Notes
This was a strange race. Before the start of the race, I had a feeling a PR was probably a bit too optimistic, due to the warm conditions and humidity. But like always, I gave it a shot. From the very get go, I found it was harder to hold onto a heart rate in the upper 170s - low 180s like I've done in my past half marathons (last 3 half marathons, average hr had been 179). It's almost like my body was telling me not to go there today in these conditions. So in that sense, the early miles almost felt like a tempo run, as opposed to a "race". Nevertheless, for the first few miles I was averaging around a 7:15 pace, so I thought a PR might still be doable. Around mile 5 or so, avg. pace dropped to around a 7:20 or so, and I flirted with a PR pace (7:22) right around through mile 9. After that point, it started dropping pretty quickly, and I realized a PR wasn't going to happen. As always, when that happens to me, I lost a bit of focus during the race (especially during the last mile), and with the heat & humidity, my thoughts shifted solely to finishing. Had a nice kick at the end of the race - averaged around a 6:00 pace for the last .13 miles (Garmin registered 13.13 miles - pretty close!). Probably could have kicked harder, but it was hard running fast on the gravel track in the Newtons.
A little bummed immediately afterward - never fun pissing yourself and not setting a PR! :-( Felt a lot better when I got home though and checked the results - everyone ran slower on the day, and I had probably my best every placing in age group, gender, and overall. So maybe I'm not as bad in the heat as I thought. :-)
Age grade = 60.4%