Bottom Line: 1:35:25 (7:15 pace) – with great effort!
This morning I was 159 lbs. I ate a few bites of almond butter (no bread) and half an orange and left (with my wife) for the race. The weather was OK, 65-70F, high humidity, cloudy. The course is on roads at a local parkway. Here is a picture of us before the race:
This is the course where I have my half marathon PR from last year, 1:30:07, but I knew that this year I was not in shape to get anywhere close to this so I aimed for 1:35 and that’s what I got.
I made an effort to start slower, so I avoided the temptation to start with my running friends (who are fast). My mile splits: 7:13 7:08 7:00 7:02 7:10 7:17 7:01 7:35 7:00 7:30 7:34 7:26 7:33 6:23
I am happy with the even pace (7-7:30). Towards the end my legs were getting tired. Mile 13 was a torture. I see I managed to maintain my pace, even though I felt I was going slower. Of course, I sprinted to the finish :) (6:23 is for the last 0.1).
I did not bring my water bottle and I think this hurt me. I was looking forward to the water stations every 2 miles. Towards the end I was drinking two cups of water in every station. I used to be able to run the entire half with no or very little water, when I was carbo-loading, but now it seems that I need more water, so I will remember to carry my bottle with me from now on.
My wife, Liz, had a PW, 2:20. This is 12 minutes slower than her slowest half (this was her 9th). She too has lost some weight (8 lbs) but feels a bit weak and her mileage is lower this year than last year. Here are two pictures, one at the last mile and one after the finish (she did not feel very well afterwards).
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