Notes
What can I say, I PRd! Last half marathon record was 1:32:40 at the Philly Distance run in 2005. My actual chip time for this race turned out to be 1:30:59.47. So I'm now officially a 90 minute half-marathoner.
The race went really well but had its bumps along the way. In the first couple of miles, I had to hold back because it felt too easy to run faster. I knew I could blow it by speeding out of the gate but I let it fly a bit on the early downhills.
Somewhere around mile 9 I think my hip and left knee started bothering me. I could tell my stride was affected and it slowed me down a bit. I summoned all my mental energy to ignore the pain and discomfort so I could get back to some semblance of a normal stride. Things came back together within the same mile. Also around mile 8, a woman next to me seemed to be struggling and asked if I had an extra GU. I only had one left and had planned to use it at 60 minutes, but I gave it up. Maybe I got some good karma for that? :) Mile 12 was my slowest and I felt it too. The first 6/10th of the mile were uphill, and this was after a 50ft climb at mile 11.5. So, it's obvious the hills got me there. Maybe that GU would have given me enough of a burst of energy to help me squeeze that mile under 7:00? As I closed in on mile 13, I kept wondering where that big stretch of downhill was that I remembered from past races. Well, it was a much shorter downhill than I remembered. I must admit seeing the finish line down the road instead of having to turn to have it in view was a good course change (in my opinion).