This race fit right into my training plan for the Disney Marathon in January, so I was looking forward to seeing what I could do. I have been sticking with my training leading into this race and feeling good about where I was from an endurance standpoint. Normally within the first 1/4-1/2 mile I can tell what kind of a day it will be. Right from the start, I felt really good. The only issue was that my feet were sore in the first mile. I was not sure why but figured it was because of the cold. Right past mile 1, I warmed up and the soreness in my feet went away. At about 1.5 miles in there were some bathrooms on the other side of the course. I had to go at this point and since there was no line, I decided to go ahead and stop. Good thing because when we came by them around mile 3, lines were already formed. My plan for nutrition was to take 3 Powerbar Gels at miles 4, 8 and 11. The plan was to take water at the first 2-3 stations and then switch to Gatorade for the remaining stations. This plan worked well as I felt strong throughout the entire distance. This was the first half marathon that I ran for the entire distance with no walk breaks. I got into a rhythm and stayed there all day. As the miles ticked off, I constantly checked my Garmin to keep tabs on my HR and pace. I wanted to keep it as low as possible and felt I did a fairly decent job of it. I also kept doing the math on what my projected finishing time would be. I had a goal in mind to set a new PR. My previous best was 2:17:08 and I was hoping to go at least a 2:15. I knew as I hit halfway that a 2:15 was in reach and possibly a sub-2:10 if I kept my pace. As I was approaching the finish line I could see the clock was under 2:10 and I crossed the line with a 2:08:26. New PR!

Continue to work on keeping my HR low.

Walking and stretching.


This is a great event! Well run with plenty of volunteers and awesome crowd support. You can't beat the surfboard finisher medal.