Haunted Hustle - RunHalf Marathon

I went into this race with zero expectations and just wanted to finish the season with a good solid effort. My only expectation really was to run better then I did when I melted in May in the Madison Half-Marathon. Upon my late arrival I was seeded in the back half of the pack, so once again the first mile was about :30 off my mile pace, but this time I did not worry about a slow first mile and let it ruin the rest of my race, I just simply ran with the crowd and waited for things to open up. By the second mile the crowd was thin enough so I set into a solid rhythm and I found my pace.
The first 4 miles were through residential streets in Middleton and the only time that we would be exposed to elevation changes. I knew this going in and so I planned on running those miles just above 8:00/mile, but after the first mile I checked my watch and saw splits of 7:48, 7:51, and 7:52. This was a sign of good things to come, especially since my HR was in check and I was feeling great. I was curious to see how my body would hold up after 5 miles since I have only ran more then 5 miles once in the 6 weeks after Ironman, and I have been having small issues with my calves in those runs of 4 or 5 miles.
Mile 5 took us of the streets and onto a bike path for the majority of the rest of the race. At about 5 1/2 miles we hit a turnaround and this gave everyone a chance to check out everyone's halloween get up that was strongly encouraged. Forrest Gump took the cake on costumes, especially since he was in about 3rd or 4th place so even his speed matched up well. I continued on with my race reaching the midpoint just over 52 minutes, exactly where I wanted to be and now I realized my season goal of running 13.1 in under 1:45 was attainable My only concern was that this was now my longest run since IM I wasn't sure how well I will hold up with another 6 miles left.
I made the last turnaround at about 8ish miles and soon after had a small pain start in my ankles. It was nothing major, but just had me a bit worried. My plan was to negative split the second half of the run, and to really push hard the last 5K. Once I got to that 10 mile mark I lowered my head and upped my pace slightly. I hit the 11 mile split at 7:44 and as soon as I passed that point I hit a small downhill and my ankles started to really hurt significantly. With two miles left, no races left for the season I figured now was the chance to just grin and bear it and finish the season as best I could. Mile 13 was slow and I couldn't put in that last surge that I was looking for, but I was happy to see a time more then 2 minutes under 1:45 for the day. A 16 minute PR of my last standalone half-marathon and 2 minutes under my season goal.

Mile 1 - 8:17/164
Mile 2 - 7:48/169
Mile 3 - 7:51/167
Mile 4 - 7:52/165
Mile 5 - 8:03/165
Mile 6 - 7:49/167
MIle 7 - 7:55/165
Mile 8 - 7:54/165
MIle 9 - 7:57/166
Mile 10 - 7:46/164
MIle 11 - 7:44/165
Mile 12 - 8:03/165
MIle 13 - 7:45/166

I can only wonder how much faster I would have been with a more organized training plan and not spending time recovering after IM, then again that effort my have been my limit right now.

I literally finished the race, gave them my chip back, received my space blanket then walked to my car and drove home.


Nothing I love running long distance in colder weather so much more then the heat and humidity.


Fantastic race setup for a first time event. Aid stations every mile that we very well stocked. THe course was a great course and beside the usual first mile crowd was very well spaced out. Not too challenging at all so it is good for a fast race. This just might become a yearly end of season race from now on!