It's all relative

Florida Halloween Halfathon

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesMike's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2015201620172018201920202021
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

FL,United States

Member Since:

Feb 08, 2015

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Certified course PR's:

Mile: 4:28.0 (Florida, Jan 2020)

5K: 15:12 (FL, Jan. 2020)

10K: 31:44 (FL, Feb. 2020)

15K: 49:03 (FL, Feb. 2020)

1/2 Marathon: 1:10:34 (FL, Feb. 2020)

Marathon: 2:26:57 (WA, July 2019)

100k (63.7 miles, trail): 9:11:00 (FL, Jan. 2019)

Personal:

I started running in 2010 and have (mostly) kept it a habit ever since!  

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Florida Halloween Halfathon (13.109 Miles) 01:14:01, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.4213.1117.53

Florida Halloween Halfathon Race Report

The weather was humid and close to 80 degrees and windy since it is next to the ocean.  The course is incredibly flat with lots of wavy turns and is an out-and-back for the most part, making tangents not possible on the way back with people running in the other direction.

The field was awesome!  Four people in this race could EASILY beat me at their best, so I was so excited for the competition, particularly since I felt game to give it my all and had high confidence from the 15k a couple of weeks ago at Fort DeSoto.  Sean and Drew were running it, and although one is coming back from a long injury and the other just weeks out from a 2:38 marathon (and rightfully so, not feeling 100%), I knew they'd still be game to run hard if they were feeling good.  Chris M. was also there again and he is an incredible runner whom I had just ran against him a couple of weeks earlier, and Chris Y., who I had never raced against, was also there, and is probably top 3 (or better) in our area and just out of college.  I'm surprised the field didn't have anyone else but the five of us to be honest, as it was offered as free and that is the only reason I even considered the series on my calendar to be honest, as I don't have $350 to throw around on just 4 races.  I won't complain that's for sure.

Game plan: My game plan was A) Ideally, to run with the lead guys until the turn around, or B) run 5:33 pace per mile if they were running too fast for me.  It seemed like everyone was going to feel it out and hang together, which meant that I should just stay with the group and then treat it like the last 15k and push it right before the turnaround.  I knew that would be the best opportunity for me, as the wind would switch to my back and then I'd have the crowds in the other direction helping me along with cheers.  Most importantly, if the pace got past 5:33 pace per mile for too long, I'd drop back to 5:33 and just try and run my dream race.  I was excited either way, as I really felt ready for this race and knew the course.

The race: The first 5k was truly a breeze.  At one point the pace dipped to 5:28 per mile which worried me momentarily and caused me to drag back (since I am not in that kind of shape), with the 2 Chrises leading, but it seemed to occur right when we started seeing other runners in the other direction.  Both Sean and I talked about this afterwards and agreed that this happened again when we passed the 5k start line with all of that group cheering on our 5-person lead group.  I think this was important to read, since it meant that the only "surges" so far were false surges, and no one was feeling particularly great in the humidity.  Sean definitely had the same read I did, as he then dropped a surge in mile 5, to which both Chrises responded and Drew and I followed suit.  At some point there, Sean noticed us staying and reeled it back in.  It's important to note this is one of the first times I've felt like a racer as opposed to just a runner in a race.

The next couple of miles had us all stacked together still, and then mile 8 came as we approached the turnaround.  I honestly felt incredibly fortunate to have been able to wait so long before having to take the lead, and it was such an eerie feeling (on Halloween no less!) to be able to make a move and be confident that it would be a decisive one in breaking up the group.  Fortunately, I made the move and (Sean later told me that) the pack did indeed break at that point, leaving just Chris Y and myself trading off the lead.  I tried another surge speeding up again to a 5:25 pace halfway through mile 9 and although he hung with me and I slowed down a couple more seconds, I noticed Chris Y was breathing way harder than me and much more often.  I was shocked.  I know this sound.  That's usually my sound.  I couldn't believe I was on the other side of hearing it.  For once it wasn't me dying, but instead I was the one breathing with perfect cadence.  I then did the only thing I knew that could possible shake him from me- I sped up again.  Miles 10 and 11 were both fast, and although they show 5 seconds apart below, I really think that was more to do with all of the turning and weaving through people.  I checked on him at each mile marker after that and just keyed off his pace.  I also had some fortunate help from Jim and Joe who were cheering on the course.  Jim was a huge help, and seeing him from his SUV cheer me on really was what I needed to just keep pushing.  I can't wait to thank him and thank Joe for letting me know my lead on Chris, as I didn't want to look back too often to give him confidence.  

The end of the race was a quick U-turn which had some drama with some 5k-walkers taking up the entire cone-to-cone line at some points, blocking even the biker and turning up their noses at him when they looked back, but I've seen this a million times in races and just ran outside wide and re-entered the cones.  I figured they wouldn't yell at me for doing that.  I never really know what to do in situations like that, but I was feeling fortunate I didn't have to throw a crazy sprint in there as well and possible hurt myself with the weaving.  The last straight-away felt great and I pushed hard when I saw 1:13:5x, but didn't quite make it under, which stunk a bit- but I was incredibly happy overall with the race and the lucky win.  Any other day, all four of these guys could wipe the pavement with me.  But for some reason, today was just my day.  

Splits- 5:37.47, 5:46.57, 5:38.52, 5:40.43, 5:37.13, 5:41.53, 5:41.37, 5:34.81, 5:30.36, 5:28.48, 5:33.92, 5:42.11, 5:34.42, Finish- 0:56.00 (0.19miles).

Comments
From Drew on Tue, Nov 03, 2015 at 06:52:35 from 173.171.218.92

Mike - I'm equal parts impressed with your race, and determined to give you a better challenge next time. You have put in a lot of hard & smart work over the last year, and it really showed at the race. Congrats my friend!

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: