This was my third Minto Run for Reach Half Marathon and 9th Half Marathon in total. This race has been very good to me in the past with new personal bests each time I have run it. I decided on trying for sub-1:40 to see if I could get close and if not then what I needed to work on before the National Capital race in May.
The weather was perfect for racing and I felt in good shape to run as I chatted with Mike and Andy at the start line.
We wished each other good luck and moments later the race was on. As usual I bolted out of the blocks and had to tell myself to slow down and stay disciplined. This is a race that attracts quite a few very fast half marathoners so I didn't want to get caught up in the excitement. My first kilometer was covered in 4:36 so I dialed it back just a touch and was pleased to read 4:41 and 4:44 for the next 2 kilometers. At this stage I felt pretty fresh and relaxed and continued the pace down towards the Running Mania water station just beyond the Bronson bridge.
Splits for 1st 5km
1km - 4:36
2km - 4:41
3km - 4:44
4km - 4:48
5km - 4:35
Coming back up the canal after the turnaround I was suddenly aware of a stiff breeze and found the going a bit tougher. My pace dropped off and I found I was really fighting to stay on pace. I could see Mike ahead and he too had seemed to have dropped off the pace. I kept on pushing, wondering if I had gone out too hard or had help from the wind. I figured the 3rd 5km after the 10km turn would be easier.
Splits for 2nd 5km
6km - 4:51
7km - 4:48
8km - 4:49
9km - 4:52
10km - 4:52
10km split = 47:30
It turns out that I had figured wrong, the 3rd 5km section was not easier, there was no tailwind and it was starting to feel quite humid. I realised that sub 1:40 was gone and started to analyse whether I didn't really have the fitness for that goal or whether I had made a tactical error in going out too hard. I kind of felt a bit sorry for myself, but kept plodding on trying to keep up as quick a pace as I could. I got a good boost when passing the Running Mania water station this time as they had dressed up a blow up doll and chased me with it. I put on a good burst of speed and headed towards the final turnaround at the Dow's Lake Pavilion.
Splits for 3rd 5km
11km - 4:54
12km - 5:07
13km - 5:16
14km - 5:19
15km - 5:04
After I passed the Maniacs one final time I became aware of someone right on my heels, I moved over to let her through but she moved over with me, when I moved again, she moved. She was draughting off me and it was killing my pace. In the end I slowed right down and moved over and she got the hint, I was struggling enough without having to pull someone all the way to the finish line. This incident kind of woke me up from my slumber, I checked my Garmin and realised that if I ran a steady 5:00/km I could still PB the race. I had 4km to go and told myself that I would run as hard as I could and damn the consequences, I could lie down after the finish line. Surprisingly enough I managed to hover around the 5:00/km mark and kept pressing until I could see the finish line in the distance and ran as hard as I could on tired legs. The clock was approaching 1:44 so I knew it would be really close, but I may have PBed the race after all.
Splits for the last 6.1km
16km - 5:24
17km - 5:09
18km - 5:04
19km - 5:05
20km - 5:02
21km - 4:45
0.1km - 0:22
On checking the race stats when I got home, it was confirmed that I had run a new personal best of 1:43:58. Even though I had not gone sub 1:40 I was still very happy that I was able to pick myself up from the disappointment from not being able to hold my goal pace to set a new personal best.
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