Woohoo! My legs are dead and sore! After being totally sure I would completely die with my inconsistent training the last while, I had a very pleasant surprise PR! Didn't warm up really beforehand, just a little strides, stretching and hopping around at the start line. Before the start, Marcie, Michelle, Ted, Mike and I were planning on going out together, but when the gun went off, Michelle and Ted took off like insanity, so I stayed back with Marcie, Steve and Mike. Sadly, I didn't hit my start button hard enough (or something) so I realized when everybody's watches beeped at 1 mile that mine hadn't started yet! So I didn't get a split for the first mile, but I got the rest after 1.05 or so! (Though my old 101 isn't quite as accurate as those newfangled 205s.)
1- (off Marcie's split) 6:10 felt good and pretty comfy, though I realized that I hadn't used the potty before starting, oops
2- 6:45 settled into a good groove with Mike and Steve
3- 6:41 good pace
4- 6:42 staying consistent
5- 7:05 oops, let it get a bit too comfortable here
6- 6:32 got mad at myself for that last mile, so I left Mike and Steve (sorry) and made up a little time from the previous mile's slowness
7- 6:43 back to the pace, got running with a couple of random guys which helped keep it quick enough
8- 6:48 a little slower, but decided to stick with this fellow who was aiming at a 1:27
9- 6:46 those rolling hills around Bloomington SUCK, legs getting tired, thought about taking the gu I had stached in my pocket, but was afraid of it making me sick, so I didn't
10- 6:35 again mad at myself for seeing a 7-something pace everytime I looked down, so I started kicking myself, though my buddies ditched me around here :( was tempted to use the porta-john but didn't want to waste time, so I held it
11- 6:45 knew I had a good time coming and was just trying to hold onto it, right hamstring started getting really cramped and tight
12- 6:47 got energized a lot by cheers of people going the other way since I was in second place, probably would've been much slower otherwise
13- 6:33 started trying to kick it in with about half mile to go and Sasha helped a bit got my legs going and finished! And didn't die! (DS2 117.1)
All in all I'm so so so happy with this race! I was sure I would get about a 1:30 or slower, but I feel like I pushed it pretty well and I got second overall in this race for the second time in a row! Probably won't have the chance to run another half in a while, so I'm glad I went out on the limb and ran the half today. Hopefully the next half I do I'll get in some better training and run something crazy fast like MichelleL or something! Thanks lots to Steve for hosting and sponsoring everything and Mike and Marcie for helping me run faster at the start than I would've otherwise! You guys are AWESOME! | 