Rockford Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I ran this race because I really wanted to have a half marathon time under 1 hr 30 minutes and I really did not think it would be a problem. Last year I ran like a 1 hr 33 and 1 hr 31 half marathons and about two weeks ago I did a 13 mile training run in z2 and ended up running about the same time as this race time.
After the training run two weeks ago I really felt like I could have held that pace for a lot longer than 13 miles or gone a lot faster.I know right now I am a WAY better runner than I was last year so I really did not think it would be a problem to reach my goal, but I failed to do so. Need to keep the race in perpsective, though. My main goal is IMWI so I can't let this piss me off too hard, just need to use it as motivation to train harder/smarter.

Learn to pace myself at the beginning of races. Be mentally tougher.

Said some swear words under by breath and drank some water.


Since the end of the race I have been thinking a lot about this so I can learn from my mistakes. Here are some of the reasons I think I may not have preformed well:

1. Pacing. I ran the first 6 miles in 40:07 which was 6:41 per mile. Since my goal was like 6:52 per mile, I think I should not have came out so hard. This is not the first time I have done this and need to work on it. Especially for Ironman.

2. The heat. By the end of the race it was into the 80's without a cloud in the sky. I feel if I was used to the heat, it would not have affected me so much but I have not trained in the heat this year and feel it definatly affected me. Along with that, usually if I do a training run at like 7:20 a mile or so my HR is around 150. The day before the race the temps were in the upper 80's as well, and I did a 2 mile run at this pace and my HR was much higher. If this is a legit reason, hopefully my body will adjust as I am able to train in the heat.

3. Workload. I biked like 70 miles and ran 20 within 7 days of the race, however when I did a training run two weeks ago at about the same pace as this race, my workload was pretty high and I felt much better after the run than i did after the race.

4. Toughness. Just need to get tougher and push through.

5. Course was a bit long- It definatly was but not enough to justify missing my goal by 3 minutes.

I do feel I can also take some positives out of the race.

1. I did not walk at all, regrouped a bit towards the end and still finished with a relativly okay time.
2. My recovery was awesome. In the past after halfs, I am spent for the day and it usually takes a few days for my knees and legs to feel better My legs and kneesfelt great right after the run and I ended up going for a little swim afterwards.


Good race but not too many spectators. The fact that the course is a bit long is kind of stupid too. I think they do it because the marathon starts at the same time and they can only have one finish line and they pry base it on the marathon distance so the half is a bit off. Just kind of sucks, though....