Kaiser Half Marathon

Found this race when I was looking for a 10k. Since my family was already staying in a condo on Orange Beach, it was only a 5 minute drive. Even if I didn't hammer out a hard run, it seemed like a good fit.

After another beautiful sunrise over the gulf, I sat down to figure out my pace. 2 weeks ago I ran 1:26:43. It was a time I was proud of, but I knew there was a faster time in me. Also, in the back of my mind I knew that Steve ran a 1:22:35 two weeks ago, and I wanted the pace to be fast enough to give myself a chance at beating him. 1:24 sounded good, which is 6:25 pace.

The race itself was absolutely beautiful. All except about 2 miles was twisting through the woods on a trail. Bright sun peaking through the trees. Temps were in the 40's with a constant breeze. A better setting could not be scripted.

During the race I was having a great time. Looking back, someone would think it was boring. No crowd along the race, and I was in 4th place from before the 2 mile mark to the finish. Steve was between 15 and 20 seconds ahead of me up until mile 12, and 5th place was more than a minute behind me.

Other than mile 11 when I took a shot at closing the gap on Steve, I was locked into my goal pace. Unfortunate for me, Steve also picked that stretch to reel in 2nd place, and my 6:15 did not close a single second. Finished 4th overall, but the results show 1st in AG since Steve took the 3rd overall prize.

Scored another pair of Stuffitts Shoe Savers, an aluminum bottle from Fuel Belt, and some coasters with the race logo on it. Combined with a 12oz Nathan water bottle in the goody bag, it was a good bit of loot.

Pensacola Half Marathon

4 weeks after my marathon it seemed like a good idea to ride the fitness with a half marathon. The half is a distance I've only done once before, which was all the way back in 2007 with a time of 1:41. No race report for The Nationwide Columbus Half-Marathon of 2007, but I remember a few things very clearly.
1. My legs hurt more at the end of that race any any other time in my life up to that point.
2. My plan to run easy for 10 miles then beat my brother in the last 5k almost worked.
3. According to onlineraceresults.com I was at 8:11 pace through mile 5, and finished with an overall pace of 7:44. (talk about a negative split!)
4. It was by far the biggest race I ever entered. Showing up the morning of the race to get my packet was NOT a good idea. We almost didn't get to run.

According to the VDot calc from my recent 3:06 marathon, my potential at a half is 1:30. That felt like it would be extremely easy. In April I ran 1:30 in the first half of Boston, so it seemed like too modest of a goal.

Never did decide on a good goal, but it really didn't matter. After getting out of the car Travis and I realized we both forgot our Garmins. There were mile markers, but since I had no watch, I couldn't even calculate splits. Looks like PE was the only gauge. Since it was hot for November (low 60's) and high humidity, my PE was high.

Saw Steve at the start line, then quickly said something to Evan a few hundred yards out. Another minute I caught and passed Brian who proceeded to talk much more than I expected. Lastly I said a few things to Chuck just past the 1 mile mark. Although I fully expected Chuck finish before me, I never saw him again. The last person I caught was Steve at mile 2, and we ran together for 3 miles.

The first time I noticed that my shoes were soaked from sweat was before Steve pulled away. This should of been a red flashing light to adjust my pace. The sweat contributed to a blister. 10k had a clock and I was only 3 seconds slower than 40 minutes. After that point the race became very boring, lonely, and painful. Oh well, not every race can be exciting. Finished in 1:26:43. PR by 15 minutes, and left plenty of room to PR twice more this season.