ING Half Marathon Race Report

Another successful 13.1 miles in the books. Another PR in the books. What can I say? I am loving this season. I just need to keep it together for the next 8 months!!!

So I woke up Sunday morning at 4:45. I could tell there had been a substantial temperature drop...I could also hear rain. My first thought was to just stay in bed and sleep-in. It sounded like a solid plan. But, alas I ventured out of bed and began the fuzzy march to the kitchen in search of a banana and a sports drink

I arrived downtown around 6:15. I debated whether I wanted to stay in my warm car until the race began or if I needed to get moving. The full bladder dictated that decision. I made my way into the CNN center where I found masses of other miserable athletes hundle together. I carved out a space on the floor for some stretching and took in my pre-race routine. Twenty minutes later, I shed the layers and braved the blissful outdoors. Wow it was cold. Some people were wearing garbage bags to shield themselves from the wind. People are weird.

I realized that the bag drop and my corral were on opposite ends of the starting line AND that I had to navigate between 15,000 people crammed into a small area. I finally made it down there and got that situated only to have enough time to jog back to my corral. I entered the corral and instantly found a few friends. We quietly huddled together demonstrating our I have to pee or I am trying to stay warm dance.

Finally, the gun went off and we were loose. The course began in downtown Centennial Olympic Park and made its way down to Georgia State before going up Piedmont. The first few miles went by quick. My first mile was sub-8....a bit too fast. I backed off for a moment during mile 2. I was ok running at an 8' pace, I just wanted my body to settle into a particular pace.

The route went down through the old Fourth Ward and the historic Auburn Ave before winding its way to Little 5 Points. I was alternating between water and gatorade at each of the well staffed aid stations. By the end of mile 4, I knew I was slightly ahead of schedule and that my race strategy called for me to pick it up over the next 2 miles.

Luckily, I knew this area really well and was able to drop about 20s off my pace during mile 5. I slightly misjudged mile6 but maintained an accelerated pace. I took a gel at the half way point and knew that I was about 3 minutes ahead of schedule. There was a sense of jubilation and fear. My concern was the final two miles. Was I pushing it too much?

After you left L5P, you made your way to the Carter Center, Freedom Parkway and the Highlands. When I hit the highlands, I picked up the pace again. Runners are funny about this. No one wants to get passed so when someone picks it up....you try to go with them....ego prevails. That was the case here. Most of them were recovering from the hill and were too gassed at that point to move quickly. I had a little cheering section as my friend Kristi came out to watch the race.

I definitely picked up the pace during miles 8 & 9. Again, I slightly misjudged mile 10 as we entered Piedmont Park. Nonetheless, I had another cheering section(Lindsay, Brady and her father) waiting on the corner of 10th and Juniper. This was the first moment in the race where pain and fatigue were setting in. I knew that I was WELL ahead of schedule but still wanted a conservative approach to the final 3.1 miles.

The hill at 5th Street took some steam out of me. I decided to power up it and recover on the flat. As we approached Georgia Tech's campus, people were dropping like flies. I chuckled for a moment that they have no clue what is coming their way. At mile 11, I caught my second wind...and felt great.

Without intentions, I dropped the gauntlet and began running. The hill coming out of GT was brutal but I had my legs again. I vowed to not get passed over the final 2 miles. I powered up the hill bypassing the final aid station as other were dying for nutrition. I hit the mile 12 mark where I passed a friend Kraig. He had blown up and fell apart in the final 2 miles. That was my fear all along.

I kicked it into high gear for what was the longest mile of all time (1.3 miles). Marietta Street seemed to stretch on forever. I took on the incline at an increased pace and prepare to hit 13.1 with sheer excitement. Imagine my disgust when my watch measured 13.1 miles and I still couldn't see the finish line. The course measured long. Fuckers!

Finally, at what measured 13.27 miles, I found the finish line. My official time 1.42.32. That is nearly 10 minutes faster than Mercedes. And in all actuality, my 13.1 time was 1.41.43 or 7.47 pace. Incredible.

I grabbed the nearest water and chugged it while catching up with Chris and awaiting Kraig's arrival. The weather was miserable and the chills set in quickly. I retrieved my clothes and stretched out on the street. I ran into a few other friends before deciding it was too cold to stick around. Sorry peeps...I'm out.

Overall it was a great race. Several people had a horrible experience last year in this race and ING made a number of improvements...most notably more aid stations that were fully staffed. Also, crowd support was great given the conditions.

My only two gripes were that the course measured long. .17 of a mile might not seem long but that is about a minutes time and just short of a quarter mile. I have already found 3 other people who measured the course exactly the same. The second gripe was the finish line. You had to twist and turn through the park, navigating 90 degree turns. I found this annoying at the end of the race.

I couldn't be more than thrilled with my performance. I better than executed my race strategy. I still think I raced it somewhat conservatively and that I could break 1.40 if given the opportunity again. I also raced it smart. People spend a lot of time taking steps that they don't have to....they go wide into a turn....run to the other side of the road for the aid station....run around people. Not me. I took what I felt was the shortest route possible. I stuck to the inside. If an aid station was on the other side...tough....I will get the next one. Racing is all about cutting the corners. I felt like I did this all throughout the race.

Overall chip time 1.42.31 (7.50 pace)
My Personal 13.1 time 1.41.43 (7.47 pace)
Overall 557/8569 Top 6.5%
Men 449/3784 Top 12%
Age Group 121/778 (Top 15%)

That is one of my strongest showings ever.

Lap (#)	Time (m:s)	Distance (mi )		HR (bpm)
				Avg	Max
1	7:55	1.00		149	158
2	8:08	1.00		154	160
3	7:54	1.00		155	160
4	8:07	1.00		158	165
5	7:40	1.00		158	162
6	7:39	1.00		158	163
7	7:52	1.00		157	165
8	7:31	1.00		158	164
9	7:28	1.00		155	160
10	7:49	1.00		158	163
11	7:25	1.00		160	165
12	7:39	1.00		160	164
13	7:22	1.00		164	167
14	1:58	0.28		166	170