Felt great for the first half. Was keeping pace with 2 friends which made it fun, at just under 10 min/mile pace. It was cool and overcast out but I got pretty warm, so every chance I got I grabbed water from the hydration folks and poured it on myself.

Around mile 7 I started feeling myself slow down, told my friends to go on ahead as I was going to slow my pace down a bit. Around mile 8 I started feeling an annoyance in my left knee, like it needed to pop. It turned from annoying to slightly painful so I stopped to stretch it a few times, as well as take some walk breaks. This continued until the end of the race, and didn't hurt at all afterward. (My sports doc diagnosed it as a slight hamstring strain).

But still, I finished the race, and very close to my goal time (2:20) and since this was my first half, I can always try to improve on the time in my next one. I felt very accomplished and got the surfboard medal I'd been wanting.

Have more experience in the longer distances. Longest race prior to this one was 5 miles a couple of months ago.

Walked around with the rest of the herd past the finish chute and collected my bag of goodies. Stretched. Chatted with friends, got pictures.


Lack of experience in this distance. Slight hamstring strain.