Half-Redemption

Although I won't feel like I've made up for my flounderage at the Clarence until I've qualified for Boston, I did have a fantastic run today at the Applefest Half Marathon. I was there with a bunch of people from the Boston Running meetup, as well as both my parents and a few people I knew from other races. We had perfect running conditions -- sunny and cool, with a little wind.

I went out pretty easy, since I wasn't really trying to place. I did the first mile in about 5:50, despite hanging well back from the lead pack. It settled down to my intended pace after that, although after about mile 3 I started feeling leg fatigue and throat strain from the Clarence. I decided at that point I was just going to have a fun race rather than a hard one, and relaxed enough that a fair number of people passed me as I admired the beautiful autumn countryside.

At around mile 5 or 6, we entered a series of long downhills and I started to feel faster than the people who were catching me. After successfully beating back some passing attempts, I went through the halfway point in PR pace and really started to feel good about my chances. I caught most of the people who'd passed me over the next 3 miles of flats, and held on through the uphills into the center of Hollis. At the 12 mile mark, I gave it everything I had until the finish. I wouldn't be surprised if I was doing sub-5:40 for the last mile. My final time was 1:24:14, which was a PR by about 16 seconds.

I feel pretty good about my chances at the Baystate Marathon in two weeks. I tested my new fuel - Clif Shot Bloks -- and felt pretty good with eating them. I think dialing back my intended pace to closer to 7:10 from 6:50s at Clarence will give me a great reserve to run the second half in. My doctor recommended that I take Prilosec in the morning to deal with some of the reflux issues I've had, and that definitely worked excellently here. I also should be able to fuel better with solid food.