I did Seabrook Half Marathon #1 this morning in 2:20:52, for an average of 10:45 per mile. Garmin read 10:35 per mile for 13.3 miles, but it was a certified course, so I’m gonna trust that it was 13.1.
That time looks a little fast, and honestly it probably is. But I felt so good that I just couldn’t slow down! I walked through each of the 9 water stations, and my average heart rate was 179 (just on the low side for me). The first 10 miles were a breeze, and the last 3 were tougher. I haven’t run farther than 8 in a while, and my legs vaguely remembered that by tightening up. My lower back hurt just a bit — something I’ve never experienced before — but not too bad. But the aches and pains were pretty minor. Overall my biggest problem, really, was just that I got really hungry! My stomach started growling at the beginning of the second loop, and by mile 10 I was ready to be done just so I could eat something — anything!
My splits were pretty uneven, reflecting the fact that I’d speed up, then force myself to slow down. They’re based on the Garmin’s 13.3 miles (tomorrow I’ll turn off the auto-lap), so the last split represents 0.3 miles, at least according to GPS: 10:21, 11:02, 10:48, 10:22, 10:36, 10:52, 10:28, 10:36, 10:09 (!), 10:56, 10:48, 10:40, 10:19, and 3:02. Take ’em with a grain of salt, since the race was actually 13.1.
Despite all the rain we had this week, the trails were surprisingly dry! Just a few wet spots, but nothing anywhere close to the shoe-soaking run I did there a month ago, when my feet were starting to prune after 4 miles.
It was nice to finally meet Christy in person, meet her friend Karen (?), and see them, as well as JD and Jaclyn, on the course. The fact that you can greet your friends a few times makes up for the fact that the course is an out-and-back. I didn’t stick around long enough to socialized after the race, but plan to stay a little longer tomorrow. I also saw Keith taking photos. And then at the beginning of the second loop, Joe was in fine form (along with the rest of the BARC bunch) in his neon green afro wig.
All in all a great race — and great race weather!
The plan for tomorrow is simple: FINISH. I’m planning to run tomorrow’s half in a 5/1 run/walk pattern. It’ll be interesting to see how sore I am when I start out.