The Good

• The all-star game stuff is awesome
• The song playing while my wave started: You’re an all-star and Uptown Funk
• The song playing at mile ~0.75 (by Great American Ballpark): put me in coach
• The song somewhere around mile 4: something that sounded like 90% Black Sabbath mixed with 10% of Nirvana
• During large parts of my run, I felt like Mario Andretti in the Ave Maria Indy car commercial
• The lady with the large heavy-looking bell.  Seemed like she should have looked around at nearby people with those puny little cowbells and mustered up her best Aussie accent and say “that’s not a bell, THIS is a bell!”

The Bad

• Getting injured two weeks before the Little Kings Mile.  I got a pull/strain/something in my upper hamstring (AKA my butt) that put me out of commission for two weeks.  I never knew running could be such a pain in the ass sometimes! (lol!)
• People walking less than a mile in (I totally get it during the hill, but if you were going to walk, don’t start with 2:00 – 2:05 runners!)
• Someone near mile 5 was giving out small water bottles. I saw no less than 4 of them in the race course. Twisted ankle (or worse) waiting to happen.  I know their heart was in the right place, though.

The Awesome

• Signs:
  • “Every Hill is a mountain of opportunity”
  • “Run Like Morgan Freeman is Narrating”
• The crowd – it never ceases to amaze me how many non-runners come out for this.  People can be awesome sometimes.
• Not signs:
  • The couple with “1st 1/2 marathon” on their shirts.  I saw at least two people say good things to those two before I did.
  • The PR Bell
• Ringing the PR Bell!!!
• Using my own keys to the race to have an awesome race!
• The finishers area, complete with chandeliers.  There’s something cool about being in a dirty urban setting (the post-race area is the service area for the Great American Ballpark and the US Bank Arena) and seeing chandeliers.

The Ugly

• Two days of soreness after the race
• The bar I selected for that post-race beer. I don’t like being ignored.

The Race Report – Little Kings Mile

Race conditions were warm and sunny, race began at 8:00 PM on Friday night.  I had walked to and from the Expo and my office prior to the race (about a mile).  Race was operated in one major heat and two additional heats for 5 elite women and 5 elite men.  The course was new this year.

The Course

My strategy was to start well and kick it in around the corner of Central and Mehring (the last intersection on the course).  Finishing time was 7:17.

The Race Report – Flying Pig Half Marathon

Weather: mid-50s at the start, low 70s at my finish.

Clothing and Accessories: I wore a tank top and shorts.  I wished I had an old sweatshirt to have over me that could have been tossed to the side and ultimately donated to Goodwill (they collect cast-off clothing at the start area).  Only accessories were my phone, three packs of Gu (Root Beer, Vanilla, and Chocolate, the Root Beer one was consumed in the corral), and 3 Advil stapled to/in my fuel belt.

The Race: I spent the first 6 miles just staying with it.  I admired the sunrise and generally kept moving at a good pace without too much exertion.  I kept the same attitude during the uphill climb into Eden Park.  I kept a not-close eye on time.  Took water at 4, 5, 8, and 9.  Took energy shots around mile 5 (in downtown) and 9-ish (in the area where volunteers were handing out the energy bars).  Pushed it during the downhill, but not so bad I couldn’t talk, I saved that for miles 12-13.1.

Lap times. Ignore mile 1, this started before the race did.

Looking at the pace, I’m happy with it all.  I didn’t expect the first part to be in the low 9s, nor did I expect the middle part to not break 10 minutes per mile.  And I followed my own keys and saved some for the end, which is where those 3 sub-8:30 miles came from.

Final time: 2:01:11.  PR of 16:23!

Cheers!