Notes
Reston Runner's Inaugural Half Marathon of Reston.
I started in the back of the pack to keep from starting out too quickly. Almost immediately, my right shin muscle began to cramp. It didn't go away until around mile 3. At that point, the pain moved to my knees. I keep a steady/increasing pace for most of the race until miles 10 and 11, which were up up up hill. Then I got to go back downhill and tried to pick up the pace for the last two miles. Around mile 12, I felt a sharp pain in my groin and may have re-injured it. The last quarter mile was on a track and I picked up my pace a bit more. The adrenaline blocked out all the pain. About 100 meters from the finish, I decided I had had enough and just sprinted. It felt great!
According to McMillian, based on my 10 mile race time (or, projected since I only ran 9.6), I should have run the half at a 9:36 pace...WHICH I DID! :)
Reflecting on this race, I currently have no desire to race a half marathon, but I would like to get to the point where I can run the distance comfortably. I don't think I have it in me to run 2+ hours without crowd support. I think I will focus on training for 5-10k races, but make sure my long run gets up to 1.5 hours or so.