I did this race last year when I had brochitis (or something to that effect) so I had a terrible run. This year I was using the race as a gauge as to where my training for the Boston Marathon was and had an immediate goal of sub 1:30 with the best "hope" to be somewhere in the 1:27 range.

I didn't warm up at all because it was cold and I didn't want to waste any energy in the beginning. So I bounced around a little on the start line and stretched until the horn went off to start. The race uses the same course for both the half and full marahton and everyone has the same numbering system so it is impossible to tell who is running what race without asking, so as we got going I had no idea of where I stood against the other 1/2 competitors.

Mile one came very quickly at 6:03 and I knew that I was going too fast. That is just a tick over my latest 5k splits, so I knew I needed to back off a little. But I did feel good.

Two, three and four I just settled into a groove and ran at a pace that felt right. For all the heart rate wheenies, I was always below my lactic threshold, so I knew that I wasn't pushing it TOO much. But the pace just seemed fast for what I wanted to do.

Five, six and seven were quicker and I took my only Gu right before the water stop between six and seven. The first half of seven is downhill then you go around a cone and go back up. The uphill portion is about a 1/3 or so of a mile long and I just focused on good turnover and rhythym. At this point no one was passing me and I was starting to catch a few. I was pretty amazed that I was on pace for a sub 1:25 and thought if I could just hold on even a few ticks per mile slower I'll easily hit my sub 1:27 goal!

Eight, nine and ten were good cruising miles and I started focusing on the few people ahead of me and worked on bridging up to them. At mile eleven I passed the last of the people that I would pass and attempted to pick up the pace to catch the two guys that were about a 1/4 of a mile up the trail.

Mile twelve rocked as I tried to pick up the pace to catch those 2. But they were just too far up there. I had created a little gap to the three guys I had passed earlier and knew I had a REALLY good time possibility. It was at the end of twelve I thought, "Damn! I have an outside chance of going under 1:24!"

As we turned off the trail back onto the main road to go back to the school I knew the guy ahead of me was out of reach even with a superb sprint, so I put it in fast cruise and tried to work on getting the sub 1:24. Turned into the school lot, and hit the finishing tape with my fist pumped in the air. Another fantastic and unexpected result!! Three minutes ahead of what I was hoping for with a perfect run.

Nothing. I had a good run and pushed just the right amount so that I didn't explode. I was worried that I went out too fast, but it worked out okay.

Took off my chip, got my medal, and went inside to get warm and eat some grub. Stretched a little and got dressed to go back outside and cheer some of the people I knew were running.


Nothing. I had a great outing.


This race has probably the BEST after race grub of any I've been to, and I definitely snacked a lot! This was my second year doing it and they tweaked the course from last year removing the hill at mile 2, so that certainly helped my time. I'm really happy with my result and feel good about how the Boston training is going. Great race!!