I arrived early to meet some friends with the Round Rock Fit Marathon training group. Unfortunately, we never saw each other. So, I made my way to the starting line via the porta-cans. I stood with the Marathon 4:30 pace group, expecting to run about that pace for the Half. My goal was to have a nice, casual training run. I was not going to push this run at this point in the season. Plus, I have only had 2 runs of 10 miles since November. I was not trained-up to race a Half Marathon. The weather could not have been better, 40 degrees and clear. No wind, sunny and cold. The first 2 miles are all up a slope and tough but it was nice to be in control when the gun went off. This is a course were you can't get out too fast with the uphill start. I spent most of the run talking to people that I knew and some I didn't. The miles just kept ticking by and I felt great, even with all the hills. At the 10 mile mark, the Half and Full Marathon courses split. At that point, the run started to get hard for me. There were 2 significant hills and the fact that we had already run 10 miles. Once I turned towards the Capital and started downhill to the finish line, I was able to open my stride and cruise down Congress Ave in style. I finished strong and comfortable and 10 minutes faster than I told my family, so I finished alone.

More Hill and volume training

Walked around looking for the family.


Size and genetics


I love the new course! It's hard and hilly and will be a beast if the weather gets bad. However, there is a sense of acomplishment after running this course that was missing with the old downhill course. If you want an easy race, do a 5k. Marathons and Half Marathons are supposed to be hard.