Wisconsin Dells Honky Tonk Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

Just simply a perfect race. I think this goes to show that a well executed race can even overcome a very difficult course. I was not planning on running very fast, I have another half marathon next weekend then Ironman Arizona in 4 weeks so I was hoping to take it easy and use this as a catered training run. However I appear to have gone out and set a new half marathon PR by over 4 minutes! And finally broke the 2:00:00 barrier that I've been fighting for so long.

It was a chilly start, probably a little under 40F and I wore a zip up top over a long sleeve which I removed before the first mile marker. Probably should have just left that in the gear check bag, but having the top tied around my waist didn't seem to bother me. I had not been able to find an elevation profile of the race course prior to the start, but I knew that being in the Wisconsin Dells it was bound to be hilly. That came true right away, less than a quarter mile into the race was a big downhill, and immediately I started thinking, "Oh no, I'll have to go back up that later". That's the think about these out and back courses, you know what's coming which can be a good thing or bad. I was able to focus on the fact that even though I'd have some tough uphill climbs late in the race, there were plenty of downhills to balance out the pace.
I ate one Gu prior to race start, one about 55 minutes in and another about 1:20 into the race. Drank some type of sports drink that was offered on the course, about every other water station.
I'm quite happy with my splits, I started out slow to get properly warmed up then picked up the pace gradually throughout the race. For the first 6-8 miles I was able to keep score in my head of where I was at vs. a two hour pace (9:12/mile), so I knew I was 20 seconds down after the first mile, no gain/loss after the second, made up 10 seconds after the third etc. By the time I hit halfway I was at 59:xx, so I knew I was on pace to hit the two hour mark however it was not a given at this point with the hills I still had to climb at the end. So I continued putting time in the bank and keeping my pace in the high 8 minute range. By mile 9 and 10 I was able to start figuring my math on what pace I had to maintain to hit two hours, and at mile 10 I realized I could run 3, 10 minute miles and still be under 2 hours. Having that kind of cushion really helps relax and make the faster pace seem easy.

Not much I would do differently. I think I can run faster, 1:55 is my new goal, but not on that course. On a flat course I'm confident to push the pace a little harder next time.

Walking around the finish area, consuming lots of yellow sports drink. Nice to have that zip on with me because it was chilly out and my shirt was soaked. I hate the after-race chills and am trying to be better at having something warm in my gear-check bag to fight it.


Hills.


This was a good race and I'd do it again next year, if we're in the area. This was actually a family vacation and we stumbled upon this race last minute, didn't know it was even going on when we booked our trip.
There were "enough" drink stations, but a couple more, evenly spaced would have been nicer. With this many you need to take advantage of them when available and skipping one means going almost 4 miles without a drink. Having them spaced almost every mile is nice because I feel better about skipping one here and there if I don't want to slow down.
True to their name, they had some sweet Country/Bluegrass/Honky Tonk live music at the finish line. Good times!