Notes
Felt good. Fastest half since the summer after graduation, so that's fun. First five were with Maria, trying to catch the 1:50 pace group. We caught them at mile 4, but ended up going by on the downhill. I had a pee break at mile 6, so that's when I lost Maria.
Warm weather, but breezy enough that it wasn't too bad. I did dump four or five cups of water over my head, which helped. The course was pretty and went along the lake front at the end. It was a well put together race.
Overall, I think this is a good spot for me. I'd like to keep increasing my fitness this summer and get into good enough shape that I can run races like this without too much worry. I started this race concerned, but ended up feeling pretty good. I did take three walk breaks (30 sec, 30 sec, and 1 min) in the last four miles, but that was a bit more for switching up the muscle groups than anything. I like the short walk breaks and they feel like they do a lot of good. I'd lean more toward the 30 second ones for the most part, just to keep momentum, but the muscle switch is something I hadn't really considered too much.
The new shoes were really good. I like the mizunos, but they are too heavy for my stride. These are significantly lighter and softer, which is good when my weights come down a bit. I think I'm to a point where I can lean a bit lighter on shoes.