Hartford Half Marathon

The only time I really tried to time myself for a mile, it was on a track with my son Jacob & I was not trained for it – over 6 min. My fastest mile in a race, had been the ave 5:58 during my 5K PR in 2010 (18:30 finish.) I beat that at the Hartfod Half during the last mile! I kept myself very disciplined during the first 12 miles. I kept telling myself (“don’t think you’re in a half, but think you’re in a full.”) I kept that thought in my head over & over – “do I feel relaxed enough? Could I keep this up for 26.2?” I felt very smooth & my breathing was extremely calm & relaxed. A few times I hi-fived some kids to help keep me relaxed & not get carried away. I realized by 12 miles that I absolutely nailed my Marathon goal pace (including still feeling relaxed & comfortable.) Goal was sub 7:15 (sub 3:10 full), & I averaged 7:08. I decided, “What the heck? Why not drop the hammer for the last mile?” …so I did,... passing people left & right,… barreling into the finish like it was a 100 meter dash, I did a 5:56 mile! I think I’m ready for the Big Apple in just over 2 weeks! 1- 7:38 2- 7:20 3- 6:52 4- 6:54 5- 7:24 6- 6:57 7- 6:57 8- 7:07 9- 7:17 10- 7:13 11- 6:50 12- 7:16 13- 5:56 You can see that a few times I tried to slow after seeing that I was going sub 7 min., only to unintentionally pick it up again. Net finish: 1:32:31 (15 sec from a PR! & a few sec faster than this yr’s Ironhorse Half) Thanks again to the club for the great pumpkin pie post-race!