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.