pace. Any faster would have been a struggle.

Chiefs baseball: they lost 7-0 on Thursday, 7-6 on Saturday (spectacular catch by the Bandit center fielder in the bottom of the 9’th denied the Chiefs the winning runs). On Sunday: the Chiefs fell behind 7-2 but rallied to win 9-8! It was a terrific game; the new guys are starting to jell just a bit.

The data crunch

Yep..a tooth filling and a lot of data.

Yesterday: another 7-2 loss to the Bandits. The Chiefs are in rebuild mode, so to speak.

Rain delayed the start by 1 hour.

Today: 4.3 miles before my filling at 13:54 mpm. I am at one of those funny places: do I rest with 7 weeks to go, or treat this like a minor problem to work around and rest after the half marathon? Decisions, decisions.
Note: today’s walk was on somewhat wet pavement so it was NOT an all out effort. I had almost no knee pain.

I am a mess

Yesterday: 6.4 miles at 15:00 mpm. 5.2 mile lower loop course, then 1 mile afterward. Bothered by left hip/hip flexor and right knee which barked at me. I took some naproxen afterward. Tomorrow: try with knee braces, stay on flat ground.

Today: around doctor’s appointment: no trap bar deadlift. pull ups: 3 sets of 10, 6, 6, 6, 5, then a set of 2 penalty. bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 150, 10 x 134. high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 9 x 94, 2 sets of curls (done rapidly). Afterward: lesisurely 2 mile walk; no pain. The knee pain was on the steps and it was the right knee. We should see how it responds to quad stretching and using a brace.

Last night: Vickie and Harry were there and the Chiefs got creamed 7-3; the Bandits hit 3 home runs. The Cardinals promoted a ton of guys recently. So, it might be painful to watch for a while.

Crashing into August

I am doing things, but most of my record is on paper these days: issues are just too private and sensitive to discuss in public.

I do like to keep track of the workouts though.

Injuries: left hip flexor/glute/hip area; sort of general.

July 30: 6.7 on the Peoria Riverfront. 14:26 pace. Saw some “transparency.”
July 31: 2 mile commuter effort walk; weights. Pull ups: kind of a struggle, still. Bench press: got 3 sets of 6 x 155
August 1: slick course (rain); did the Bradley Park spur, then “the Barbara” via North, Moss, then into West Peoria and finished along the 5k course. 10.25 at 15:40. 2:40:30 total; was 1:22 at 5 miles due to the hills.
August 2: 2 mile walk; trap bar dead: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225, 6 inch: 10 x 300 after a set of 2 with 300 (stopped)

August 3 (today) 15:52 commuter walk. weights: pull ups: 10 singles, 10, 5 sets of 6, 2 sets of 2 penalty reps
bench: 10 x 134, 19 x 134 (miscounted), 3 sets of 5 x 105 high incline, 2 sets of 10 curls.

Work frazzle

You do not want to see the sausage-making.

Workout notes:
July 24: 2 mile walk; highlights were the bench; 4 x 160, 5 x 155, 6 x 150
July 25: flat 5.2 at 14:43. New shoes
July 26: 2 miles of walking; highlights for the deadlift session were 10 x 225 low, 10 x 300 6 inch.

July 27: took Barbara to the doctor (scheduled test) so split my pull ups (10, 5 sets of 6, 3 sets of 5); then back home: 10 x 134, 4 x 160, 6 x 155, 6 x 150 bench, 2 mile walk

July 28: 6.4 mile walk (5.2 course plus 1.2 loop at 14:40. HOT
July 29 (today) 2 mile walk. Highlights: pull ups: 8 sets of 6, 5, 4 (penalty sets)
bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 150, 10 x 134
deadlift (low) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225
high incline: 3 sets of 5 x 105

Chiefs: well, Thursday was bizarre. It was warm; 1-0 win. It was 0-0 going into the bottom of the 9’th, 2 outs, no one on base. Then single, single, hit by pitch, walk.

Saturday: 6-3 loss. The Chiefs took an early lead but the bull pen was, well, not good.
Sunday: 13-6 loss that wasn’t that close. A disasterous 8 run 8’th inning doomed the Chiefs in what was a competitive game featuring spectacular plays, including a robbery of a home run and an excellent infield play by the Whitecaps: second baseman fielded the ground ball, booted it, but the short stop picked it up in time for the force out.

The Chiefs also had back to back home runs to get in the game, before the terrible 8’th inning.

I have nothing to say, and that’s good!

I’ll talk about the Chiefs: Barbara went with me to the bizarre 16-3 win. The Chiefs started down 2-0 in the top of the first, and then the first two Chiefs batters hit home runs! The lead off guy ended up with 2 and the second guy got 3, and both got extra base hits on top of that. They are truly a two-man wrecking crew.

The next day, splash day, saw a 7-3 win with the Chiefs getting 3 more, and setting the franchise record for home runs in a season.

Workout notes:

July 18 (Saturday) sore kneed 10.3 at 16:08; hills; heat.

July 19: deads: 10 x 225, 10 x 265 (4 inch) 7 x 300 6 inch, 2 mile walk

July 20 two 1 mile walks, weights. got 160 x 4, 155 x 5, 150 x 7 on the bench, etc.
july 21: 10k in 1:32:58 ( warm) then 3 mile car dealer walk (trail at the YMCA)

July 22: weights: 3 sloppy sets of 10 pull ups, 4 sets of 5 chins, bench got 10 x 150. got 10 x 225 low handle. Walk to and from the Chiefs game (3.5 total)
Today: July 23: 2 miles at 14:06 per, then car walk 3.3 miles.