A Hilla of a Thrilla

Map created by GPSVisualizer.com

Tracks: Mercer Island Rotary Half-Marathon

It was a good run, but it didn't start out that way. It was raining when we left an hour before the start. I looked at the radar and it looked like the rain was about to pass but when we got to near the starting line half an hour later it was still pouring. I don't think the walkers and the 10k runners had a great time. I kept on telling my girlfriend who was cheering for me that "I believe in the radar" and that it would stop raining, and miraculously it did right at the gun. That was fortunate because I didn't have to worry about wearing extra clothing besides shorts and a shirt.

The race took a fast start and I followed the first 20 or 30 runners at a sub-six minute pace. I was at just over 12 minutes after 2 miles. I continued running at a good pace but I didn't feel all that great. I ate exactly 2 hours before the start but my stomach felt a little too full. I settled in at about 4 miles and I don't think anyone passed me until about the 7th mile (I didn't pass anyone either). Just before that my Foreunner got off-track somehow and the mileage was off about .2-.3 miles for the rest of the race.

One guy passed me whom I couldn't catch up with, then another. Later on, maybe around the eighth mile, two guys were going at a faster pace. I caught on and pushed it hard not to get dropped. One of the guys finished before me, but I beat the other guy.

The whole course was hilly. Even though most hills were not really steep, the course was constantly going up or down. Less than a mile before the finish there was a steep one, but then it was all downhill, which made for a nice finish. I sprinted around the last corner and encountered a few spectators who were crossing the road! A guy was yelling and signaling with his hand to get off the course, but for about two seconds I thought he was telling me to go left. I finished strong, but that pissed me off a little bit. One more negative: there were cars along the course! Not too many, but come on organizers, you can't allow car traffic on a timed course, especially on a race of this size! There is almost nothing worse than the smell of gas fumes when you're running or biking as fast as you can.

Throughout the race I was thinking that there is no way I could beat my best half-marathon time (1:22:35 -- Queens Marathon 2003) because I thought I would slow down the further I got. I did slow down a little bit, but to my surprise the clock showed about 1:22:20 or so a few yards before I crossed the finish line. However, I'm still not sure if I beat my best time--the results are not yet published and I didn't turn off the Forerunner until a few seconds later--but I know that I did the best I could and in the end that's all that counts.

Special thanks to E. for the support and pictures!

Total: Mercer Island Rotary Half-Marathon Race 13.1mi; 1:22:xx;

[Update 03/26/2007: 1:22:18(20) chip time(net time), so I did just beat my best time. Is this the best of my genetic ability?

Also, my elevation profile didn't come out right on the Forerunner, but I found a good one here (it's in meters).]