Amica Iron Horse Half Marathon, Simsbury, CT
Splits:
1) 10:31 - The first mile marker seemed a bit off, ~9:21 pace for the first 2 miles
2) 8:20 - Started off near the back of the pack, so the crowds cost me some time.
3) 8:33
4) 8:26 - gel
5) 8:12
6) 8:15
7) 8:19
8) 8:12 - gel
9) 8:23
10) 8:18
11) 8:26
12) 8:16
13) 8:07
F) 0:43
Net time: 1:50:57
This was an early morning race with a 7:45 AM start time, temperatures in the low 50's F
and sunny and dry, ideal conditions.
The course was a 2-loop affair, flat except for two minor elevation changes (I would not
call them hills), most of the course was in the shade, back roads and a portion on the
bike trail.
I started off towards the back of the pack, not quite realizing how crowded the field
was (1,029 runners in the half). The first two miles were slow going, but by mile 3,
the field has spread out and I settled in near a 8:30 pace, comfortable.
Miles 5 through 10 were good, with splits from 8:12 to 8:23.
I picked up the pace in the last two miles, and finished strong in the last 200 meters.
Overall, I was very pleased with the time since I averaged about 30 miles/week for the
past five weeks, with a low week of 14 miles, which probably cost me 1-2 minutes in my
overall time.
This was my first half since last October (8 months ago) so it was good to get it done.
The race was very well organized and worth the drive up the road to get there (about an hour).
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