Training
This was my first serious half marathon where I put in a lot of work. I followed a basic training plan through strava that was 12 weeks long. I felt really good leading up to the race. I played in a hockey tournament two weeks prior to the race and I feel like the hockey tournament threw off my rythym, but it was worth it.
Pre-race
We rented a condo by the ski hill, so it was a 15 minute drive to downtown. I ate some eggs, oatmeal, and a banana in the morning. I had two coffees. Luckily I shat.
We left the condo 30 minutes early, but half way to the town I realized I had forgotten my bib. We had to turn around and drive back. I got to the start line with 5-10 minutes until the start. I consumed a gel and put myself at the middle of the pack.
It wasn't a large race and all of the distances were starting at the same time.
I decided to wear my hydration vest because I wanted to hydrate on my own terms.
Race
I decided to take it easy for the first bit. I was running fast kms, but I was feeling very good. The course was beautiful so that distracted me for a bit. I paced this lady who I later learned was doing the marathon. She was going very fast for a full marathong and I eventually passed her around the 13k marker. It felt good to make the pass and it gave me energy. It was shortly after that I slipped in my headphones and started my curated playlist. The people along the course motivated me as well, don't know why. The course had mile markers and I did not know how long a half marathon was in miles. So when I was 12 miles, I thought there was still a more to go, but I had studied the course and new that after the big hill going into downtown, there was only a km left. I sprinted down the hill and passed several people. The last straighaway was a blur, I was running at such a strong pace that it was hard to believe. I tool my headphones out for the last 300 meters so that I could hear the crowd. With the finish line in sight, I sprinted hard and I passed a guy that was not expecting it. I heard my family in the crowd and it was great. Beat my PB and felt great.
During this race, one of my flasks had water and the other had LMT. I consumed a gel before the race and then i consumed another 2-3 gels, but I can't remember now.
During the race I felt great, although there was a bit of a mental struggle around the 16k mark.
Post-race
I was almost in disbelief that I set a new PB. It felt so good.
One thing I wasn't expecting was how sore my quads were.
Ate a massive american burger for dinner and felt much better.
I loved this race. I like that it was on the May long weekend. I like that it wasn't big. And I liked the course. It was easy to access and there wasn't a lot of traffic.
I probably will run it again. Might even try the full marathon.
Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.