Well time for a hard race again, the Buffalo Half Marathon. It runs all through the lakeside in Buffalo including the Sabres arena twice. Did about 10 minutes warmup then sat on the line waiting for Crazy Old Man John Beishline to stop rambling into the mike and start the race. The marathon & half run the first half together so everyone was ready to go, then Blamo the gun goes off and the race starts. The fast guys all jump into a pack and take off, I knowing that humidity is not my friend, back off and open in a 5:21, there's two guys near me so I stick around them for the first few miles. Rattling off 5:25, 5:31, 5:37 before one guy started dying and then we turned out to the lighthouse for a short out & back. Being the intersection of a lot of parts of the course it was pretty crazy with cheering people, including my sister & parents, which is pretty awesome. 5:28 & 5:33 were those miles, the 10k (also the relay exchange point) was hit in 34:08, and that was the last time I would see my parents for a while. Then the race heads south towards my hometown, as this is the big out & back right after I passed 7 miles 5:36 I saw the 12 mile stand the other direction right by First Niagara Center. Here is where some guys started coming back to me and where the race started hitting home. The next mile was uneventful except for a crossing of the Ohio Street bridge which is covered in open grating, not the funnest surface to run on but hit 5:35. At this point one guy was on a bike and encouraging me and I was closing in on a guy with a University of Rochester jersey, a rival of my college. As I pushed passed him I briefly considered condecending to him, but figured I would have the chance at the finish line if I continued to own his soul. I headed under route 5 and out to the Outer Harbor with 2 guys in my sights mile 9 was 5:35 and I missed both attempts at a water cup due to sweaty hands (damn humidity!) at the 15k where we turned around. At this point an asian dude caught me who was bravely doing the full and stuck with me through 10 miles (5:35). As we went back under route 5 and up a railroad overpass I let him by as I was feeling a little beat. The same dude on the bike came up by me, congratulated me on passing the one guy but helpfully pointed out that there were 2 guys ahead within my sights. I let him know I was working on it. Went through mile 11 in 5:43, oof, but persevered and got that wonderful cup of water after the mile 11 mark. Finally approaching First Niagara Center again I saw one of my friends from college running the other way through the crush of people. As mile 12 rapidly approached I finally caught the next guy, a runner from Stotan racing, a club based out of Syracuse, NY as an outgrowth of the impressive F-M running powerhouse. When I was passing him I heard a guy yell everyone's form is all gone to hell, this made me feel better because everyone is hurting at least as bad as me. I passed mile 12 5:35 but felt a whole lot longer, well that one was better when there's someone to chase. Saw my parents and sister, they took some pictures, probably awesome as a sweaty & tired runner always looks fantastic. At this point I was alone but there were a ton of people cheering so that helped, but definitely kept checking the Garmin to see how much longer it though I had to go. Finally got onto the last straightaway on Franklin, and could see the finish. But still a lot of ground to cover, mile 13 was 5:45, oh yeah there's the humidity. Finished the last bit to earn my 13.1 sticker for a 7 second PR of 1:13:18. Was forced to take a picture and a medal was reluctantly placed on my neck, yes sir I would rather just hold it. Then I staggered around a bit got some water & Haterade and cooled down a bit with Dave Rappleyea and changed into some dry clothes and went up to the after party. New York, being a real state, had free beer at the end so I enjoyed one. Unfortunately it was not a Genny Cream Ale, but that will be rectified this afternoon on the lake. Picked up my award and rolled back home.
While not as fast as I believe I can run, it's a good start and hopefully a summer of high mileage will help bring that time down. I though I would run a 73 before the race, so I know my conditioning pretty well.
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