This past weekend I went and did the Great Bay Half-Marathon. I think this is the 4th year in a row that I have done it. It is one very hilly course! Looking at the profile map can be very deceiving. When looking at it you think I just have to get mile 4.3 and it is bascially down hill!! WRONG. After that it is basically a series of up and down hills. Some of them very steep. There are very few places on the course where it is flat and you can just zone out and relax and run.
Like every year I was planning on running with my friend Ray and his buddy Pete. Pete wanted to start out at 7:45 and that sounded good to me. Unfortunately for Ray though he sustained a calf injury earlier in the week and it flared up on the run. I noticed he had a little limp going on early and then I guess at mile 4 he was toast. To his credit he gutted out the race and finished. Pete and I continued on at the 7:45 pace for about another mile or so and then I picked it up a bit on the next hill. Miles 7 and 8 were my fastest miles, one being 7:10 and another 7:15. Once I got to mile 9 I knew if I just held 7:30s I would be able to come in under 1:40 so I just concentrated on keeping a steady pace. Finished up at 1:39:19 7:33 pace. Pete finished right around 1:42 right on his 7:45 target pace.
Past Results
2012 – 1:39:19
2011 – 1:42:39
2010 – 1:42:30
2009 – 1:57:45
Weight: 156.5 lbs