Big-D Half: My best race to date

I got my PR today and beat my old time by a mile, literally! I shaved off ~8mins from 1:53 to 1:44:40. It was an interesting day with a few ups and downs. The "up" was the fact that I could a few PRs for 5K, 10K and Half. The "down" was all the mess that was created due to the traffic jam at the start and also due to the fact that my car battery died soon after the race. Also, my official race time is ~2:20. as there was no chip timing anymore at the start when we started, approx 35mins late.

It all started when I woke up at 6:06am. I set the alarm but somehow forgot to turn it on, duh! I quickly got ready and went to pick up Avani and Viswanath. We almost reach the Cotton Bowl area at 6:50am and about 1/2 mile from the exit to the race area, there was a big traffic jam and we were stuck. We saw people walking off the freeway and I followed as the Half start is at 7:30. I came to know that many of the other ADR folks and also Asha Austin folks were also stuck in the other direction of I-30. The race was officially delayed by15mins and we waited for all the folks to show up and started finally at 8:20am. We were all disappointed to find out that the chip timing system at the start line was switched off by the time we started, which means that our chip times won't be accurate and will be the same as gun time, which is the official clock. We started Half roughly 35mins behind the official start. I am not sure when the 5Kers started.

There were about 10 of us who started the Half, 3 from Dallas and the rest from Austin. Ramesh and myself started off at a good pace and took off. I was pacing and before I knew it, the first mile marker came by and we were on a blazing pace of 7:45, wow! I felt good but at the same time was worried whether I can sustain that pace. I slowed a little but was still doing roughly 8 min pace. I saw that Ramesh was taking it a little easy, but I did not want to change my pace as I felt a good rhythm. I maintained that pace and 5K went by in 24:50 (which is a PR since I never ran a 5K) and then next up was 10K in 49:52 (another PR by 3 mins!). I still felt good and was decently confident that I can maintain that pace for the second half as well. Then I realized, that if I maintain an even split, I have a shot at 1:45!! (5 mins faster than my stretch goal of 1:50). I was drinking at every aid station and was pouring water on myself which felt so good. Miles 9-11 had the best scenery as we were passing through the multi-million dollar homes of Highland park, which is the most expensive area in Dallas. To my surprise, I was still doing better than 8:00min pace and I was on pace for a 1:45 finish. In mile 13, about quarter mile from the finish I saw ADR folks, including Deepa, Kavitha, Viswanath et al and I just took off and before I knew it the saw the finish line and finished strong which is something I always love in a race. When I stopped my watch at the finish line, it read 1:44:40!! yes, I did it, it was an amazing feeling. I believe this is the first time I not only met my time goal but indeed beat it. I guess it helps to be ~6-7 lbs lighter :)

I got my medal and got some fluids and came back to see others finish. Ramesh had a strong finish and did 1:51, which is the same as his PR. I saw few of the Austin folks finish the next 10-15 mins. Then I met up with other ADR folks and we were cheering and waiting for the rest of folks to showup. Ravi had a strong finish and made it in 2:32. The whole group took some pictures and it was fun. All the 5Kers had a good race and some even did 10K as they were lost on the course:) Many of us decided to have lunch and just when you think the day has gotten better, I realize that my car battery was down and it does not start. Luckily, there was a gentleman in his truck who helped us out and we reached Roti Grill and had good food. It was almost 3pm by the time we reached home. In effect, it was a mixed day for me, but I had a great race, in fact the best race to date! I cannot wait for my next race, which may not happen for another couple of months.

I am off to India for couple of months, on business. I will be working from Bangalore and hopefully I can do couple of races over there. I am hoping that I will have some running experiences in B'lore that I would write here, from time to time. I shall write the next time from India in about a week's time.