Bittersweet second 1/2 in three weeks

The Bronx Half Marathon is now in the bag. And it is with mixed emotions that I compose the blog. First off I ran a great first 3/4 of the race. Unfortunately because I was so fast on the first portion I had nothing in the tank to finish. I'm disappointed by my really weak 'kick' that lasted for the last three miles.

To give you a sense of how fast I went out:

Last March 2nd I ran a 23:06 5k - today's first 3 miles took 22:43 more or less equaling that pace. My best ever 10k is 48:16 - and I ran the first 6 miles today in 46:15 which ~ 47:45! Clearly, WAY TOO FAST for a 1/2 marathon for me at this point, but it felt good. Lesson learned.

Official results:

OverallPlace	GenderPlace	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile
1074/ 3668	891	178	01:46:50	08:09

Mile	Time	Ave. Heart Rt.	Mile	Time	Ave. Heart Rt.	Mile	Time	Ave. Heart Rt.
1	07:41	164	7	08:02	176	13	09:15	175
2	07:32	169	8	08:01	176	0.1	00:51	183
3	07:30	171	9	08:01	177
4	07:45	172	10	08:37	175
5	07:45	176	11	08:33	176
6	08:02	176	12	08:41	175

Heart Rate was just too high the entire race - and the complete breakdown after mile 10 marks a real opportunity for improvement. However I did manage to improve my per mile time by 9 mins per mile and my overall time by 1 minute and 46 seconds - not bad for two weeks of training! I just wish I would have left a bit more energy for the rolling hills of the Grand Concourse - those were real killers! Next year!

A special thank you to Steph and Dylan who were there - in the bitter wind - to see me run and give me a hug at the finish. It was great to see them and I really needed their support to pull through that last mile and 1/10th! Perhaps we'll have some fun video to post later in the week from Steph...