BDR Half Marathon Race Report
Time: 1:41:28, Overall place 40, Age group (50-54) place 2
I signed up for this race about a year and a half ago thinking it would be in March 2020, but it was postponed until this past weekend. Forgot I'd signed up for it but my son noticed and mentioned it to his Mom. I almost signed up for the 10K on Saturday at last minute prices, so glad I'd gotten into the half for only $40. However, wasn't planning on running a half and wasn't really trained but I've been doing enough running to be able to do reasonably ok, maybe even better than expected.
Morning was a little warmer than expected, cold front was on its way (would be cooler by the end of the race). Warmed up a little with 1 mile easy jogging and attempting a few strides, but they felt kind of flat. I saw Jenny and Tom and several other people as I went back n forth between my car, packet pickup, and warmup.
This year they had a 1:40 pace group. I thought that sounded good and decided to stick with the pace group until the last few miles and go ahead if I felt good (did not end up sticking to that plan).
The first 7 miles were really good. The first 4 miles I stuck right behind the pacer. Also in the pace group was my old neighbor Stan (who has beaten me last several races we've been in together) and a guy named Dennis who I run into a lot.
Miles 1 - 4: 7:44, 7:32, 7:30, 7:51
Start line was a little different this year, it's usually a little up the road from the finish line, this year start and finish were the same. You finish going down a little hill, so the start was going up a little hill this year but I barely noticed it. The first mile felt good, no problem getting on pace and holding it. Second mile was about the same, a little bit faster and I had some doubts I'd be able to hold the pace, but tried not to think about it. We turned into Phillipe Park where there are some small rolling hills, headed north a little bit before turning around (2.8 miles into the race). A little bit before the turnaround could see the lead runner - it was Tom. I told the pacer "That's my son". We continued on and Dennis introduced himself to me. The last time I saw Dennis, he had set up a small aid station while I was running the Pinellas Trail Challenge on Keystone Road, it was very hot that day and the extra water stop was much appareciated.
We left the park and were back on the road, going up hill a little bit. The 4th mile was a little bit slower with my watch saying 7:51. Worried we'd have too much time go make up I went ahead a little bit. Dennis had also gone ahead so I thought I could just follow him.
Miles 5, 6, 7 : 7:28, 7:33, 7:35
I felt really good in mile 5 and went ahead still feeling strong in miles 6 and 7. But, I also worried it was a mistake to leave the group. I'm not sure exactly at one point, but pretty soon the group had caught back up to me and soon they were just a little ahead, then it became more and more.
Miles 8-12: 7:49, 8:02, 8:11, 8:21
Gradual slowdown in these miles. There's a little side out and back that has a turn around by a boat ramp. This little section is always tough for me but I felt like I was hanging onto sub-8:00, just a little slower. Once I finished mile 8 I bargained with myself to try and complete 15K with no miles slower than 8:00, however I just missed it on mile 9. We got into the section of course that was new for this year. In place of a neighborhood before the boat ramp, there was a run across the pedestrian bridge over McMullen-Booth road and a loop in a park just past that.
Towards the end of the park loop I passed a couple of guys. This made me feel a little bit better, not because they had slowed down but made me feel not so bad about my pacing, it could've been worse. Getting out of that park and heading back over the bridge helped me mentally, the remaing miles would be better.
Miles 12, 13, 13.1 : 8:03, 7:45
Going into mile 12 I seemed to be around a 7:30ish pace but I didn't hold it, slowed a little but ended up at 8:03, not under 8:00 but at least I stopped the pace slide. Looking down the road I could see the remnants of the 1:40 group, they were a few minutes ahead. There didn't seem to be anyone right behind me but didn't want to take chances with getting passed anymore. I was wondering how Tom was doing, if anyone had caught up to him or if he kept his lead. Finally, going into mile 13 I was able to hang onto sub-8:00 and pulled myself along while being pushed by the thought of someone blowing by me. The last turn to the finish chute got nearer and nearer. My watch was off a little. It's usually in the other direction but this time it was "short" but I don't think the course was, just my watch.
Just after I crossed the finish line someone told me Tom had come in first place with a time under 1:15. I saw my buddy Dixie who I hadn't seen in forever and talked to Tracy a little who was there to cheer on Stan. Both Stan and Dennis did well coming in over 3 minutes ahead of me.
This race was a lot of fun. Slowed down a little from the half I did in the spring but I'm not that far off. Great to see Tom on the course and another win and a PR for him.
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