Today was one of those rare, red-letter days where absolutely everything goes right.  It would be my second go at racing 13.1, with the first being a year ago at the same event.

Just like last year, the weather was suddenly and unseasonably awesome -- 60 and mostly sunny.  The course was identical - mild elevation change but nothing worthy of profanity, with a decent headwind making for some difficult stretches on the way back from the turnaround.

As we lined up, I had very little of the nervous energy normal before a 5K.  This was a half, no need to spaz.  Steve came over and said hello and good luck (the guy with whom I had run large portions of last year's HM and part of the 10 miler earlier this year, before he smoked me en route to his outstanding sub-60 on a fairly tough course.)  A police SUV backed up to pace, joined by a few guys on bikes, and away we went.

Steve had asked me at the start what my goal for today was, and I just smiled and said "1:25".  The first two miles went quickly, and we passed a timekeeper who yelled "12 minutes flat, just. like. that!"  When it started to appear likely that the lead pack might have only  2 runners, I asked Steve if he wanted to go under 1:20.  He replied "1:18, 6's all the way out and then neg split back in".

Ok, I was game to attempt at least the first part of that idea.  What I wanted to avoid, mainly, was going back past the other runners after the  turnaround and having everyone yelling "c'mon, you can catch that guy!"  So the pace held, at what felt like a lazy 5K effort rather than saving anything for later.

The sun was out, the temperature ideal, and we were moving down rural roads much like the ones I now train on, but flatter.  I took stock of how I felt every mile or so -- legs aren't bordering on cramps, breathing is not too heavy,  so just keep racing.  I also consciously reminded myself not to slow down out of boredom, and played a mental game of trying to pace an imaginary self on my 15-mile home course, making the real run easier because the hills weren't there.

Finally, the much-anticipated turnaround passed, and we came back past the race stride for stride.  Just about every runner yelled encouragement  upon seeing 2 leaders, it was quite a boost.  Once the road got lonely again, the wind became a factor.  Not gusting, but steady.  I ran with my arms in, trying to knife through it.  I could tell that it was bugging Steve as well, but neither of us wanted to be the guy to start drafting.  Somewhere around 9 miles, he said to go ahead, that he would catch up, and slowed just a little bit.

Taking that lead was mentally hard.  I had started to hope that it might all come down to a kick, a battle between runners so equally matched that the competition itself would eclipse the fact that someone had to win.  From there until the last 500m or so, I was actually hoping that he would catch back up, and didn't even sneak a glance on corners. And then it was onto the last street, and there were orange cones in the distance, and the cop pulled away,  and my watch showed that if I could drop the hammer *right now* I might break 1:20.  And so I did.

Official 1:19:46 and my first win at a non-5K.  This race was so low key that they only had awards for 10 year age groups and nothing for OA male / female.  Steve was mistakenly awarded the AG trophy and when it was discovered that it wasn't because of taking out overall, he graciously gave it to me.  Class act.

A win in a half marathon?  Now that's sweet!

I yell things at the lead runners coming at me too, usually F bombs! 

Very impressive race!

You're so sick! I hope I can maintain that pace for my 5k next weekend.

Shirfan, wowzers! Just amazing. Big big congrats to you!

Good RR.  That's really cool man.  Grats on the win.  I can't even imagine what that would be like.

Wow, I am so impressed at how you did that! Congratulation, Shirfan! What an amazing finish time!

Wow! What an incredible race you ran and that stretch in the lead must have been incredibly tough to maintain focus and composure. Kudos on an awesome OA win.

Damn dude.  That's movin'.  I love those low key races as long as you can deal with running by yourself for long stretches.