MTA: Just realized there was a sticky posted above for Race Reports. Sorry for the double post. I'm new around here .

Spinx Runfest Half Marathon, Greenville, SC

First, a little background on my training. This was my first Half-Marathon. I made a goal earlier in the year to run it in under 2 hours. Well, I let life get in the way and in August I only ran 5 times for a total of 15 miles. With about 6 weeks to go before the race I re-dedicated myself and adjusted my goal to be able to just finish the half.

I ran a 12 miler (2hr 12min) the week before the race and it went pretty good. I was pretty tired at the end, but it gave me the confidence to know that I now would be able to finish the 13.1 miles.

The morning of the race it was pretty cool at the start (compared to what the weather has been in S.C.). The weather ended up being perfect. At this event there is a marathon, half marathon, and 5k.

The marathon started at 8:15am with the half to follow at 8:40am. The two races use the same course up until mile 12 where the half breaks off towards the finish.

On to the race……

I was shooting for 2:20, with the back of my mind saying 2:10 would be really sweet. A large part of the first mile was level to decline and I use the hill to pick up speed. I come in at 9:00min on the dot. I thought that was too fast, but it’s the first mile and I was excited to start the race. I thought to myself, “I’ll settle in here at a 10min or so pace pretty soon.”

As mile 1 turned to 2, then 3, then 4, I was still running right about 9min miles. At this point I started to think that maybe under 2hrs was still possible. I was feeling really good and this pace wasn’t much of a strain. Who knows maybe I can keep it up? As I got to mile 5, 6, and 7; the pace is still feeling good. I’m tired of course, but this is the point when I decided I was going do everything to finish in under 2hrs.

I also realized that this race course is much easier than the training courses I run. They have many more steep hills than what I’ve seen on this race course so far. This course has some hills, but only two would I consider a little tough. The others are long and slowly inclining, if at all. There seems to be more down hills (or maybe I’m just telling myself that).

I use each downhill as a chance to improve my pace, while steadily gearing back down on the straight-aways and inclines. It’s working perfectly. I don’t understand why I feel so good. As I approach mile 10, I’m at about 1:33:00. So I need about a 27min 5k to finish this thing off. For some reason I get a shot of adrenaline and pick up the pace a little. I can feel my heart beating faster. About 2min. later I’m feeling drained and have to compose myself, so that I don’t blow up before the finish. Not sure what got into me there. Hitting the 11 mile mark I’m at about 1:42. I just need two more miles at just under 9min each and I’ve done it. At this point there is no turning back. I push on knowing its 1:59:59 or nothing. Each time by body says, “Maybe we should ease off the pace”, I say “Shut-up, there is no time to slow down!”

I looked at my watch as I get to the street corner outside of the stadium. (In this event, at the end of the race, the runners enter the baseball stadium in right field. They then run around the warning track, down past third base, and finish near home plate). Its at 1:58:00. I’m not sure how long it will take to get to home plate, but when I enter that stadium I sprint with everything I’ve got. I pass about 15-20 people. I’m sure I have the look of a crazed maniac. I hit the finish line at 1:59:35. I want to let out a scream, but a muffled fist pump will do. I couldn’t be happier. My wife missed the finish because I finished much earlier than expected.

The event as a whole seemed to be well run. Plenty of water/Gatorade stops, a good bit of crowd support throughout the course, and plenty of fruit, bagels, and sandwiches at the finish. Running into the stadium adds a neat ending. It also makes for a good post race venue to sit in the stands and watch the other finishers.

I would like to think this is just a good start and not an ending. I have to sign up for another race or I will lose motivation to keep running. That's my biggest problem.