Heartbreak Ridge 13.1 Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

It has been a long time since I've raced a standalone half marathon and I didn't really know how to pace this race. I participated in this event twice before, in 2007 (1:42) and 2008 (1:33), so I knew what to expect from the course, but I had no idea what I was capable of running this time around.

I was just coming off of a 1:32 (with a porta-potty pit-stop) off the bike in Lake Stevens on a hot, hilly course, so I figured I would go sub-1:30. I checked the results from last year and the winner of my AG was 1:29, so I figured anything in the 1:28 range was a good goal. I also checked to see if anyone from the younger age group would be aging up this year and there was in fact someone registered who was aging up and ran a 1:28 last year. I set a goal of 1:26 and thought I'd just try to average about a 6:35 pace.

Before the race, I was chatting with one of those friends who went on to win his division (he finished 3rd overall last year) and asked how much the hills affect his times on this course. He said it was about 4 minutes slower for him, compared to a typical road half marathon and that I might expect to run about 5-6 minutes slower than what I might expect. Great. Well, it's not like I was going to abandon the race because it wasn't easy. It was the same for everyone afterall, right? With some of the ultra training I've been doing in hot, hilly terrain, I thought it might actually favor me to have some tough conditions.

I knew I would start out too fast and I found myself running with the lead pack for the first two miles. There were 6 of us and it was exhilarating to be running with the fast guys. It felt ok, but they dropped me pretty quickly once we started to climb up into the hills. My pace dropped off and they pretty much maintained their sub-6 pace the entire way. It was at about the same time that we started to catch the back of the male military pack. It was a bit frustrating to have to weave in and out of traffic when you're at the front of the race, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter at all.

The first major hill (between mile 2 and 3) was really tough and it took me a while to recover on the downhill. I was passed by the first person in my AG on the back side of the hill (despite being a run-only event, they mark your calves). After a while, I picked up the pace and kept the 6:20s rolling down through the canyon to the turnaround point. I was passed a few more times on the way out and even though they were not marked, I had a feeling they were in my AG.

Things got difficult on the way back. It's mostly uphill and I was struggling to maintain 7s. I ran with a bottle (Powerade Zero and Carbo-Pro), so I was able to stay on top of my hydration and nutrition. I never had to stop at an aid station, though they were plentiful. I was passed a few more times on the way back and I figured I had lost my top-10 position and any shot of an AG podium.

I finally made it to the top of the big hill (fortunately, the climb is much less severe on the back side) and had a few people in sight. I caught two more runners that we seriously struggling (in fact, one had completely stopped and was working something out with his legs). We were really catching people the entire run, since the male military was sent out before us, but I was only counting the people that had gotten past me since the start.

I ran the last mile pretty much alone. No way I was going to catch anyone else and I took a look back and there was no one in sight. I slowed down a bit but it wasn't easy. It was starting to get hot and the end just never seemed to come. I took some time to think of a family member that we lost on 9/11 - I had called on him several times during the second half of the race to help me get through some pretty rough patches. Finally made the turn to the finish chute and the crowd was going bonkers. I was only about the 20th person through so they still had some energy. I had none, but I gave it all I had. It felt very good to be done.

Start off slower and let the thoroughbreds go.

Walked back against the flow of incoming runners to my truck to get my stuff. Cheered on runners and walked back up to the finishing area. Hung out with friends until the results were posted. Turns out I was passed by 3 more guys in my AG that weren't marked. There was the one that passed me at mile 3 (he ran a 1:21) and then 3 more between 1:24 and 1:26. No podium for me today. But a new half marathon PR and a course best by more than 5 minutes so I can't complain.


I don't think I was necessarily rested for this race - running 30 miles the week before probably isn't on the taper plan for a half marathon, but I did take a couple of days (mostly) off and I felt ready to go at the start. I definitely went out too fast and I should have stuck with my gameplan of starting with a 6:15 instead of a 5:45. I got behind the eight ball early and I never really fully recovered.


The Camp Pendleton race series is very well organized. Although, this year something was wrong with the timing. They had to postpone the start of the race and everyone's times were about 30 seconds off. Not sure if it had something to do with the wave start (this is the first time they've done that), but the official times weren't accurate. Still, the finishing order was right and that's all that really matters.