Race Report: We Care Half Marathon

My Dad and me. Isn't he awesome?

On September 28, I did the We Care Twin Cities Half Marathon. This was the second year for the local-to-me race. Papa Runner ran it last year, while I helped at a water stop. This year I trained really hard to improve my speed. My previous best half marathon time was 2:40:36. I set what I thought was an ambitious goal of finishing in under 2:30, with intervals of 2 minutes running and 2 minutes walking.

A fun part of running a local race is meeting people I see in training every week but don't really know. A man came up to me at the Expo and said, "Hey, you're Run Like a Mother!" in reference to my favorite running shirt. Yep, known by my t-shirt, and now known by name. I connected a few more faces to names volunteering on the Expo clean up crew.

Race day was beautiful with nearly perfect weather conditions for a fast run. The course is pretty flat and happens to include much of the route I run for training most weeks. I went into it feeling strong and confident. I was also pretty excited about seeing so many people I know along the course. A lot of my team mates were either running or spectating.

I finished the first mile in 10:40, which was faster than I had planned. I was a little worried that I'd set too fast a pace and wouldn't be able to maintain. I kept telling myself, "Settle into your pace. Let your body lead." Turns out the pace I settled into was just under 11 minutes/mile. As I turned the final corner and broke into a sprint, I saw the clock count up to 2:23. I never turn my watch off immediately on the finish line, so I wasn't sure if I was over or under until I checked the official time: 2:22:59.5! I didn't even know they measured to the half second, but I'll take it! I was 7 minutes faster than my "ambitious" goal and more than 17 minutes faster than my previous best. A wonderful day!

My dad, who also runs half marathons, finished two minutes ahead of me. He thinks that's the last time he'll beat me. :) I think he should do his first Full.