Horsetooth Half Marathon today. Last year I ran 1:11:58, and this year my goal was to go under 1:11. This is the hardest half course I have ever run, and it has 5 very large hills during the first 8 miles (2 in the first two miles), and then the last 5 miles are flat. Last year I took the hills too hard and washed out the last half, and this year I was hoping to stay relaxed until the last half of the race. Elevation chart is HERE.
Great day to run, about 50 degrees and no wind. Warmed up about 2 miles from my house, and then did some strides at the start line. At the start line, I saw Mike Chavez and Hunter Paris, the same group that I ran with at the Sharin O The Green 5K last month. Should be a good race. The race started on time, and we started on the first big climb, up onto Centennial Rd. Mike, Hunter, and I separated from the pack pretty quick, although the pace seemed pretty relaxed, which was good. Crested the first hill, and hit 6:19 for the first mile. Had a bit of downhill, then then the next major hill. 6:21 for Mile 2. 500' of climbing at 5200' elevation is not fun. After the 2nd hill, the course settles down for a few miles, and there is a lot of good downhill. Still, the downhill miles were feeling pretty relaxed, and our group of 3 stuck together. No one seemed to be straining. Miles 3-5 were 5:19, 5:22, 5:13. Mile 4 featured hill #3, up the dam, which was not as bad. Mile 5 had the pounding downhill off the dam. We all stayed pretty relaxed and cool through all this, no one threw any surges.
Once off the dam, the course really speeds up a lot until the two Bingham Hills. 5:00 for Mile 6. The first Bingham Hill is during the second part of Mile 7. At this point our group of 3 was still together, but I could hear that Hunter was breathing harder than Mike and I. Now that we were on the second half of the course, I felt okay about pushing the pace a bit, and I decided it was a good time to pick it up. I surged up the first Bingham Hill, and sure enough, Hunter dropped off pretty quick. 5:16 for Mile 7. Now it was a two-man race. I was feeling good.
Crested the first Bingham Hill, and then surged down the downhill on the other side. Had a lot of good downhill, and then the second (smaller) Bingham Hill. 5:15 for Mile 8. Mike still seemed to be running pretty easy next to me. Based on how he floated away from me in the 5K last month, I felt my chances of winning were poor.
This was the point of the race last year when the wheels fell off. This year, though, I was still feeling good. We turned off of Bingham Hill Rd, and the hills were done. Flat the rest of the way. We then turned off of Overland, and onto the Poudre Trail. We were 5:00 for Mile 9, which surprised me. Mike dropped a step behind me, which also surprised me. I tried to keep the pace going. 5:02 for Mile 10. I followed that up with a 5:05 for Mile 11, and Mike dropped back several meters. I was surprised and happy to drop a ~15:35 5K this late on an honest part of a mile-high half marathon.
Now I was laboring pretty hard, but was also smelling the barn and smelling a win. If I just didn't fall apart, I should be able to hold off Mike, and also get my goal of sub-1:11. Mile 12 was 5:13, and Mile 13 was 5:15. So some drop-off, but not too bad, especially after those faster miles earlier. Last 0.1 was 46s (long?), and I was extremely happy to finish with 1:10:32. Mike was second with 1:11:06, Hunter 3rd with 1:13-something. Time ended up being a course record, and I think this was my best race in several years. I'm really pleased with the effort and the outcome, and am encouraged for my race in couple months in Duluth. I hope to run under 1:06 there. Cooled down, collected awards, and then went to Matador for burritos and beer, as is tradition. Good day.
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