Garry Bjorklund 2015

Heading into Grandma's weekend this year I had put in some solid run training. With that in mind, a PR should have been in the bag. The hard half iron the week prior was the one caveat in the plan. Well that and the weather...  Leading into race day the weather forecast was for steady rain at the start and heavy rain during the run. 

Pre Race

With a 6:15 start, I set the alarm for 3:30. Damn is that early. I got up, had my toast for breakfast and rolled out. I had to pick up Serena at 4:30 prior to hitting the DECC. She would be running her first half, so I was hoping to make the pre race challenges a bit easier for her. As we approached the DECC we passed by the long line and swung into the parking lot by the Irvin with no wait at all. Score one for having done this before. We grabbed our clothes bag and final snacks and got ourselves in line for a bus. 

No drama on the ride and we were happy that it was not raining as of yet. We both had a throwaway warm shirt on the stay warm at the start, and snacked over the short ride. When they dropped us off, we slowly wandered towards the gear trucks where we dropped our bags. We looked for fellow DRC group runners and said hello to a few. We then hit the porta potty line and took care of business. 

We found a couple runners that she was planning on starting with, and I found Brian and Dave so we wished each other luck and went to our respective areas of the corral. Our plan was for 7:00 flat to start and see where it went. 

Race Time

Off we went and I tried to get in a groove quickly. Mile one went by in 6:50 so a bit quick, but not worried. At about mile 2.5, the light rain started. Not pouring, but rain none the less. We kept rolling along and soon we were approaching London Road. At the Lester River, I started to notice my legs feeling a bit tired. Last weekends race was coming back. I tried to keep steady and see what I could do over the next couple miles. 

As we approached Lemon Drop Hill I was starting to struggle. The uphills were real tough. I really focused on taking advantage of the downhill after Lemon Drop because I knew the small hill at Super One would be tough also. By now my mile splits were in the 7:10 range, but a PR was still an option if I could keep it together on the flats through downtown. 

After passing DRC I really focused on turnover. After we passed Wells Fargo and turned onto 5th Ave West it was just one mile to go. Muscle up the hill and use the downhill to get my speed back. Around the DECC, by the Irvin and onto the homestretch. A PR was going to happen, and I ran strong through the finish line. All in all, a good effort. 

Post Race

As it was still sprinkling, I grabbed my clothes bag and changed to stay warm. I was looking for friends to see how everybody's space went. I caught up with Kris, Skeeter, Tiffany, Noah and Halie who all seemed pleased. I was really looking for Serena as her sprained ankle was a big question mark for her. I finally saw her in the crowd and she gave me a big hug. I was so happy for her to be able to get a great time for her first half marathon. She even got that time running with a really sore ankle.