River Run Double Half-Marathon

10 miles in just under 69 minutes. That's in between the finish times for the two ten-milers I've done in recent weeks. Would I be able to keep that same pace, or even pick it up a bit for the final 5K?

It had been a couple years since I was able to dip under 1:30 for a half-marathon. For the River Run Half, I made a point to tell everyone that 1:29 was my goal, and after the Crim, I felt I was ready.

Several of my MCRR friends were there. The weather was decent - low 60s, and a little humid. I ran the early miles with Debbie Scheel, but by mile 3 I was mostly alone, and stayed that way for the rest of the run. I knew I needed about a 6:50 pace, and I did manage to get to the half-way point in about 44 and a half minutes, give or take.

It took a great deal of concentration, but I did manage to make those final three miles my best ones. The last 5K was about 20:40, so I finished in 1:29:31. Some faster old geezer showed up, so I was only second in my age group. But I'm happy with this one. There may be a way to squeeze out another minute or so in some future race, but by and large I feel like I'm running to my potential. And that's a good thing.

After kibitzing with my friends at the finish, it was time to run back to the car. Yes, Jack and I had parked at the start with plans to jog back afterward. It had sounded like a good idea at the time. But those additional 13 or so miles were pretty darn tough - even though they were at a slow 9-minute pace. I think I was bonking due to lack of nutrition, because I felt better when I took a gel. We did eventually make it back to the start. It was a lot of running for one day.