TRI'ing to be FIT: PR, baby!

Finally, after a 6 years, I was able to set a new PR for myself for the Half Marathon Distance! My very first half marathon I had set my PR 2:06:04, and had yet to beat it!

I originally signed up for this race because it was so close to my home and I know the race course fairly well.   The start of the race was only 1 mile from my house - perfect!   It isn't often that one can actually be close enough to walk to the race start!     It was also being sponsered by my workplace and I have friends that helped to run the event.    So, once I read about it, I was in and I am so glad that I did it!

Race morning started with near perfect temps - 50 degrees when I woke up!   I ate a quick breakfast, got ready, and did a light jog over to the race start.   Fortunately Fleet Feet had a tent, so I was able to drop off a bag with extra clothes, meet up with my friends, and have time to stand in line for the bathroom.     There were just shy of 1,500 participants so the race was a good size but not too big as we got off right on time.

This race was a half marathon distance and a "quarter marathon distance" and they had pacers for every minute pace.   However, since more people had signed up for "half of the half" they only had them for that part of the race and not the full half marathon.   I decided to line up with the 10's today to see how I would do, despite having run 10:30's with all my long runs and not doing much regulated speed work this summer.

I was pleasantly surprised that for the first 3 miles not only kept up with the 10 minute pacers (thank you Michele and Joe!) but that it felt pretty easy!    At this point the pacers and all of the quarter marathoners turned to go back towards the race start and the rest of us kept going.   It was now down to Dawn and I trying to keep a 10-10:15 pace.   Right around the 4 mile mark, the one big hill on the course started.   I kept a steady pace and before I knew it, I had left Dawn behind.   I slowed at the next water stop and she caught up with me.   Decided at that point I wanted to see what I could do.   Dawn was using this as a training run so didn't want to push it, she wished me luck and I took off.   I put down the next two miles at a 9:15 pace!

The next few miles I slowed just a bit because I knew I still had a little over the half the race and the course went slightly uphill again just prior to the turnaround.   By mile 8, I started to realize that if I was able to maintain a 9:30 pace the remaining of the race, that I would be pretty close to a new PR.   I don't wear a garmin, so I was relying solely on my watch time and what I could figure out in my head.     At mile 10 my legs started to cramp a little but overall felt pretty good, breathing was on track.   Got to mile 11 and my breathing was starting to give me some issues, but I hoped I was still maintaining.    This is the point that it can get hard because once you start to get tired, you can feel like you are going fast, but that isn't always the case!   I hoped I was still as fast as I felt . . .Last 1/2 mile I tried to just go as fast as I could, minutes ticked by and I thought, where the heck is the finish??   Finally I rounded a curve and could see the flags and hear the cheering.   I put my head down, gutted it out, and looked at my watch as I crossed the finish . . .2:05:55!!!