Ljubljana Half-Marathon Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 19; 4th Edition
52.4 miles run in 2025 races
Race: Ljubljana Half Marathon
Place: Ljubljana, Slovenia 
Miles from home: 4822 miles
Weather: 40 degrees, 90% humidity

My last half-marathon was in Ely where I carried a canoe for 13.1 miles. I assumed this race would be much faster. But it didn't come easy.

Two days after I ran the 13.1 in Ely I caught some sort of cold. And then it stayed with me for a month. In addition, back in June I had nose surgery to fix a perforation in my septum. I went for a less evasive procedure by getting a septal button put in. I was told some people can stand it forever and others want it out immediately. I was determined to not be the latter but as time went on it became clear that not only was it not really fixing the problem I had, it was to painful and too uncomfortable to stay in there. However, I asked too soon before I was gone for basically two weeks to both put on the brand new Break The Bank 50 Mile and run this race in Slovenia to get it removed. 

My doctor however, did get me in to snip some pieces before the Break the Bank raceto make it feel better. Unfortunately, that made everything worse and the exterior of my nose was affected by some sort of infection. It was excruciatingly painful to the touch. I put on a smiling face the entire race day when I was in a great deal of pain.  This must have came through my messages to my doctor as he slid me in super early in the morning before my flight out of the country to get it removed entirely. While I feel that actually made the infection worse and the exterior painful again at least I had the button out of my nose. I was dosed up on amoxicillin and hope as I essentially left the doctor's for the airport.

Fast forward to Ljubljana and let me tell you this is a fantastic city and country. So gorgeous. Seriously, stop what you are doing and book a trip here if for no reason than to see the Postojna Cave. I was gobsmacked by this cave and can count on one hand the number of times I have been so moved by something in nature.  I made another trek to Lake Bled to see what virtually everyone with a screen saver has seen. It even made my sickness and nose pain subside a little bit.

I decided to go for at least a small run before the race and eked out a 4 miler in an attempt to explore the city a little bit. Granted I had been all over the area I stayed by walking but it is crazy how much more of a city you can see by running. I felt so good on this run that I decided to do a short three-miler the day before the race. That went amazing. In fact, I got back and for the first time in a month, I felt my sickness had abated. Furthermore, all week the noise pain had been diminishing and today it was down to about 1/3 of what it had been. Tickled pink is the phrase they use.

Race morning:

My AirBnB (which was in a literal bridge across a road) was just 3/4 a mile from the start and merely a half mile away from the finish. Every morning in my stay in Ljubljana was the same: cloudy and humid and foggy until about 11 a.m. and then the sun burst through for a gorgeous day. Race morning eschewed all of that fog and just started us off with a cool morning. Still humid but at 40 degrees, not too bad. I was hoping to go sub 1:40 and set a new PR for my new knee but I knew that a month of sickness doesn't help one get into shape.

I got to the start just barely five minutes before guntime to stand in the corral before the begin of the race. I was one of the last people they let into my corral before the closed it wit ha ziptie. I am glad I didn't have to hurdle a fence this morning. Not quite there just yet.

This was far and away the largest race I have run in a decade. Over 7,439 finishers in the half marathon with an additional 2,871 running the marathon. It was January 2016 in Miami the last time I had this many in a half-marathon. It was the Twin Cities marathon in 2015 when I was surrounded by this many

marathoners. I mentioned this because the energy of a big marathon is so unbelievably different than a low key race. Definitely pros and cons to both but having more people than leaves cheering you on is something that can't be missed. 

A large arch with a digital display counted down from 10 and away we went.

First Three Miles: 7:07, 7:34, 7:36

I had to avoid more than a few people who decided to line up out of place (I will NEVER for the life of me understand why people do this) and just tried to find a spot where I could run unimpeded.  I was pulled along by the crowd as I couldn't begin to judge my pace as well as I used to be because of the sickness, time off, etc. I was shocked to see I almost broke seven minutes and immediately dialed it back. 

One of the things I liked most about this course was how many straightaway runs we had. I really enjoy not thinking about turns and just going. I was pleased I brought my pace back to what my goal was for the race (7:37) even if I felt it was a little harder of a run to garner that time. 

When we finally made a turn at 2.5 miles, a high school-esque band (I didn't see them so I just assumed) was deep into the throes of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell". As I made the turn, they hit the chorus and I felt alive. It didn't really propel me to a faster mile time but I was happy and smiling.

I was also sweating. Nothing new for me. But I noticed that when I pinned my bib to my shirt it was made of an odd material. Felt rather flimsy and thin. Sure enough, in the second mile, I had already sweat through the right corner and the safety pin had ripped the bib. I jammed it through the bib again and hoped this wouldn't be a repeat problem. Somehow it held on for the rest of the race, although barely.

