Pittsburgh Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

Started out slowly due to congestion. Stayed with pace group for first several miles. Started to pick up the pace on the Northside and pulled away. Tried to keep the pace around 8:24 / mile (1:50 pace). Right IT band and hip capsule pain started around mile 3.5, but neither really ever got unbearable.
Focused on keeping cadence high and body upright (not bending over at the waist) and running tight corners.
Ran with my 20 oz hand-held water bottle which worked out great. Refilled it from water stations two or three times. Water stops were too infrequent for the warm day. Was so glad I had the bottle to bridge those long gaps. Took one Honey Stinger 10 minutes before the gun and at mile 6.
Pace started to fade at mile 10, but picked it back up.
The uphill onto Forbes Ave after crossing the Birmingham Bridge was the most difficult.
Lost mental focus during mile 13. After cresting the top of the Blvd of the Allies, the finish line looked very close, so I picked up the pace. Then the road dipped down, and the finish dropped out of view. This was demoralizing. Lost track of my pace and cadence. When the road rose up and the finish was in view again, it seemed even farther away. Just plugged away at the end, but could have probably finished a little stronger.
Overall, a very satisfying race.

Maybe move up to Corral B to alleviate some of the congestion?
Be smarter and mentally tougher. Maybe drive the course to eliminate surprises. Focus on the Garmin distance, not the visually-perceived distance.

Walked into Point State Park. Had more water, a banana, and pineapple. Stretched as best as I could in the grass. Had masseuse work on my IT band. He said, "oh yeah, I can feel it's tight."


First time racing at this distance, so I did not have a benchmark. It was hard to know what was too fast and when I could push harder. Most training runs were at 50 degrees F or cooler. Running in the heat was a different experience.

Also, during training, I tended to max out my HR at 173. But I spent match of this race in that area. Still need to do a test to check my max HR. I'm sure it increased during the training. I was a little cautious a couple of times when I saw higher numbers. I think the fitness was there, however, to redline it for longer periods of time.

Since I did not know what race pace was, I did not do a lot of training at faster race pace.


Really well organized race. The expo was top notch. Signage was clear. Things happened on time. Technology was great: i.e. real time Facebook and text updates of race splits. Plenty of food and drinks afterward. Lots of volunteers. The main neighborhoods (South Side, North Side, West End) had great turnouts. Bands were great and motivating.