The race today was HOT... it sure lived up to it's name "The Hottest Half". It was 85 when we started and 95 when I finished. By 11 am, they said it was over 100. Today's high ended up being 108. So it was HOT!!! and HUMID! I've been doing most of my running at 5:30 in the morning in the dark... Today's race started at 7:30. I have to say the sun today really hurt my feelings!
I wrote a Plan A splits on my left arm for running an 8:23 pace to finish 1:49:49 and Plan B splits on the right arm for running an 8:45 pace to finish 1:54:30. Well, I didn't end up with A or B.... I ended up finishing in 1:57:49 which was 8:54 pace.
Actually, I mostly did run between 8 and 8:45 pace the whole way. What happened was I stopped at every single water station at every mile. At first I only gulped and continued on. But by about mile 6, I started walking a little while I drank... As the race progressed, I took longer and longer at the water stops. So that was my problem. I was freaking HOT!!!! When I'd go through long stretches in the shade, I'd look at my watch and I'd be going along 8:25 pace or so.... even at mile 9, I was doing that. Then in the sun patches I'd look and it'd be 8:45 mostly... my slowest pace was 9:15 in mile 12.
I did have a very powerful kick at the end. I started sprinting in the last hundred yards and I was going SO fast! I'm sure I have gone that fast in HS but that was the fastest time I ever recorded on my watch... at my fastest I registered 4:49 pace. I can't wait to see the photos... I bet they are hilarious!!
I'm a little surprised that I didn't PR today. Two years ago I ran this exact same race and I got a 1:54:45. I feel like I should be in better shape now than then.... However, the winner of the 2008 race was the same guy who won the 2010 race today. In 2008, his time was 1:10:37. Today, his time was 1:15:01. So maybe it was just a more brutal hot day this time. I think that's the story I'm going to tell myself! Ha, ha!
Also, in 2008 I ran the first 8 miles at a 9:00 pace, then I cranked it up and passed tons of people in the final 5 miles. This year I started out at a 8:00 pace and my times got slower and slower. I'm just not sure if going out slower would have helped me though... I think it was the heat... I'm thinking I would have slowed down either way. In 2008 I was running alot in the evenings. This year I'm running in pre-dawn dark. Who knows.
Splits- included water stops in each mile
mile 1 - 8:02
mile 2 - 8:29
mile 3 - 8:32
mile 4 - 8:39
mile 5 - 8:31
mile 6 - 8:57
mile 7 - 9:02
mile 8 - 8:56
mile 9 - 9:07
mile 10 - 9:14
mile 11 - 9:35
mile 12 - 9:45
mile 13 - 9:20
final .26 miles (according to my garmin, the remainder was .26 - not .1) - 7:09 BEST 4:49 | 