Today was the race I have been preparing for. The weather was
beautiful, other than being a little chilly the first couple of miles.
I was aiming for 1:35, and I'm going to say I came close enough! I
don't know my official time yet, but I'll put it up later. The course
was excellent. It seems like they found the route that stretched the
downhill out the longest, which was helpful.
I wasn't feeling
sick or bad before the race, but I didn't feel particularly good. The
first couple of miles were about 7:05 pace. It was weird because I was
sweating even though it was quite cold. Miles 3 and 4 had a lot of
downhill. I felt like I was really holding back and also ran just over
7:00 pace. There is a turnaround by Highland High that is uphill, and I
was able to maintain my pace there. But around mile 5, I started to
doubt that I could stay strong. There was a gal in bright green shirt
that had a GPS watch and seemed to be running my desired pace, so I
tried to stay up with her for the next few miles. From miles 6 through
8, I felt strong and kept the pace going strong. I was starting to get
excited that I could reach my goal. Halfway through mile 9, I ran by my
wife and daughter and that gave me a boost. At mile 9, I was about
1:03:30, so I was averaging about 7:03 per mile. During the last four
miles, I started to slacken the pace a bit. I ran alongside another
runner for the next 2 miles who helped me keep my leg turnover up, but
we were running about 7:15-7:30 pace. The 11th mile was a bear! I
didn't realize going north on State St. had so much uphill. It seemed
like every block was a half mile. We hit the top of the hill at mile
marker 12, and it was downhill to the finish. I felt strong and picked
up the pace a bit, but didn't sprint at the end. If I had known I was
that close to breaking 1:35, I probably would have. But also I wanted
to enjoy the last few moments of the race this time, knowing that the
hard work had paid off. This was a "post-mission personal record"
for me by 8 minutes! It feels great to work hard at a goal and then to
see so much improvement. The last two half marathons I ran (a few years
ago), I didn't really prepare adequately, so I died out in the last few
miles. Even though the last few miles were slower this time, that
didn't happen. I know I can continue improving, too.
- Kudos to the race organizers for putting together a well-organized and fun race!
- Kudos to them for having timers at every mile!
- Kudos to the polite and energetic runners all around me!
- Kudos to the weather for not snowing and being perfect!
- Kudos to the many, many volunteers and spectators along the way who kept the course safe and encouraged us.
- Kudos to those who have encouraged me on this blog!
- Kudos to the guy wearing cross-trainer shoes who blew by me on the 12th mile!
- Kudos to the guy that was very lean but probably weighed 240 lbs and blew by me in mile 10!
- No kudos to the policeman who unnecessarily blared his siren in my
ear and startled the begeebees out of me, while leading the wheelchair
riders. But you know, that actually kickstarted me by getting my
adrenaline flowing. :)
- Kudos to my wife and daughter for getting up early and cheering me on! It meant a lot to me.
At
the end while Laurel was shopping, I watched some
of the final half marathoners coming in. I just thought it was an
amazing thing to have people trying to be fit and coming together from
all throughout the community for an event like this. I don't think
there's any other sport where you can see 10,000+ athletes performing.
Usually it's the other way around. This is a big part of why this sport
is so great.
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