It was a cold morning for a race, especially for this Arizona guy. John and I arrived a few minutes before the start. It was 32 degrees and windy. We walked over to the start area where I found Dan and the race mercifully started before I began to shiver too much.
I didn't really have a pace plan but to run what felt comfortable and Dan said he was going to start off with me so we took off together at a comfortable pace. For the first couple miles we got snow flurries but nothing stuck. We ran and talked for about 8.5 miles before we both had to start focusing on running. He pulled a little ahead of me for about half a mile then he stopped at an aid station that I just grabbed a cup and kept going. It took him a mile or more to catch back up to me. We then ran together until about mile 12 when he took off on an uphill and I had to let him go if I wanted to finish. Over the last quarter mile or so I closed the gap with a last final push but he had gapped me too much to catch him and he beat me comfortably by 15 seconds. He finished 44 and I finished 45. He also took 2nd in our age group so I got 3rd. I am 49 he is 45 so I think I should get a 20 second handicap 🤔. Sounds fair right? 5 seconds per year. My finishing time was 1:33:23 which is faster than I thought I would be considering it was a last minute race without any half marathon specific training.
John was running his first race ever and did great finishing in 2:10. He had a good experience and is ready to do some more.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
| 