Where do I want to begin…..WOOO…HOOO….. big PR in the Austin 3M Half Marathon!!! PR’d by almost 6:00 minutes Okay I got that out of my system. This was a GREAT race for me. I’m on the 13’th week of the 3:15 marathon pace training program of Run Less Run Fast program. This was supposed to be a 15 mile run @ 7:26 pace but I substituted this race for the training run. I’m sure most people know that this is a very fast race since it has about 350’ elevation drop from the start to the finish. I really wasn’t sure how drastic that would be but I found that course felt more like long flats and a few rolling hills. There were only a couple of stretches where it really felt like enough downhill to really get you going. I started out with the intention to run between a 7:00 and 7:15 pace throughout the race but after my first (and slowest) mile at 7:07, I decided to drop my plan to a 6:?? Pace on as many miles as I could. Come to find out I kept that pace fairly easy and believe I could have dropped it a little more with better race knowledge and planning. At the beginning I lined up about 30 yards behind the 1:30 pace group. I was thinking I would never be able to keep up with them. I paid attention to them until mile 2 or 3 and then forgot all about them…I’m not sure where they ended up but I know I passed a lot of the people in the original group. Mile 1: Just tried to keep an even pace and get my heart pumping and my breathing consistent Mile 2: Decided to go out a little faster and see how long I could sustain Mile 3: Had one decent hill and some small rollers-easy Mile 4: This shows on the map to be a decent down hill but I didn’t notice it much, maybe because of the turns. Slowed to a walked to get a drink. Mile 5: Another slightly downhill, at this point I was amazed at how good my legs felt. Mile 6: Just some rolling hills here. My breathing was it’s usual heavy by this time. Mile 7: Another rolling hill area. Stopped, walked and got a drink. Mile 8: At this point I started to get a little tired. Mile 9: Ate a Gu but probably should have taken it a little sooner. Slowed twice to a walk, got a drink and took the Gu. Mile 10: Revived a little realizing it was all down hill from here! Mile 11: Picked up the pace. Probably could have gone a little faster. Mile 12: A little faster but not any kick yet. Mile 13: Started to kick a little halfway through. Last ¼: Kicked here and pass a whole lot of people. The crowd was screaming “Go 1347” (that was my bib #). I probably passed a dozen people. My fastest pace dropped down to 5:41. After the race I recovered for a few minutes and then was very surprised how good my legs felt. Now (this evening) they don’t feel any different than after a normal (fairly hard) workout. I used the Hammer Nutrition method of preparing (fueling) for the race. Race Day Boost 4 days before the race. 2 Endurolyte Capsules before and after the race. 1 Hammer Gel before and 1 Hammer Gel after the race. Hammer Recovery when I got home (3:30). 1/29/2012 Austin 3M Half Marathon Mile Time HR HR % 1 7:07:00 157 84% 2 6:47:00 160 86% 3 6:53:00 164 89% 4 6:52:00 166 90% 5 6:54:00 165 89% 6 6:49:00 166 90% 7 6:55:00 165 89% 8 6:46:00 166 90% 9 6:59:00 165 89% 10 6:56:00 167 91% 11 6:50:00 169 92% 12 6:47:00 169 92% 13 6:40:00 172 94% 0.1 0:50:00 175 96% Total 90:05:00 155 90% Pace 6:52:36 Psalm 139:13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day | 