Pleasanton half marathon here in Bay area on April 29th was my 8th half marathon. This was probably the first out of my last 8th that I think I was prepared better than others. However, like in any race, it’s the performance in the race day that counts.I got up around 5:00 in the morning and was out of my house by 6:00 AM. Had a bagel and banana to keep my stomach occupied during the race. Parked the car in Pleasanton sports park and walked towards the finish line. Surprisingly, it was a little chilly at that time even though the forecast was of a warm day. The atmosphere was quite charged as almost 2000 runners gathered near the finish line.
I kept a target of finishing these 13.1 miles in 2hrs:30mins that I haven’t achieved in my previous races. I gathered behind the 2:30 pacer and thought of following him till the finish. The first 6 miles was a breeze. I was running ahead of the 2:30 pacer and I was feeling strong. The course was very nice and most of the run upto this point was surprisingly away from the Sun.
6-8 miles was through the neighborhoods and there were some people who were cheering the runner. My eyes caught the attention of two little cute girl’s who were encouraging the runner. I am sure someday they will take into running in some way. Good exposure provided by their parents.
9 miles onward we started running on the trail parallel to inter state 880. I was still doing good. At the 10th mile marker, I was still running ahead of the 2:30 pacer. I checked with a runner about the time and he said it was 1hour and 57 minutes since the start. That means I was running better than 5 miles/hour pace. Looks like some strength training for the last couple of months was at last having some positive effect.
However, just before the 12 mile marker, the 2:30 pacer overtook me. The sight of 2:30 pacer overtaking me made me feel go out of my gas and I really struggled between 12 and 13th mile. 12th mile marker was also the entrance of the park from where we started in the morning. I could hear the sound of finish line in the distance but my leg seemed to be giving up by continuously pounding the concrete for the last couple of hours. I gathered all my energies and kept reducing the distance to the finish line, however, my running form was not that great. I knew I was slouching a bit. But once I crossed 13th mile and could see the finish line just ahead of me, I sprinted the last 0.1 mile.
I finished in 2hrs:32mins just 2 minutes above my target of 2hrs:30mins (in hindsight avoiding a restroom break could have helped to meet my target) but what the heck the timing was still my PR almost 12 minutes better than my previous best; I am sure I will reach my target in the next couple of races. I was quite strong after finishing and along with a very nice finisher medal was the best thing about this race. I am sure strength training and the disciplined winter run helped me to come close to my target as well as finish strong. WooooooooHoooooooooo!!!!
In the evening a few family friend showed up for a surprise birthday celebration for Simmi. Enjoyed the surprise piece!!!
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