Last weekend was the Allstate 13.1 in Atlanta. I put this race on my radar late in the Summer and I didn't know what I would be able to do since I took all of July off from running. I really needed to take a break to rest my body and even my mind after completing my first 50 mile race. Also running during the Summer here in Atlanta is brutal, so I wanted to get out of the humidity and heat. When I picked running back up in late July, I took it super easy. I didn't want to rush into things. It took me a few weeks to get back into shape, after having rusted legs from my break. After that initial period, things really started to click for me. Last Summer I did the same thing by taking a whole month off and came back strong. So this time it wasn't a real surprise. Part of me wanted to just take this Fall easy and not have a goal race in mind. But after some solid running, my race calendar for the end of 2013 quickly filled up. The Allstate half marathon was my first big race since my break and I wanted to very well. My goal for the race was 1:30. I'm not sure why I even chose that number to be honest. My speed workouts leading up to the race for going very well and my confidence for achieving my goal was high. I knew the course was very hilly though. I did the course run that the Phidippides training group did a few weeks prior to the race. That helped out a lot because I remembered as much as I could, where the hills were. That and I was banking on cool temps race day, so I was ready. The morning of the race was humid. I didn't dwell on that though. I was confident in my training. My strategy for the race was to do the first 3-4 miles below my race pace, to get a good warm up and then to settle in. The gun went off and people made their charge. Pacing, especially during the initial excitement is something I have been working on. I let everyone take off, while I kept my focus. I took an easy pace and focused on relaxing. About a half a mile into the race the 1:35 pace group caught up with me. I didn't freak out, but I didn't want to fall even more behind my goal. I stayed with them going passed the first mile marker. A little slower than what I was shooting for, but I was okay with that. I needed to make up a little time though. I spaced myself more and more from that pace group. Miles 2, 3 and 4 clicked by. I had settled in perfectly to what I wanted for the first part of the race. I took my first GU (Chocolate Outrage!). At this point I started to pick up my pace. I was feeling very solid and even better, comfortable. Each mile marker I was hitting my pace right on time. I was dominating the hills by pumping my arms and passing people one by one. Things were great but coming up to mile 10, I believe, was brutal. I remembered from the course run, the long massive hill going up passed Marist High School. I also remembered this was one of the last and definitely the biggest. So with that, I charged it and gave it my all. I was spent by the time I got to the top! The course flattened out for a bit just after that but at that point I didn't think I was going to have a strong finish. Just at that point there was a large cheering section. A lady yelled "only a 5K left! You're doing awesome!" That lifted my spirits and I was back in attack mode. I was hurting. My breathing was heavy and my legs had a few twinges that scared me thinking they might end up being full on cramps. I pushed on and focused on relaxing. I also focused on the fact I was still on pace, my hydration and nutrition hadn't caused any troubles in my stomach and that I was doing what I love to do. Always focus on the positives, never the negatives. It makes the task at hand so much more easier. At mile 12, I had a little friendly competition with me. He was the first person since the beginning to pass me. But I didn't let him. I matched him. We never said a word to each other but we both knew neither of us was going to let up. We pushed the pace. About a half a mile to go, I made my kick. I felt I had some left in the tank. He kept up with me. A quarter of a mile to go, I started to give it my all. I didn't want to regret leaving some left to look back on, wishing or thinking I could have done better. I made the final turn and could see the clock. I was going to get my goal and some. There's something uplifting about a race finish line. Maybe because it's a visible finish to what you've been working on. Or it's just the fact that you can finally rest at that specific point. Whatever it is, I was beyond happy when I crossed it at 1:29:30. -Joey