City of Peoria HM - RunHalf Marathon

I went into this race just wanting to stay under 2 hrs, but thought maybe a 1:50 was possible. I didnt cross the start line until about 15 seconds after the start(not sure if that time was in overall time or not). This was just meant to be a fun run before tri season gets going full steam. I really felt good except for some lower leg tightness in the first 3 miles. Loosened up and let it go. I have to add that I never listen to music while running, and decided to try today. After 3 miles I had to shut it off for a couple miles because it was screwing up my rythym. Also my pandora station wasnt working well on my phone so I literally listened to "Raise Your Glass" by Pink over and over. I know I restarted it at least 15 times. I only listened to 3 different songs through the entire race and the other 2 only got played a couple times. Honestly, I am still not sick of that song. For some reason the beat just never gets old. Anywho, back to racing! I was shooting to keep HR around 155 for first 5 miles and 160 for the next 5 miles. I had a solid 8:45 pace going until the runaround which I think was about mile 8.5, and had urgent restroom needs. Luckily they had 2 portajohns and 2 mins later, I was back under way. Avg pace by my trusty Polar said 9:05/mile. I knew I was within my 2 hr goal but figured I had better pick it up a bit if I was going to be much under that. My HR seemed a bit high for the pace I was running but I had been tired all week and I am sure I was dehydrated from playing in the snow the previous day. Was kind of surprised at how good I felt by mile 10 and HR at 165ish. I had a little tightness in my left hamstring, but felt really good other than that. At the 10 mile mark, I started pushing a bit more. Other than my potty break, I didnt get passed by anyone in this race. I was picking off slower runners who had started in front of me the entire race. As I hit mile 12 my hamstring was starting to hurt but I saw 5 people in front of me that I thought I could catch. Ran the last mile at a 6:48 pace and passed all but one. She finished 7 seconds ahead of me. I held back too much at the beginning of the race but still negative split including my potty break. A HM PR for me, but I know I can run a bit faster than I did. This race was just for fun and looking forward to Leadman in April! Always great to cross the finish line and wait for Erin to finish. Watched her PR as well and was happy to see she didnt have knee issues!

Hydrate better. Didn't do any kind of taper for this race, but it was just for fun, so I can't complain.

Stood around with Pat, Aubrey, and Cameron who came out to watch the finish. Waited for Erin to finish and cheered on some people running in. Drank some water, ate a banana and a few oranges. Stretched out my left hamstring and within 20 mins felt like I could go run it again!


I was a bit dehydrated and didnt taper at all for this race. Had run the mountain several times earlier in the work and did 2 good bike workouts as well. I definitely feel like I could run a 1:45 if that was my end goal, but this was just a feeler race for fun to get ready for Leadman and a chance to run with Erin.


Very good 1st year event, but I wish they would have had some sort of drink with electrolytes available on course. Only water was kind of a bummer, but very good event.