Platte River Half Marathon

Jaclyn writes:

The day before this race I started to think that all of these half marathons were getting to be a bit much.  I love racing.  It keeps me motivated.  But approaching this race, we were battling colds and juggling time between work, baby and sleep.  I was overtired, overworked and over-trained.  But, we still ran.  Though, I think if we hadn't been registered already, we would've bagged this one. 

The course for this half is really flat with a very slight uphill grade.  It's a point to point race with a nice after party.  It really helps to have someone driving to meet you at the finish.  The terrain is a concrete trail that runs along the Platte River through Denver.  It's a relatively pretty city run and a nice race to PR (though neither of us did).  The race organizers decided to add a second wave and double entries this year, which was a really bold move to make in a single year.  The wave idea was weak and confusing.  You weren't assigned a wave unless you registered as competing in your age group, in which case you were running the first wave.  The rest of us were able to run whenever we wanted.  This worked with having chip timers, but we ran in the first wave.  Otherwise, it doesn't seem like much of a race.  The race includes a relay.  I ran the relay the first year I ran this race, but it seemed like a waste of time (for a long distance runner).  When you're running the full half, the relay can be irritating, because you'll have people passing you at random moments causing you to doubt your own pacing. 

Overall, the race was fun.  I had no personal expectations after my Moab PR surprise.  I figured that was due to the elevation and slight downhill of the Moab race, but my time at the Platte River was comparable at 1:42:51.  My only goal throughout the race was to beat the girl that kept speeding up just to pass me and dropping directly in front of me while slowing her pace.  By directly in front, I mean an arms length.  She even did a "farmer blow" at one point.  I'm pretty sure my race bib caught some of her snot.  I, thankfully, lost her at around 8 miles. 

Regarding future races, I guess it's time to pick up my pace and get serious with training.