Race Recap: Justiceworks Just Run Half Marathon

So this race was on my radar for about 3 months, but I signed up for it only 2 days before race day. I just wasn't sure if I would feel up for it. I wasn't feeling very motivated about doing 13 miles for my step back week and just went for it.

Here is what attracted me to this race:
1. The scenery was supposed to be gorgeous (run through campus, a nature preserve and along the river)
2. It was a very small local race with a 5K or Half
3. Kim & Matt were also doing this race so I would know people there (although they were rockstars and ran 7 before the race even started....overachievers!)

I was heading to my cottage after the race so I drove seperately so I could get an extra hour of sleep and not be bored while Kim & Matt were out doing there pre-race warmup. It was basically on the way back so time wise just made a whole lot more sense.

I didn't really know what to expect in the race, I figured I would get a PR since I'm faster than I was last May ...YIKES...it's really been 15 months since my last half marathon!! I wasn't sure I was going to push myself too hard considering it was a step back week and I just decided at the start I was going to listen to my body and just go with what good at a slightly easy pace. I was thinking I would try to walk every 2 miles since that is what I'm thinking I will do marathon day to get practice.

I instantly start talking to a woman at the start line when we started and discovered it was her first. I chatted with her for the first mile but realized she was faster than me so I geared myself back a little. We ran by the farmer's market and through campus and into the preserve. I was really worried about this part since it was wood chips over dirt and my knees and ankles tend to cause issues for me. Oh yeah, and I'm also a clutz so I was figuring I would find a way to trip myself, which I did almost do.

3 miles were done and running felt great. I didn't feel like stopping yet so I just kept on going. I then ran into 2 friends, who turned out to be bff's that just graduated from the local college. It was Brittany's first half and Sarah's third. She was helping her get through and Brittany's family was all there to support. She had the loudest cheering section with her mom (former high school chearleader), dad (who at one point sang while running behind her) and her little sister. They pulled out no stops with the glitter glue on their signs. Here is a pic I stole from her facebook page (yes, I totally found them on facebook when we could see the results...is that weird?)

I ran with Brittany and Sarah until mile 10...seriously could not believe I was still running and we were that far as the miles just flew by. At that point I was thinking in my head I could make 2:10 a reality and told them I was taking off. I started to increase my pace and my last 3 miles were under 10 and slowly getting faster doing about 8:30 pace towards the finish. I totally sprinted it in and passed a runner about 10 feet before the finish. YEAH!!! The clock said 2:10:03 but there was no mat at the starting line so my Garmin has me at 2:09:58. I managed to shave...OK slash my old PR by a good 23 minutes!!

Here is how I placed overall:
Overall: 81/122
Female: 39/70
Age: 14/25

If you can't tell this was a super competitive field!!

I have yet to run a half though where I actually ran close to 13.1. Green Bay last year had a "measuring problem" and we actually ran 13.25 miles. My Garmin for this race came in at 12.94, and NO I did not cut any corners, heck I even ran through all the cones. Is your Garmin off at long distance races??