Mercedes Half Marathon

The Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham has now made my list of recommended races. Today the weather was beautiful- lowish 40s with sun. There seemed to be some wind, but the type that kept the course nice, not the type that killed your pace. There were hills- long and short, but they were spaced so nicely you didn't even mind them. You also got nice downhills and good flats to keep the HR low and get the pace moving. It was a nicely planned course.
Angie and I stayed in Birmingham with my sister-in-law Stephanie, her husband James, and their dog Molly. I am sure she is not loving the pajama picture on my blog, but I had to show everyone the most hospitable couple in the world. They treated Angie and I like royal guests. I have a great sister-in-law.

Angie and I both had a good day out on the course. I won't spoil her blog post, so I will just give some details about my race. Like the most recent races, I am not really sure how to pace myself since I haven't had a lot of race results or speedwork to fall back on. I have an unwritten rule that a not-in-shape Damie still has to come in under 1:45 for a half. That is my cut off time- something I should be able to do no matter what shape I am in. So, I figured I would pace between 7:50-8:00, come in around the 1:44s, and be cool with that. I also decided to work to keep every mile under 8, even if it was 7:59- just something to keep me focused.

First mile 7:55....right on track. It just kept getting better from there. The miles rolled along. Most of them in the 7:40s. The miles with the hills were in the 7:50s. My last few miles were in the 7:20s. I really felt a good focus, had fun, and felt good about my pacing. There were no compromised miles. Finish time for 13.2 miles according to Garmin (either the course was slightly long or I managed to run an extra 40 seconds out there) was 1:42:11 (unofficial).

So, normally this time of year I don't have great half marathons- it seems that I am always trying to get back in shape around this time. This was actually better than expected so I am pleased, plus it is just plain nice to run a full race and feel good about almost every mile. I may try to see if I can PR in a month or so, but no guarantees. If I can at least get in shape, that will be reward enough. :)

I told you my arm warmers were going to be really awesome. Anyone jealous? I promise to go pick you up a pair from the dollar store if you promise to wear them.

The only casualty of the day was a toe. I knew I was in trouble by mile 1 when something was bugging me in my shoe. I hoped that if I ignored it long enough I would forget. I kind of did, too. :) Then I took off my shoe to find a bloody toe post race. I couldn't really get my leg up there to get a shot of the top and bottom of the sock which looked really bad in combination, so this will have to do as proof to Dave that I do need a new pair of shoes.