Race: The IMS Arizona Half MarathonOfficial Time: 1:37:56
Actual Time: 1:37:59
Comments: The original plan was to make this race my BQ effort but the problems with the calf pushed things back a bit. So I opted to switch to doing the half in this one. This turned out to be a fortuitous decision due to the weather.
Turns out a front is passing through the region. Heading out to the West Valley yesterday for the race expo I got treated to a pretty violent wind storm and intermittent rain. It rained on and off all night and the temperatures got on the chilly side. Not cold, just damn uncomfortable for standing around in the dark waiting for a race to start.
I went with Rob and Lacen to the start of the marathon to see Kyle off. Rob and I then headed back to the half-marathon start where we found the rest of the Rx Running crew. I hit the head and chatted a bit then found my way to the line. The clouds to the west didn't look too promising.
As the gun went off I realized I didn't have my Garmin set to record mile splits. So I stepped out of the group, set it and got started again. The result was I was back in pack heading out. It was more crowded than I expected (a total of 605 runners to be precise) especially since everyone was running around the puddles of water in the parking lot. I just blasted right through them. It was pretty obvious we would all be wet by the time this one was over.
Now my initial intent was to make this a goal pace run and try to get as close to the 7:37 as possible. But last week the info about Boston changing their times came out and it looks like I need to really consider going for that 3:15 marathon again. So I decided to try and hit the 7:27 pace that would require.
The first mile went by pretty well and I nailed the 7:27. But I felt pretty good so I decided to increase my pace a little but not to the point where I felt I was pushing it at all. And even when the rain started coming down at mile four it didn't slow me down too much.
The precipitation eased up after 10 minutes or so but I was completely soaked. Now I knew my shirt sticking to me made it possible I would get raw nipples but they didn't hurt and I was way too focused on the pacing. I had passed a slew of people the first few miles but now I had about five in front of me I would spend the rest of the race reeling in.
My legs felt really good but I started having trouble keeping the pace down at about mile seven. Looking at the elevation readout later I saw that was because the whole second half of the race was a gradual incline. But a guy at the next water station saw my hat and yelled "Roll Tide." I yelled "Roll Tide" back and rode the adrenaline to my second-fastest mile on the course.
Turning the corner at mile eleven the rain started coming down again. This time with a very noticeable breeze. And then it became clear my nipples were raw. The front of my shirt was spotted with blood. So I took it off and the guy behind me yelled "don't lose the pants!" Which would have been funnier if I wasn't busy suffering the last few miles of the race.
As expected, there was the bitch of a bridge over the 101 to cross in order to get to the end. I shortened my stride and tried to increase my turnover but I was pretty tired by that point. I rode the downhill and just focused on finishing strong. A kid wearing a Camelbac that I passed at mile ten passed me right close to the finish line. I let him go. It made his day even though it turned out I beat him by ten seconds.
I stood around with everyone as they finished waiting for Kyle to finish his marathon. I was fine at first but when the rain and wind started again I started losing body heat and began shivering pretty bad. Dean went and got my sweatshirt but it didn't help. I eventually had to go sit in his car under a blanket to warm up. I stopped shivering but I sure as hell wasn't warm. Finally the guys got done and Dean drove Rob and I back to our cars.
Overall this race went well. I was a full minute faster than the last half marathon I did and my 7:24 average pace was in the ballpark of what I was shooting for. My finish was 30th overall and third for my age group. But most importantly, there's now some data to make the decision of what race I'll run next.