Denver Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

My plan was to start on the conservative side and build as the race went on - hoping to be below 2:05, best case scenario under 2:00. Thought I'd hang near the 4:15 marathon pacer for most of the race, then move forward and *maybe* catch up to the 4:00 pacer before the half split off from the marathon at mile 12.

Mile splits from watch:

1: 10:09
2-3 (missed seeing the mile 2 marker): 18:49
4: 9:19
5: 9:36
6: 9:22
7: 9:33
8: 9:33
9: 9:35
10: 9:53
11: 9:23
12: 9:09
13: 8:27 (!!!)

1: :51

Fairly consistent considering I don't have a Garmin!

First mile was a bit slow (but comfortable) due to the crowd. Started right in line with the 4:15 marathon pacer, but fell back in the first couple miles. Pushed a bit harder by mile 4 to try to regain some ground. Somewhere between miles 5 and 6, I passed him. At first I was a little concerned that maybe I took off a little soon, but things were going fairly well at that pace so I went with it. Around mile 6, my legs and feet started to hurt (not pain, just that feeling of pushing hard). Thought that didn't bode well for later in the race, but was also to be expected to some degree since my long training runs were all 30-40 seconds/mile slower than what I was running. Cardiovascularly I felt great, though, so I tried to maintain that pace. Between miles 8-9 I was ready for the race to be over - still moving forward at a good clip but beginning to wonder if I could hold it. Hit a long gradual hill upon entering Cheesman Park just before mile 10 - ughhh!

But hitting mile 10 was also a relief - knowing I "only" had a 5K left was comforting. Ate half a package of Luna Moons. Just before I left Cheesman Park I saw people holding signs that said "You have to want it." I thought, "I DO want it!" And, hurting legs and feet notwithstanding, that seemed to be just the boost I needed at that moment. Between there and mile 11.5 or so, the course was a gradual downhill, so I felt like I was flying (also helped boost things mentally!). Just before mile 12, the half marathoners were forced to one side of the street and the marathoners to the other. Naturally, the half marathon side was rather crowded and I got stuck behind some slower people. Once we made the turn it was much easier to pick up the pace again. For some reason, the last full mile seemed like the longest in the entire race (yet it was also my fastest, by far!). Seemed like that stretch before the final 2 turns went on forever. Finally, made the last turn and turned up the afterburners as much as I could for the last .1 mile. Finish line was rather crowded as I approached it, so I couldn't kick it in quite as much as I would've liked (and who knows what kind of finish picture I may have ended up with!).

In addition to the Luna Moons, I also alternated water and Gatorade at the water stops. Perfect hydration.

In this case, nothing. Maybe if I had hung back more earlier in the race, my legs would've felt fresher longer and I could've turned up the pace more, earlier, but in the end it still worked out just as I had hoped - and it's good to know that I can still keep up that kind of pace (with a comfortable breathing rate and RPE) AND negative split even when I've pushed my legs past their comfort zone.

Walked a bit, then stretched some. Got changed into dry clothes (YAY!), walked around the expo, then walked a few blocks to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks. Walked back to the park/finish area and waited to see Travis finish.


My training and race this time went very well - no complaints. But now I know what to do to run my next half even faster - more intervals, speedwork, and longer midweek runs (in the 5-8 mile range).


Very good race overall, though not QUITE as flat as advertised. Many of the roads were rather cambered, and I was often not able to run right in the middle where it wasn't as sloped - I think that contributed to my leg and foot soreness earlier in the race than I expected.