Alpharetta Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I really liked this race. It started off downhill, so that was a nice warmup. My legs were kinda numb for the first 2 miles b/c it was pretty cold out. Got warmed up after that. I felt really good most of the course. I ran up all the hills(HUGE for me!) and enjoyed all the downhills that followed...isn't that how it's supposed to work? At the turnaround on Windward Parkway, I was happy to see lots f other people behind me since I often think I'm last for some reason. Mile 6 came and went and I never saw the marker, so I was pretty pumped when I saw that I was already at 7. Kept pushing along the same thing happened at mile 9. It was a good mental boost for me since I was farther along than I thought(I often don't look at the Garmin mileage..only pace on long runs). Around mile 11 or so I got really excited to see that I was at 1:45..I had 20 min to finish with a time that I'd be pumped about. Mile 11 was tough, my legs were feeling tired, but I focused on getting to mile 12. Passed it in great spirits and brought it home. My goal was pretty broad for today since it was mainly a training run. But I knew if I was feeling good, I'd move into more of a race mode. I hoped to beat my previous PR of 2:12, but wouldn't have been to upset with a bit slower. So needless to say, I'm happy with my race.

My HR was a few beats higher than I'd liked. I don't really train according to HR and I felt good the entire run, so I don't know if I'd change it, but maybe pay better attention next time. I'd also try to start a bit slower but it was hard with a long downhill start.

Sat at the finish a bit to stretch and eat a banana then walked a mile or two back to the car.


Tired leg after yesterdays 45 mile ride.


This was a good race, it's small but that's not a bad thing. I liked the course and it's a nice training run for ING.