Race Report of the Just a Short Run Half Marathon, Allison Park, Pa. (3/29)

Winter in Pittsburgh isn't exactly what I'd call mild.  I was getting worried over the past month or so because available outside running days were few and far between and I was staring down the Boston Marathon on April 21st.  I was doing most of the work on the treadmill at the Y, but after a few months of doing that already, I was increasingly throwing caution to the wind and running outside anyway, no matter what the temperature.  

The week leading up to Just a Short Run (JASR) had been pretty mild and I was holding out hope that race morning would continue the trend.  Kayla (the GF) and I rolled out of the house while it was still dark out to walk to the car and start the drive.  The cold shot through my jeans, shoes, gloves and thick fleece instantly; it was going to be an interesting morning.  My race outfit consisted of a short sleeve, summer weight under armour top, running shorts, a hat, glasses and a thin pair of running gloves.  Note to self:  Bring tights next time.

I wasn't able to pick up my registration packet the day before, so I had to arrive early to do it morning-of.  We got there a little over an hour before the start of the race, picked up my packet and found out that there was no indoor space in which to stand!  I was way too early for the sun to peek over the high trees of the park, so I was left freezing for an hour in sunless, windy March weather.  At least it wasn't raining?  

Graciously, the start came.  I lined up a few rows back from the front.  Just as the sun climbed high enough to get over the trees, the gun went off.  I started at a pace that felt pretty good.  Fast, but something that I might be able to hold for 13 miles.  The start of the race was a little misleading, as there was a 5k starting at the same time as the half marathon.  We were all running the same opening 5k, but the half runners took a turn at the finish area and did two five-mile loops around the park.  But for the beginning I was basically chasing 5k runners.

At the first mile marker, I looked down at my watch (I still live in the stone age and do not have a GPS to tell me what pace I'm running) and it read 6:00!  I was a little surprised at this because I had run a 5k the previous fall at 18:24 (5:55 miles).  I couldn't believe I was running six-minute miles to open a half marathon and felt great.  I had run the Baltimore half marathon the previous fall (my first half) in 1:27 (6:39 miles) so I knew that, even if I slowed down quite a bit I was on for a pretty good time.  

I passed the finish area at the 5k mark and the clock read 18:55.  I was still pretty proud of the time I was headed for.  About this same time, my hands finally began to thaw out.  The first five -mile loop went pretty well and I was still feeling good.  But at the beginning of the second, I started to fade a little.  There really wasn't much on the course as far as drinks go.  I think I only hit up one station that actually had gatorade so that was all I was working off of as far as calories were concerned.

With about a mile left, I still hadn't checked my watch because I didn't want to know if I was doing better or worse than Baltimore.  I didn't want to find out if I wasn't improving at this.  I looked to my right and could see the finish area across the lake so I finally looked at my watch.  It read 1:18 and change.  I was excited at this time so I really turned it on, thinking I could pull off maybe a 1:22 or 1:23.  However, the bend around the lake was so gradual and took much longer than I thought it would.  Nonetheless I came across the line in 1:25:25 (6:31 miles), just over two minutes faster than Baltimore (and this race was .15 miles longer than 13.1, if you want to get picky...and I do).

After laying down on the pavement and complaining about my legs to Kayla for a few minutes, I decided that this was a pretty good precursor for Boston in three weeks.  I went home and had a great nap.