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So Halves are fun

March 17, 2018 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: ~35 degrees, Cold

Comments:
Brooklyn Spring Half at Prospect Park! I was supposed to race a Half today, so I did. Really nice day for racing, bit chilly at the start, and a bit windy, but not devastating. Overall vibe was low-key, more like a local 5k than a Half, which was actually pretty helpful. Not too overwhelming, and logistics were super simple.

Race itself went well too! Based on last year's results, I put myself up near the front pack so I wouldn't have to duck around people. I was expecting to start around 7:00 pace, more conservatively, but next thing I knew, it was 6:40 pace, and I was feeling really fresh. So I kept going. Since the race was made up of 4 loops, I basically kept doing the same thing each lap, staying strong up the hill, cruising the downhill, and gaining on the people in front of me. By the beginning of the 4th lap, I actually caught, and led the guy in 3rd for a bit! But I didn't have enough gas to maintain, and he gapped me on the uphill. Then during that downhill, my shoes came untied. Which was a pain, that hasn't happened before. Fortunately nobody was contesting me at the time, so I could deal with it without being an issue, but still. After that, it was just rolling downhill, and finishing as strong as I could.

Finished in a cool 4th place (3rd ended up "just" 13 seconds ahead of me, too far to catch, but close enough to make me feel I could have had it), and 1st in my age group! They also had some pretty killer snacks at the finish line, which made me remember just how bad it was at the NJ Marathon last year (nachos? really?). All in all, I'm really happy with my first effort at a raced Half. I'm sure there's stuff I could have done better, but that's for later. Now, St Patrick's Day!