Surf City Half Marathon -- My Nike+ GPS calculated all the weaving in and out of traffic I had to do along the way, subsequently tacking on an additional. .09 miles for the race. Relatively tiny, in comparison to some other races.
Mile 1 -- Warmup mode. Half a mile in I realized I was going at a 10:00/mi pace and needed to slow it down so as to not burn myself out by mile 5. Accomplished, finishing the mile in 10:43.
Mile 2 -- Feeling comfortable in my pace I didn't make any adjustments. Plenty of people passed me and I let them, opting to stay within myself and run my race. Maybe stayed a little too comfortable, finishing this mile in 11:01.
Mile 3 -- Just trying to stay comfortable and not overdo it at this point. I noticed my 5K pace was a bit slow, but opted to stay comfortable, knowing there was a bit of a hill coming up in mile 4. Finished this mile in 10:52.
Mile 4 -- I like to believe hills are kind of my thing. Or at least, that I don't let them slow me down. Proving myself right, I finished this mile in 10:52 to match the previous mile's pace.
Mile 5 -- What goes up must come down! By far my favorite mile of the course, offering a speedy downhill pace and a view of the ocean. I meant to take a photo to share, but I was too busy enjoying myself. Thanks to most of this mile being flat and downhill, this one got done in 10:22.
Mile 6 -- Back to a normal, flat grade I settled back in around my goal pace for the race and finished this mile in 10:48.
Mile 7 -- Feeling like it was time to pick it up a notch and taking advantage of the slight downhill, I let some adrenaline into my stride and finished this mile in 10:27.
Mile 8 -- Last mile with the ocean on my left, I kept pace for most of this mile, slowing down for the sharp turn-around and then almost running over a runner who stopped in front of me going into the turn. I know better than to take the sharp part of the turn—let this be a lesson to you for turn-arounds: take the wide turn; it's easier on your body and you'll go faster than those who are practically crawling around that sharp turn. This ended up being a 10:37-mile as a result of my faux pas.
Mile 9 -- Ocean on the right, let the slight uphill begin. I found a pair of runners to keep pace with and kept them in my sights until I passed them, then picked another runner to pick off as I finished this mile in 10:37.
Mile 10 -- This is the mile where it's time to remember you really don't need to save anything for the end of the race. I wasn't about to pick it up to my 5K pace, but it was time to finish strong if I wanted to meet my goal of finishing in under 2:20:00. This slightly uphill mile got done in 10:32.
Mile 11 -- My pair of "pace" runners ended up in front of me during this mile and I decided I needed to keep up with them, afraid I was falling behind. Still headed slightly uphill, I felt the effects of pushing myself a bit more and was rewarded with a 10:18 mile.
Mile 12 -- Last mile with my pair of "pace" runners in plain sight. They were moving at a clip a bit faster than I was prepared to keep up with, in wanting to still have enough steam to finish strong. I din't back off much, though finishing this mile in 10:23.
Mile 13 -- Final mile. This one is always a struggle for me to pace myself properly—turn it up a notch, but not too soon, lest I run out of steam for that last tenth of a mile. Got it done in 10:21.
Mile 13.1 -- I figure this is my last minute to run. If I run at a 10:00/mi pace, I run it in 1 minute. With the GPS vs. chip time discrepancy, though, it's difficult to gage just how fast this last stint truly ended up being. What I can say is that according to my GPS, the last .19 miles of the race was done in 1:44, which is an 8:48/mi pace. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Final GPS Time -- 13.19 - 2:19:36
Final Official Time -- 13.1 - 2:19:34
Final Thoughts -- This was a really great race for me. The fastest since my PR in May 2012 at the OC Half, where I finished in 2:11:58. The truth is I could have gone faster, but that wasn't the goal. The real test for me here was to come in right at my goal time, rather than trying to push myself faster for some arbitrary reason. When I push myself too far, I get hurt. When I push myself just enough, I feel accomplished. When I push myself not enough, I feel let down. This was that wonderful middle ground where I was able to push myself and maintain a presence that had me actually feel and enjoy every part of this race.
The real takeaway for me here is not the finish time (although I'm proud of myself for coming in under my goal), it's that I worked hard and felt good about myself the entire way. And that's how the finish line should feel.
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