Get Lucky!

Pre-Race:  So lets kick off the 2013 season, I always like to start the year with a half marathon. Last year I ran the inaugural Super Half Marathon which is my current personal record. In case you missed it.. Super Half Report. So 1:28:24 was the mark on the wall. The Get Lucky 21K (Half Marathon) is in St Paul, MN, one of the biggest races around with over 10,000 runners running the 7K and another 3,000 running the half marathon or Triple 7K. I was well prepared for this half marathon running a number of 14+ mile runs already as I build up for the Fargo Marathon. I laid out my gear the night prior for a few different temps and conditions. It looked more like getting gear together for a triathlon with 2 different pairs of shoes, a number of different combinations of clothes etc. But I was prepared for anything. I was up at 4:45 ate my breakfast, out the door to pick up my friend Darick and on the way to St Paul which is about a 90 minute commute.
  We got to the race site about an hour before the race started. The weather was 20 degrees with a 10-15 mph wind out of the north making about a 9 degree wind chill. I decided to go with pants and arm warmers for the race. We headed over to the start line did a good warm up in the chilly temps. Darick was planning for a sub 1:45 and I was hoping for 1:25 so I dropped him off at the marked pace (8:00 min/mile) and moved closer to the start. Found the Elites at the front, then the next pace was 7:00 min/mile ( I thought "What?"). So I just hung out behind the elite runners. Still had about 10 minutes till the race start so I joined in on conversation with the guys around me. Most were talking about the previous year being 70 degrees, ugh yeah not this year!! I started talking to a younger guy (Mitch, 24) that is running the Boston Marathon next month and his goal was to run a 1:25...eureka! So how about I just run with him, I thought? My strategy for this out and back course was to run 43 minutes to the turn around and run 42 minutes back. I have a thing about always running a negative split and that would be right on 1:25:00  (6:29 min/mile). So that was the plan. The night before it has snowed about a half inch which just made the roads slick so my only concern was ice on the road running in my Netwon Distance with no traction since I opted to not wear the trail shoes I had brought for worse case.
Race:
 The countdown started... 3...2....1...GO! And we were off, I never try to get caught up in the fast start. This race had about 2700 runners but there wasn't much of a crowd running up front so it was nice to just start running pace right away not having to pass people that severely misjudged their running ability and weave traffic. We were running down hill for the first mile, I was shoulder to shoulder with Mitch. He was keeping pace per mile and I was keeping over all pace. We hit mile 1 right on 6:30 and I was feeling great. The road was a bit icy but if you stayed in the car tracks you could run on pavement with good traction. We stayed shoulder to shoulder and clicked away some miles involved in short conversation about life, family, sport, etc. It felt really comfortable, I wasn't too labored in my breathing and my heart rate was in the 150 range. There were a few rolling hills but the small talk seemed to keep my mind off of it.
 The crowds were not very consistent but I do remember a few kilts, one bagpipe and a volunteer with a sign saying "Run faster, I am Cold!" Ha ha. The aid stations had water and gatorade. I had taken 2 scoops of UCAN Cran-Raz before the race so I was fueled just need to hydrate. Mitch and I skipped the first water stop which was 2 miles in. We hit the 2nd Station around mile 4, nothing more refreshing then a cup of cold water with ice on a cold day. But it keep the throat wet and we kept pushing. We came to a pretty good climb around mile 5 which we just pushed up and still kept our pace for that mile. Thus far we were hitting close to or right at 6:30 for each mile. Almost to the turn around we started to see the elites almost a mile ahead of us coming back. Always fun to see how the leaders are running. They all seemed to be running strong, the number 1,2 and 3 lead females were all in line with in a few seconds of each other. We hit the turn around race clock just under 43 minutes. Boom right where I want to be.

  The second half was more difficult, it might have been all the chatting I had done or the 10-15 mph head wind. I really had to work that last half to stay on pace. For the first mile past the turn around, I was having a tough time keeping my feet under me. I hate running behind people, I would rather be shoulder to shoulder but it was basically a single track so I had no choice. We hit the next water stop around mile 8, Mitch missed a hand off on water so I passed him the remainder of my cup. I didn't think anything of it at the time,  I assumed anyone would do the same. The wind was becoming brutal so we started to run a pace line between the two of us. We changed out about every half mile which seemed to work for a while. We came up to mile 10, I was thinking great only a 5 k left to get out of this wind. Mitch was feeling strong and wanted to push the pace to get 1:25 I could tell. He pulled up in front and started to push the pace a bit. No words exchanged, I tried to hold on but I was unable to keep with him. Still running well checking my watch keeping 6:30 pace even with the wind and slippery roads. I hit up the water station at mile 11 and took a cup of Gatorade to get a quick boost. Time to take it home I thought. The last two miles I mental blocked myself and just ran the pace I could. I was thinking only a PT test (Army 2 miler) left. I knew the race would be over soon. Running past mile 12 I could still see Mitch who was now almost 45 seconds ahead of me by now. I changed back and fourth with another guy I remember seeing at the start who we caught around mile 8. We ran it in over the last mile. Finally I see the finish line coming up and race clock still reading 1:25:(some change). I crossed the line at 1:25:57!! Boom little slower then I wanted but I worked for that time and was super happy. Mitch was there for a high five he made a 1:25:00 on the nose. We thanked each other for the company, congratulations on a great race and parted ways. It was still pretty cold so I headed back to the car (as my cool down) to throw on some warmer clothes. Still made it back in time to bring Darick in to his 1:42:50 finish. It was too cold to hang around for post race events we both decided to just jump in the car and head home.

Great Race to start the year off. Next big race is the Fargo Marathon.