Arrived early, parked about 8 blocks away. The walk was a nice low-impact warm-up. Wandered around to get a lay of the land. Found the bag drop then started stretching.

Light stretching, downed a Gatorade G1 pack 15 minutes before start. Wanted to use the restroom but the lines were too long to wait.

A week prior I was concerned I was even going to run the race. I had runner's knee flare up and I wasn't about to miss out since this was my first 1/2. I used KT tape and I'll swear by that product - I couldn't have finished without it! I still had my knee act up around Mile 6, but by Mile 9 I was 'comfortable' with the pain and actually had a better second half than the first half. I had enough left in the tank for a really strong final 400 yards.

Next year (assuming I have no knee pain) I'll still go out at the same relaxed pace, but I'll pick it up sooner.

Got a massage since I had tightness in my calves, something I had never experience before. Great masseuse.

For my first half-marathon, I couldn't have asked for much more. The only downside with it being downtown is very little space to spread out and move around, stretch, etc. But good post-race spread, nice scenery and encouragement along the way. Looking forward to trying the full next year.