The half marathon course is also very challenging. The race begins about a half mile south of the Stillwater lift bridge. The first two miles are relatively easy heading south along the St Croix Trail. After turning west on 5th for a short stint, the course turns north on Stagecoach Trail heading back toward Stillwater. This is where the fun begins. Miles 3-5 climb about 300 feet back into southwestern end of Stillwater. Mile 3 is the most challenging of these miles with steep grades in several locations. Not surprisingly my mile splits were about 15-20 seconds per mile slower than the first two miles of the race, but as I began mile 6, I could tell I still had a good pace going overall.
Stillwater Half Marathon Course:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/18737868
West of Stillwater, miles 6 through 8 were relatively flat while mile 9 was primarily downhill - a welcomed break to the earlier uphill miles. These mid-race miles allowed me to maintain my race pace and remain on target for a good overall time. Mile 10 was the last uphill mile on course and its hills put up a good fight. I ran mile 10 about 20 seconds off my race pace. It was the toughest mile of the race for me as overall fatigue set in and the climbs were very tough for me.
But now came the final 3 miles of the race which were all downhill. Downhill running is not as easy as it seems, particularly once fatigue sets in. Striding out while running downhill puts significant stress on the quads from the pounding. I tried to run as relaxed and loose as possible to avoid injury. Mile 11 took us north on County 5 and then east on Dellwood Road as we began our descent back to the river and the finish line. I was back on pace through mile 11, but mile 12 is where I really pushed the pace. The 12th mile represented the steepest descent among the downhill miles and I really took advantage of it running 10 seconds faster than my overall race pace.
Near the end of mile 12th the course turned south onto the St Croix Trail and the finish line in downtown Stillwater. The final mile of the race was also downhill, but more of a gradual descent. Runners were few and far between at this point but I was locked onto the runner in front of me while trying to hold off a runner behind me. I passed the runner in front of me with about a half mile to go, but the runner behind me was still in hot pursuit. The competition helped me run my fastest mile of the race (6:29 - about 20 seconds faster than my overall race pace). With 250 yards to go we made a short left turn onto Mulberry and one final right turn toward the finish line. It became a sprint to the finish as the runner behind me pulled even and then a stride ahead of me. I then pulled even with him before digging deep one last time to surge ahead as we crossed the finish line. It felt good to hold him off but technically his chip time was a few seconds faster than mine, so the official results have him finishing ahead of me.
For several years I have been trying to break the 90 minute barrier in the half marathon and repeatedly came up just short. Knowing this was going to be a difficult and hilly course I didn't give much thought to running under 90 minutes today, but for the first time all year the weather was on my side. As I looked at the official race times my eyes popped open when I saw 1:29:15 next to my name (6:49/mile pace). At long last, I finally broke 90 minutes in the half and beat my previous best time by one minute. I finished 19th among 630 finishers and 2nd among 27 in my age group.
What a relief to finally reach my goal after many disappointing attempts where either the weather, the course, or my mental/physical stamina stood in the way. Today was finally my day! On to Grandma's Marathon in June. The first of two full marathons this year with Chicago being the other. If I could run 3:10:59 or faster at Grandma's I could sneak into the top corral in Chicago which is a goal of mine. To do this I will need to run 3 minutes faster than my previous best of 3:14:00. I need a perfect weather day in Duluth to have a chance to break 3:11. Since the weather hasn't been friendly this year, I won't be too focused on this goal in case the weather dissapoints me again. But, if I wake up to perfect racing conditions June 18th, running 3:10:59 will immediately move from the background to the forefront of my mind and I will go after it with everything I have.
Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/337
A nailbiter! Glad you beat those two guys. Under 90 minutes is CRAZY! And what's with the last picture? It looks like you're running in sand.
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