Boulder Spring Half Marathon Recap

Mission accomplished on my tune-up race for Boston. I arrived at the Boulder Reservoir in time to watch the sunrise on what I thought was going to be a beautiful & warm day. Well, the clouds rolled in quickly, the temps dropped into the low 30's, and the wind started howling! I think I changed my running gear plan about 5 times in a 30 minute span.

Aside from the cold, stiff headwind, and a 2 mile stretch where I was hobbled by a nasty side cramp, I probably ran one of my best races ever. I set a new half marathon PR with a time of 1:29:34! This was the first race (other than a 5K) where I finished with a sub-7:00 min pace(6:50/mi).

It was a demanding pace for me, but I felt in control until mile 10. The side cramp came on hard and felt like someone was poking me in the ribs with a knife. I was determined to run through the pain, but it really affected my breathing and I had to slow up a bit. The final mile had a downhill stretch followed by a decent uphill climb. I could hear the music of the finish line, the announcer yelling the names of finishers, and that was enough to kick things into high gear for a strong finish.