What can I say, I love racing!
Today brought the Tallahassee Half Marathon. It was my second year in a row doing the Pensacola Double Bridge Run 15k and this race on back to back days, although I'm a lot better off after the fact this year. I guess due to completion of the Goofy, and this being more of a "mini" Goofy due to the shorter distances. The conditions were nearly perfect, about 40 degrees at race start and maybe 50 by the end, warming to 60 by midday for those doing the full marathon. Only a few hundred runners do the two races combined, so the course is pretty sparse. There's something refreshing about being able to focus on someone several yards ahead of you and trying to pass them though, instead of just being in a sea of people all the time. I felt like it was much easier to get into a rhythm and stick with it, and zone out from time to time.
Knowing my legs would probably have some extra fatigue from the day before, I started out with a real steady flat pace. Had to hand carry my 3 gels due to forgetting to bring the nifty stretchy waist pouch thing I got at the Disney expo, so that caused some minor delays right after mile 4 as I struggled to hold everything while downing a gel and a couple cups of water. The course is on a gorgeous bike path separated from all roads, so its more of a through the woodsy type feeling and past ponds and whatnot, tons of shade. Really one of my favorite courses, just enough undulations to keep you from getting too monotonous. No wind to speak of other than a light breeze was probably also beneficial.
Basically a quick loop around the track itself and then the block surrounding it started off the race before heading out on the out and back course, so since you didn't do the loop on the way back the turnaround was actually more than halfway, just under 7 miles. I was feeling REALLy relaxed at that point, and had kept my heart rate under 160 for that entire portion. Somewere around 8.5 I finally started doing some math, trying to figure out based on my slightly over 10mpm pace what I'd have to run to dip that avg under 10mpm by the end. That would mean about 2:11, and I figured maybe an outside shot at under 2:10. I picked it up a bit for the next few miles, and was passed around 10.5 for the first time since turning around by someone who looked to be 50 something years of age. Competition started seeping into my veins and I decided to stick a few yards behind him, close enough he could hear me breathing down his neck.
He clicked off a faster 10th mile, and his 11th was faster still. By the 12th he had sped up considerably and not only had we passed probably a dozen other runners during this acceleration, but he was now heaving pretty hard. I wasn't exactly feeling rosy myself, and I'd shut off my heart rate "alert" I had set to warn me when I went over 176bpm, because it was just beeping constantly by that point. The last mile though has a few gradual uphills that really suck what you have left away, and it was on one of these that I finally made the pass "with authority" as I like to say. (I'm not competitive really, except I'm totally lying and I totally am)
A few passes later and I entered the track stadium at FSU, and had about 300m to go. A couple guys were about 80m in front of me at that point, and I set my sights on them. One never increased his pace so I passed him with 150 as I was nearly in a full sprint by that time. The other rounded the turn and really kicked it up, so I came flying through after him legs windmilling, and leaning way into it to the point I felt like I was at a 45 degree angle. The cameraman was right there so I'm sure that's a bizarre shot. He had a bunch of buddies cheering him on, and sadly with about 100m to go he heard me coming and really went into a full sprint. I somehow found another gear and was able to nearly pull even with him by the finish, literally unvoluntarily grunting every other stride which was a first for me. He did a little leap at the end to beat me, but I told myself I probably started further back in the pack at the start (there was no chip time) and so in reality I won.
In any case there should be some great finish shots! So yeah here are the splits, note the increasing insanity towards the end:
1 9:52
2 9:51
3 9:59
4 10:12
5 10:29
6 10:04
7 10:05
8 10:09
9 10:04
10 9:41
11 9:27
12 9:15
13 8:59
.29 2:04 (7:07 pace!)
Total:
2:10:11
So this was in fact my slowest time ever in a half marathon that I ran by myself, and yet one of the most enjoyable. It's amazing what happens when you just slow down and smell the roses, thank the volunteers, and enjoy the scenery. I felt really solid and pain free throughout, and didn't have any breathing issues until I started pressing the issue late in the race. It was the comfortable pace for the majority that allowed me to do that however, so it just goes to show that going out too fast is just pain leading to more pain. I'm still pretty close to my lifetime peak weight, but I feel like I can do a half marathon whenever I please now, so my fitness level has obviously improved over the past couple years of racing. A solid 22.4 mile weekend has me feeling strong heading into the LA Marathon on 3/2!
): 36 degrees at the start (last year it was 14 degrees at start time). This is a popular winter race here in southern Maine, more than 550 participants. I attempted to go for it and run the entire race, forgoing the walk breaks I have been taking to ease the knee pain I have experienced since my knee surgeries.
Finished up my half on the treadmill, so not a very exciting race report, but I got my miles in. 
