I took the months of January and February completely off from running. Ramped up my mileage in March but had nowhere near the running fitness to run a marathon on this day so switched to the half at the last minute.

I maintained my fitness just fine over the winter and really felt good from a cardio perspective the whole time. However, my legs felt like I was right at the edge of what I could do. I felt like taking the pace up a notch might result in badness so I kept it pretty even from miles 5-13.1.

Started very, very easy. At about mile 2 I caught up to the 3:05 pace group and fell in with them. Ran about 3/4 of a mile with this group but the pace was too relaxed. Accelerated a little bit and left that group behind. About mile 5 I realized that I was still taking it too easy. Took the pace up another notch and then cruised home.

This hurt a bit. I was 1:20 off my time from last year with a severe lack of running over the winter so I am happy. Not my best race but it was an honest effort and showed me where I am fitness-wise for future races and training.

Not take two months off from running--I was planning on working my way up to 80 miles per week over the winter but a mysterious knee pain sidelined me.

Freezing. I was soaking wet and it was about 22 degrees at the finish. Saw a few friends. Caught up with some folks and then headed home before I froze to death. Took about a 30 minute shower to get warm.


Good, local, hometown race. This is not a PR course but it is pretty and nice and fun.