To Mile Six: 7:45, 7:38, 7:54

Another mile and a half straight run awaited me as we ran through some lovely parts of Ljubljana. I was a

little disappointed to have my first mile over my goal pace but bounced back with a mile right on. This surprised me as there was an underpass we ran under and I hate uphills. Just hate them. Wish I was better at them but I am not. In addition, the next portion after that was a slow sloping uphill. Running well uphill was new for me and this is were is where I was beginning to think that a 1:39 was possible. I felt good. Weather was great. Let's go baby! 

This was the only part of the course that was less than lovely. Most races have them. You have to get the mileage somewhere and sometimes that is going to be in more industrial park areas. I didn't mind too much here. There was a girl in a blue shirt that I had locked onto who was running my pace. I would surge ahead and then she would. So in the crowd of thousands, she was the one I looked at. I was hoping we would finish together.

I ran through one aid station and grabbed a nearly full cup of water.  I took a big draught and felt satiated. I saw the runner to my left hadn't tried to dodge the minefield of discarded cups and runners darting in and out of the water table to grab their own drink.  I handed my cup to them and said, "Water?"

"O, thanks," she said in perfect English.

"Are you American?" I asked.

"Sure am!"

"Small world. Have a great race!"  Never saw her again. Hope she did well.

Onward to Mile 10: 7:59, 8:04, 8:06, 8:08

The small upward climb continued but even as I slowed a bit I was able to keep my mile under eight minutes. But just barely. As I approached the 8th mile the 1:40 pace group leader passed me. I was a little disappointed here as I didn't feel like I was slowing. Perhaps they were a little off pace. I just wanted to keep him in sight and push hard at the end when I almost always can.

I knew the biggest hill of the course ended at mile nine. I pushed hard and when the 8th and 9th miles were just barely over eight minutes, I felt vindication. With a nice downhill to the tenth mile I should be able to make up the time lost. I am bad at uphills but good at downhills. 

However, I had nothing. I tried hard to turn the legs over when the downhill presented itself but not only did I not speed up, I slowed down. Poop. That's new but I can handle it. The rest of the race is flat. Maybe I can still get me a 1:41 if I can just nab a few 7:45 minute miles. 

To the Finish: 8:19, 8:39, 8:20, 7:18 (for .1)

So much for that. Even with another slight downhill I was simply flagging. I was now reaching for waters when I wasn't even thirsty and chomping on orange slices when I knew they weren't going to miraculously give me the energy I needed. Feeling the best I had in a month propelled me through four miles. Not dealing with my nose helped for another three. Desire got me another two. But the lack of training was now rearing its ugly head.

I began to rely on number of tricks to get me through a race but none of them were working. I was dangerously close to walking just to find a second of recovery to get me to move fast again. The crowds which had been omnipresent were lifting all the runners with their chants and cowbells and whistles and the like. The city really does come out for this, the biggest race in Slovenia. Unfortunately they were doing little for me. Seeing an 8:39 for the 11th mile hurt my pride more than anything else. I wasn't going to finish like this.

I couldn't do the math to tell me if I was going to beat my previous new knee PR from Bozeman last month. But I knew it was going to be close. I dug deep and even though an 8:20 isn't great, at this point, with a small rise near the end, it was herculean. I turned the wheels up a little bit more in the final push for a 7:18 pace for the final .1. 

I did succeed in setting a new PR in 1:44:28.  I also finished 1,032nd. In the men alone. Holy crap. (Looks like about 148 women beat me as well.) That is the furthest I have finished back in any half marathon race. Ever. Only Boston, NYC and Disney in my first marathon of the 52 I ran in a row in 2006 had me in a lower place overall. The runners came out to run today in Slovenia! 

It is times like this when I know that speed is relative. But to know I once ran nearly two minutes faster per mile for a half marathon makes me appreciate the speed I once had. It wasn't too long ago, before the knee injury and surgery(-ies) I was knocking on that door again. I might not get back there but I fully expect that I will be under 1:40 soon. Then under 1:35. Then 90 minutes will be next.

The main thing is I never once thought about my knee during the race. Just eight months since the surgery, with four half marathons under my belt in the last 90 days, I know I have helped breathe some hope into a few fellow runners. Some specifically for knee injuries and others for their various other maladies. If nothing else, that's a pretty good thing.

But I want more. So in two weeks I will be back at it again at the Marshal University Half Marathon where right now the weather looks good, I am told the course is fast, and I will hopefully be two more weeks illness and nose pain free!