Linville Gorge from the summit of Table Rock

Linville Gorge from the summit of Table Rock

Sunday, December 2, 2018

2018 Mistletoe Half Marathon

It's been several years since I'd run a road half-marathon, but the timing was good for a trip to Winston-Salem to catch up with friends who live in the city and run the Mistletoe Half Marathon. I went in with few expectations. I used to manage to run in the high 1:20s to low 1:30s on pavement half marathons, but with so many ultras that get me used to a slower pace and walking hills, I really was not sure what to expect. I thought 1:35-1:40 was most likely if all was going ok.

It was a weird start for a race of around 1100 people. There were very few confident enough to get up front. The 1:30 pacer was only a few rows back from the start. I started maybe 20' behind him, closer to the 1:35 pacers and could see the 1:40s not far behind them. I knew enough about the course from talking with Dennis and looking at the profile to know that the first two miles were uphill and the last two were the same, but downhill. Not steep, but steady. I knew it rolled and I was looking forward to the part that went through the Wake Forest campus, where I'd spent two years in grad school back in the early 90s.

I am no longer a fast starter. We didn't warm up any before the start and once we were going, I just tried to keep a good but steady pace that I could hope to maintain. One thing I've learned over the years is that no matter where you start, there will be people around you that are going out too fast. I tried to keep that in mind as people went by me early on, but felt that I, myself, might have been going out too fast. You'll see below that my early pace was around 7s, up that long, gradual hill. I carried my water bottle filled with Tailwind and one Huma gel, just in case. The Tailwind worked, but my lid was slightly warped or something, so throughout the race, it would leaking every time I squeezed the bottle. Out of the twenty ounces of the bottle, I would say that six ounces easily were spilled along the course, maybe more. It was enough, however, to where I didn't stop at any aid stations. 

My halfway split was 45:29, so I figured if I could not slow too much, I'd be in the 1:35s. I was feeling ok, but not great. The out-and-back loops ensured that I'd see Paul and Rob a couple times as we ran and that I could see how close people were behind me. Around mile 8ish, after the Gralyn Estate and while I was on Wake's campus, I perked up somewhat and really began to feel better--like I was finally loosened up. I slowly started passing people who had been well ahead of me earlier. I really tried to nurse the Tailwind, fearing I'd run out before the race was over and have to stop/slow down at an aid station or two. Fortunately, it wasn't hot, so I was using it more for the electrolytes and carbs than the water. My last year at the Charity Chase Half-Marathon, I was able to run without stopping at any aid stations and wanted to do the same here, if I could.

Around mile 10, I passed the 1:30 pacer, running alone. I had no idea if he had fallen behind pace or if I had just caught up to that pace. I figured maybe everyone bailed on him so he just throttled back. My goal at this point was just to get to mile 11 with some gas in the tank and rely on the downhill to carry me the last two miles to the finish. I don't know if I felt any sense of "smelling the barn" at eleven, but I did try to maintain the same level of effort, hoping the downhill translated it into a faster pace. At mile 12, I was out of Tailwind so, fearing a soul-crushing bonk in the final mile, I sucked down as much of the Huma gel as I could.

I passed a few more people and then drew up beside a guy at about mile 12.5. We exchanged "good job" type comments but mine must have been more inspiring because he slowly pulled ahead of me. I really didn't care about him beating me, but used him to pull me along the final stretch of the race. I could hear the finish area over to my right, but just like at Salem Lake, we were looping around to get to it. When I could finally see the clock, I was a bit shocked and confused as it said "1:15:something." Then I got a tad closer and saw that it said "5K clock." The 5K started about 15 minutes after the half-marathon. I looked to the left and saw the half-marathon clock. It read 1:29:39. I can't say how far I was from the finish, but, I couldn't let it cross 1:30 without a fight. I pushed hard, unable to catch up to the guy I had run with, but still using him to pull me through. I crossed the line right at 1:29:50, later to realize that my chip time was actually a tad lower (and that by chip time, I had actually beaten the guy I was chasing...)

Two takeaways from this race. It was the first time I've felt better in the second half of a race than the first half.  And, I am pretty sure it was my first negative split.


If you look at my mile splits (assuming they are somewhat accurate,) it's funny to note that my last four miles each increased in pace. It didn't feel like they did, but again, that downhill saved me some energy.

I ended up being 3rd in my age group, but only because two people in my group were pulled up into the top three Masters. I didn't realize this while we were there and did not stay for awards.

Besides, there is no way that award could top my Day Bat Marathon award...

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