1:28:43
Ran the inaugural Florida Beach Halfathon this morning. This was the 4th race in a series put on by Florida Road Races. This was also the soonest after a marathon that I have ever raced a half marathon. I decided to run this race not too long ago. When I ran the Clearwater Halfathon in January, a friend of mine said I should run this race because they were doing awards based on running at least 3 races (if you ran 4 they would drop your slowest race). I was also hoping to try and beat my old PR which I had run on this same course back in October when it was quite a bit warmer (about 74 degrees at the start). Jenny's friend Kathryn and her family were nice enough to give me a ride to the race which was about an hour away. It was very nice to be able to just relax during the car ride - or at least try to relax. I was not feeling good most of Saturday, didn't sleep too well last night, and was only feeling a little bit better by the morning. We arrived at 6:15, exactly was planned. Picked up my bib and chip and then warmed up. Did just under two miles including some strides. There was a menacingly strong wind. I felt tired and not ready on the warm up, but I was trying not to panic. Was just going to line up, run, and see what happened. Race started on time, just as it was getting a little bit light out. I didn't line up too close to the front so I had to make my way through a pretty thick crowd. We were running into the strong head wind for most of the first mile before turning towards a trail which wound through a wooded area. First mile in 6:51, a little bit slower than I wanted but I was at least now feeling a lot better than during the warm up. 2nd mile was on the trail and I was starting to feel good, and started to feel hopeful for this race, although I knew there was a tough stretch ahead. 2nd mile was 6:27 and 3rd mile was 6:32. The race then went through the parking lot where we started to finish the first 5k of the race. Then we were headed along a trail running next to the water. At the 4th mile I struggled to get under a 7:00 (6:56), only to find my garmin was way off from the 4 mile marker (:21 seconds). 5th mile was a struggle. I was in a small pack for a bit and was hoping to draft off of someone but the small pack quickly fell apart. Next couple of miles were also kind of a struggle. I saw a clock at the half way point, passed by it almost exactly when it read 45:00. I knew I needed to pick it up if I wanted to get under 1:30 . Turnaround for the out and back portion was at mile 8, which was my last slower mile. Just before the turnaround I saw my running friend Pat yell out to me to hang in there. Great to finally turn around, and except for a short time, was soon running with the wind. Miles 9-13 were much better. I was following a guy and started closing in on him which helped, although he eventually pulled away and I was running by myself. There was a little bit of rain, but fortunately there was no dumping, just some sprinkles.
Last mile was 6:27, tied for fastest with mile 2. When I turned the last corner I could see the clock and was relieved to see that I could still make it in under 1:29. Splits were: 6:51, 6:27, 6:32, 6:56 (+ :21), 7:00, 6:46, 6:48, 6:57, 6:51, 6:45, 6:38, 6:41, 6:27, 0.13 @ 6:19
As usual they had great food and drinks for the racers as well as live music. Saw lots of people I knew and had a great time catching up with friends. I was awarded 2nd place age group for today's race and 2nd place age group for the 3 race series. Despite the wind and not feeling the best, I shaved some time off my last race even though I did not get a PR today. Was pleased that I ended up with a negative split. A good reminder to not give up hope too soon.
Many thanks again to Kathryn and her family for giving me a ride. Kathryn's family also volunteered at the race, manning the finish line chip removal.
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