So this race last year was the last half mary I've done. I set a PR there with a 1:42. That was during my first year of tri/run training. I recently ran a 5k and managed a 20:30, so according to McMillian I should have been able to hit 1:34:xx, so I went into this with that as my goal. Then my brother (who is much faster than me), stared telling me that I was fully capable of going faster than that. It was kind of messing with my head, but I figured I would just start running and see how I felt.

Gun went off and we were off. First mile or so was crowded as usual, but it's a beautiful section of the course running straight at the Capitol building. Miles 1-4 were ticking off at about a 6:48 pace and I was feeling great. Then I started caching glimpses of the 3:30 pace group and I figured I'd try to bridge the gap and hang on. So over the next few miles I got within about 5 seconds of them, but hung back to keep some clean space around me. Around mile 7 I saw my kids who were with my brother and that gave me a good boost. That only lasted a bit though, and I started to struggle a little bit and dropped back from the group. Aerobically I felt fine, I just wasn't going as fast for the same effort anymore, lol. I figured I had enough time banked to not worry about it.
So the next 2 or 3 miles I just tried to focus and maintain proper form. Most of the latter miles I was pretty much all by myself, which made it a little mentally challenging. Finally hit the 12 mile marker and started making our way over the bridge and back down to the stadium. Kicked it into gear and sprinted up onto the warning track, crossing at 1:30:24.

Not much, I had a really great race and went much faster than I ever thought I'd be.

Gathered our stuff and met the rest of the family as I waited for my wife to finish. She had a great race and ran a 1:42 (a 6 minute PR and 22/700 in her AG).


I love this race! family all lives nearby and we used to live right along the course. Totally worth the 800 mile round trip drive from Long Beach.