Spoiler alert: I got a PR and did it under 2 hours with a time of 1:58:54.
I was hoping for more course photos but there were only a few of me from the finish from GameFace plus a couple more that teammates took along the way.
This was my 7th half marathon and my 3rd in 2017 (I did 3 in 2015 and 1 in 2016). My first was 2:10:08 and some along the way were during injures (Nike San Francisco Women’s Half Race Recap) or lower training periods where the race wasn’t a goal race (Weekly Mileage (and food) recaps 1/16 – 2/19) but I’m glad to finally be in the 1:50:00s.
Getting in the corrals:
It’s definitely harder to write about this so many weeks later, but the splits tell the story. I held back a little up the hills but tried to keep a steady pace. My splits averaged out to be just about 9:09 or under and I knew I was on pace when I exited the park.
I was still rolling on Ocean Parkway, even when the cheering crowds thinned out substantially. I was pretty sure I had a PR in the bag and sped up to lower 9 minute miles, then was able to drop below 9 for the final few miles. That last mile got to be painful but I felt like that meant I was doing it right. My struggle up the boardwalk was apparent and my final “0.2” was at an 8:23 pace.
I collected my medal, got a bag with yellow Gatorade that I traded some dude for because he had blue Gatorade (best flavor). Then I tried to get my stuff. Well, turned out the truck with my stuff had broken down and it wasn’t there yet. They gave us heat sheets and vouchers for a free hot dog but eventually it pulled up so I could put my jacket on. Then the rain started, just as I finally pulled up to our club’s beach picnic.
Eric photo
East Coast Appetite 
Yeah buddy!! Congratulations!!
Thanks! Also I totally just signed up for SmashRun, your posts (and others) have convinced me!
Congrats on a great race!
Thanks and it’s great to see you blogging again!
Awesome race! You’re having such a great season, which is very much well-deserved.
Aww, thanks! So glad you’ve been around for some of the little victories and to be my rabbit (did you see Tracksmith’s new cute animal print stuff? they have rabbits, too).
Ooh, I haven’t yet. Will go check TS out.
Congrats on the the Brooklyn Half, I love that race. Did you get a hot dog from Nathan’s afterwards?
Chili cheese dog from Nathan’s with a side of cheese fries! Some of the best post-race food out there.
I finished 1:58:22, we must have been right by each other, so cool 😍. PR for me too, was very excited to get in under 2 hours. Congrats!!
Congrats! What’s your next race? I have to admit I’m dreaming of a sub-1:55 half for the fall now.
Next race is NYC marathon, my first full!! Start training in two weeks! How about you?
And for sure, definitely want to work on getting that half time down as well! I think that will be the goal after full training (goal for the full is just to finish 😜)
Yay, a recap! Congrats again! This makes me wish I had data from my first sub-2 (in my pre-Garmin days). You and Brittany should team up to train and maybe run a half together if you both want sub-1:55!
Voucher for a free hot dog?! That’s new! And congrats again on the PR!
It was only for those of us whose bags were lost since we were waiting around in the parking lot, cold and hungry and without money. It was for a stadium hot dog though, so I held out for Nathan’s.
Ahhhh I missed that part. Good call to wait for Nathan’s!