3 Half Marathons in 3 Weekends

Fort Worth Half Marathon – Run Like a Cheetah

Official finish time: 13.29 miles = 2:17:07
Unofficial finish time: 13.10 miles = 2:15:23

I am okay with my official finish time and will record it in my log book. There were minor course adjustments due to the recent rain and my theory is we all ran the same course, long or short, so the official finish time is official. I marked my Garmin at 13.1 then again at the finish line. Everyone I talked with had almost .20 more on their Garmin. My reason for including my unofficial finish time is that the Honored Hero course was 13.1 on my Garmin, today’s course and weather were almost identical and today’s run was a 7 second PR from Honored Hero.

I ran both half marathons without ever stopping one single time, but today I took water from each of the aid stations. This was a challenge as plastic cups do not crease as easily as paper cups. Thankfully I never choked or drowned myself!

There were at least 10 Heels and Hills and several Love the Half runners at today’s event. Two ladies wore their classic black Heels and Hills shirts. Around mile 10 a lady commented on how strong I was running then started a small conversation. Her legs, feet, etc were hurting and she concerned about the last four miles. I was thrilled to let her know the mile markers were off by one and we were actually at mile 10, not mile 9. While chatting I learned that she ran Heels and Hills and Him. We had run near each other the entire race and decided to stay together for motivation and pacing in the final miles. She was on a super PR pace so I encouraged her go ahead and run strong once we completed mile 13.

Another strong run and I am very happy to not be running a half marathon next week end! I am still overwhelmed when I think about the fact that my "new" pace really is consistent and a sub 2:00 half marathon is within reach.

Race Plan/ Race Results
A: Run strong with intensity, but don’t race – Ran every step of the race, again
B: Run an avg pace consistent with the past two weekends – 10:20, 09:54, 10:19

Mile splits (10:19 avg pace)
M1: 10:16
M2: 10:14
M3: 10:16
M4: 10:15
M5: 10:12
M6: 10:14
M7: 10:12
M8: 10:29
M9: 10:23
M10: 10:29
M11: 10:28
M12: 10:29
M13: 10:08

Next Up - Confirmed
11.22.09 – Mote in Motion Half Marathon
12.13.09 – White Rock Half Marathon