Chilly Half marathon

My 2011 season has officially began.  I ran the Chilly half marathon in Burlington on Sunday and I am quite pleased with the results.  I only had two long runs this year, a 17km and a 20km run, so I wasn't sure how this one was going to go.  My plan was to be aggressive and run hard from the beginning and  basically try to hold that pace until I blow up! Lol!  My goal was to try to match or beat my PB of 1:55 which means running a 5:27 pace. 

The weather gods were not all that kind to us as it snowed quite a bit overnight.  When we got to Burlington, there was a mix of snow, ice, and slush!  Yuck!  And it was cold and windy!  Ah well!  No big deal.  I had my bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and had a coffee to go.  I am going to try to stick with a morning coffee for all my races this year! ;)  We just made it with enough time to go to the portapotty and make it to the start line on time.  The driving conditions were not the greatest getting from TO to Burlington.

The race started and I was running with my friend Marina.  We started pretty quickly which usually happens at the start of a race.  Adrenaline is pumping and everyone around you is running fast so I usually get caught up and start fast as well.  Our first couple of kms were about 5min and it took me about 4-5km before my feet defrosted.  We then settled into our pace and were pretty consistent throughout while pushing each other.  We had to be careful with our footing due to the snow and ice and had to avoid some pools of water which was impossible at times and resulted in soaking wet feet.  I was running hard and it felt good.  I was able to push until I hit about 19km and I almost hit the wall.  No bonking, just couldn't hold the pace we were holding anymore.  Almost!  Crossed the line in 1:55:59.  51 seconds short of my PB.  Not bad!  I'll take it!  It is early in the season and I haven't put in my long runs yet so I'll take this as a positive sign!

trying to keep warm before the race

nearing the finish!