Decent race....not earth-shattering but not disastrous. I simply had problems really getting psyched for this race and it certainly showed in the prep....had just started the car to leave the house this morning when I realized I'd forgotten my running shoes. Enough said? No? Ever since I ran the full marathon in 2007 here, I really haven't been too enthused about this particular race. I recall saying I'd not run this one again because the post-race runner support was shoddy (I had to find *the* lady with the bananas before I was rationed my single banana). But, times change and in my post-injury race planning, this was the only half marathon I felt would give me enough time to prepare without rushing back. So Seattle it was. A very nice day. Too nice. Weather forecast to hit 52F, so I figured at 7:30, it'd be in the mid 40s. Knowing some showers were possible, and a stretch or two with some wind likely, I choose a thin long sleeve shirt under my singlet and my CW-X tights. Well, the temps were already 53F on the drive up at 5am, so it was definitely on the warm side. Of course, I'd decided against packing the shorts in my bag, deeming the recent weather cold enough that I'd never wear them. Oh well. Arrived in plenty of time, and managed to squander it on 2 trips to the bathroom & multiple trips back to the car for things I'd forgotten. Timing chip? Oops. Small minor details. So, by the time I finished my 2nd potty break, the starting chute was completely full. I managed to work to within sight of the start banner and hopped the rails lining the side, but I was still behind the 2 hour pacers and that far again to the start. This will haunt me later. Prompt 7:30 am start. 85 seconds later, I finally hit the starting mat. Spent the next few miles weaving around folks, surging to catch the gaps and trying to stay loose and leverage the nice gradual downhill on mile 2. Not too successful, but I finally got far enough up that the crowds weren't a big factor anymore. Going by chip time, I was about 30 seconds behind my target 6:30/mi pace by the 5K point. Speaking of target pace, I figured a 1:24-1:25 finish would be nice, but perhaps unrealistic, given the hilly nature of the course. I simply didn't remember how hilly it was, but was quickly reminded in the 2nd half. The middle miles were okay.....I really wasn't running by pace so much as effort. Could I have given a bit more here? Perhaps, but I had a healthy fear of pushing too hard and dying the last few miles. Better to race a bit conservatively and finish strong. Or perhaps this was the part of me that really wasn't into the race today. I had been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days, but the holiday's can be a stressful time, so I wrote it off to that. Maybe it was more? Dunno. Okay, so the last 5 miles are the climb up thru the arboretum, over, under, back under I-5, then a steep downhill and some more up and down into the stadium. It really started hurting here and my limiting factor seemed to be my ability to get enough O2, not my legs. They hurt, but my body just wasn't processing O2 fast enough and I was on the ragged edge of getting a nasty side stitch. I was desperately trying to reel in a few people ahead of me that were making the flats look too easy. I was gaining on the uphills and blew by on the downhills (only to be caught again on the flats). Hit the redline with about 1 mile to go and figured I'd be at the back of the little pack of 5 or 6 I just couldn't catch. Then we hit marathon 26 marker (.2 to go) and I hit the jets for the finishing kick. Where did *that* kick come from? I blew by a bunch of folks heading into the stadium and across the field like I was running a 100 meter race....no, faster than I run the 100. Not sure what training I've been doing that's helped with my kick, but that part was awesome. So a 1:28:05 finish time, 1:26:40 on the chip. Given the hill course and the time I lost on the first few miles, I'm satisfied with the result. Of course, I was 11th in my age group, having been beaten by 2 guys that ran slower than I did (in the 1:27s for their chip time). That'll teach me to dawdle at the start! Time to take a few days off and then start prepping for my return to the marathon. In the meantime, I think I want to run a few shorter races and just have enjoy them.
| 