I'm going back in time a bit to post a race report of what was my strongest race of the year.
This was a small low key half marathon held in Westminster, MD put on by the Westminster Road Runners Club (WRRC). There was a field of ~190 runners. Temperatures at the start were in the 50s, overcast skies, with a bit of rain at the start.
The course has not changed much over the years from what they say, it is a two loop, very hilly course through quiet farm country. Scenery is largely woods, open fields, and crops. The peacefulness was actually a welcome break from my usual urban Baltimore setting.
I went into the race attempting a PR. My previous half marathon, a 1:18:52 was done on a completely flat course. The odds were certainly stacked against me. As soon as the race started, the eventual winner put distance on us all. He would end up winning by a good 3-4 minutes. As we ran down the first road (all downhill), two packs developed. The first was made up of 4 people, the second of 4 other people. I was caught in the middle and decided to drop back to the second group. The first contained a runner that I knew was faster than me, so I went conservative.
Mile 1: 6:01.
To this point I still didn't really have a pacing plan. The first mile felt surprisingly easy, but I still wanted to remain conservative since I had no idea what to expect concerning hills later in the course. The first pack started pulling away, with one runner dropping back to our group. The 5 of us then stuck together for the next two miles.
Mile 2: 6:33
Mile 3: 6:20
One of the runners in our pack was a fellow Baltimore Road Runners Club member. He runs similar times to me, and seems to get impatient if early paces are slow. I knew he would break up the group, though I guessed it would be closer to mile 5. Instead, at about 3.5 he decided to plow ahead. I let this same person go in a 20 mile race weeks ago and regretted it; so this time I followed him.
Mile 4: 6:21
We started putting distance on the pack we left behind. The course continued to roll up and down. To this point, there had been very little flat running. Everything was either up or down. I took the lead on my temporary ally, and by Mile 5 had passed him.
Mile 5: 5:51
Around here the course went off to a very rocky dirt road. I noticed one of the runners in the faster lead pack had started falling off the pace. The remaining two were still quite far ahead, but sensing weakness, I decided to try and catch the fading runner. I was running 5th at that point, so anyone I could pick off would be great.
Mile 6: 6:04
Mile 7: 5:42
Despite a tough hill on Mile 7, I finally managed to catch and pass the 4th place runner. We exchanged "good jobs" and I went to reevaluate my situation. To this point, I was on a torrid pace that I wasn't sure if I could maintain. I still felt ok, but was a bit worried about blowing up. I looked ahead and saw the 2nd and 3rd place runners side by side. They had a large amount of distance on me.
It came to decision time. I could hold my current spot, back off a bit, and PR for sure. There would be no chance of blowing up, and I would still get a good time. The alternative was to drop the hammer and spend every ounce of energy I had in an effort to catch those two runners. I chose the latter.
Mile 8: 5:40
At this point, the course looped back to the start for the beginning of the second (and shorter) loop. I had about 1/2 mile of downhill to try and close the gap on the runners ahead. Just as I thought I'd have a shot at catching them, the pair broke apart, and one of the guys started putting distance on the other. I immediately thought 2nd place was gone, that the best I could hope for was 3rd. Regardless, I pushed on. Before Mile 9, I caught up to the 3rd place runner. He tried to match my pace, but not for long. I eventually dropped him and realized I still had a shot at 2nd.
Mile 9: 5:50
I actually thought to myself "it's a good thing the half marathon is a long race, because it is taking forever to catch this guy!" I had basically spent the last 4 miles chasing down this runner, a person I thought I never had a shot at beating. Unfortunately, I was really, really feeling it at this point. I had been running harder than I intended for most of the race, and had very little left in the tank.
Despite my failing legs, I refused to give in, I was just too close to catching runner #2. I stopped thinking about how much distance was left and just worried about catching that runner. Finally, by mile 10, mercifully I caught up. I decided to run alongside him for at least a few minutes to compose myself. I felt relieved that he sounded as awful as I felt. As we continued to run, I realized he was struggling to keep the pace I was dictating. Without thinking, I passed him and started throwing everything I had left into the race.
The only way I was coming out of this race in 2nd was with a good lead. The runner I just passed is one of the toughest you can find in this area, and I had no interest in a foot race at the finish.
Mile 10: 5:54
Along the next mile was a nearly 90 degree turn up a very sharp hill. It was rather short, but really killed momentum. It at least gave me a chance to cheat a bit and look behind. I found my foe a good 15 seconds behind me. Despite the lead, I kept imagining getting caught and passed before the end, and knew I could not give in to the searing pain and exhaustion.
Mile 11: 5:59
I was now completely alone, with the leader well out of sight and I couldn't hear anyone behind me. I was completely exhausted and knew I wouldn't hold on for much longer. I actually said out loud "This has to end...NOW!!" I had to pour it on and finish before I collapsed and had to be scraped off the road.
Mile 12: 5:43
Despite the split, it felt like it took an eternity.
Mile 13: 5:37
I had absolutely nothing left at this point. I was delirious enough to still think I could get passed by the 3rd place runner, even though he was almost 40 seconds behind at this point. I ran into the finish chute and crossed the line with my eyes closed in 1:18:07, knowing I left everything out there.
At this point my thoughts went something like this..."holy crap...it's over.......holy crap....I just passed 3 people...holy crap did I just beat that guy??....."
So I achieved a new PR of 1:18:07 on a very challenging course. Once I started to catch my breath and recover, I realized my legs weren't completely trashed. I was certainly sore and tired, but not as bad as it could have been. It certainly took a few days for my body to get back to something resembling "normal" but it didn't really affect my week.
I can now say I know how to race a half marathon hard. Next time, I'll try and go out a little faster, those mid-6's clearly were too slow.
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