A NEW Half Marathon PR – City of Lakes Half 2024

Well, this is a fun race recap post to write!

I never thought at 41 years old I would be able to set three new PRs this year. I now have a new mile PR, 5K PR, and half marathon. This was the third PR in two months, so things have been going really well, you could say. Racing is definitely more fun when you’re fit, in my opinion. (Although I do envy those people who can run races for fun! It looks so . . . .fun! ha!)

While I am building my speed on the roads, I am not gaining speed in getting these race recap posts up any faster. It has now been almost a week since I ran the City of Lakes Half. It didn’t help that I spent a couple days helping my sister get unpacked in her new house, which put me behind in my work for the week. But Bjorn did start preschool this week, so those 2.5 hours he is there every day are very precious to me, and I crank out a lot of work during that time.

Anyway, I was actually quite excited for this race (more than usual), but I also still get nervous for every race! I felt pretty confident I could PR at this half, and I set these as my A, B, and C goals:

C goal = sub-1:25 so I could qualify for the elite field at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, which is part of Grandma’s Marathon weekend

B goal = a new PR, which my previous PR was 1:24:22–I was pretty confident I would be able to do this.

A goal = a sub-1:24–I knew I was teetering right on the edge of a 1:24 half, and I was pretty confident I could pull it off, but it would take a really stellar day as the course itself isn’t super fast with some hills; a double looped course, which can mess with you a bit; and definitely some turns that could add distance if you’re not good about running the tangents

I got to the start about an hour before the race, picked up my bib, and started warming-up. The air was a bit cool, and I needed an additional layer on for my warm-up, which is definitely a good sign for cooler racing weather. I am not sure what the actual temperature was, but I think it was in the mid-50s at the start.

I seeded myself toward the front of the pack but not too far forward as there are a lot of fast people at this race. I kept reminding myself not too go out too fast and target a 6:25 pace to start. (I needed a 6:25 min/mi pace to PR and a 6:24 min/mi pace in order to run a sub-1:24.) As soon as the race started, I got in my groove and ran my race, occasionally checking my watch to make sure I was running the right speed.

I remember feeling really comfortable running 6:25 pace, so I stuck with it, and I was pretty much a metronome this race:

Mile 1 – 6:25
Mile 2 – 6:26
Mile 3 – 6:23
Mile 4 – 6:23

There were rolling hills throughout this portion of the race, but for every uphill, there was a subsequent downhill, so I was able to keep a pretty even pace throughout each mile.

I don’t remember too much about this part of the race, I was just in the zone, clicking off the miles, looking up to remember to take the tangents, and checking in with myself to see if I could do a bit faster in spots or have to dial it back in other areas.

I did see one women in front of me step off the course around mile 6, which is always so sad.

Mile 5 – 6:24
Mile 6 – 6:20
Mile 7 – 6:26
Mile 8 – 6:26

By this time, we have started loop number two of the course. In some ways it is nice because you know what to expect, but in other ways . . .you know what to expect: the hills, where the wind is, and it gets a little monotonous.

During a good chunk of these middle miles, I ran with another guy. We never said anything to each other, but we definitely helped pull each other along. We ended up connecting over Instagram after the race, which was kind of fun.

Mile 9 – 6:25
Mile 10 – 6:25
Mile 11 – 6:25

I was still feeling decent as we were nearing the last few miles of the race. I decided I would start pushing the pace with two miles to go. I may have considered pushing a bit earlier but the second half of mile 11 was running into a good headwind, so I was just fighting to maintain my same pace.

At the start of mile 12, I started picking up the pace and telling myself things like, “Every second counts.” “How bad do you want that 1:23:xx?!” I was definitely working, and I was definitely starting to hurt. I saw another girl drop out with a mile to go, which was once again so sad.

Mile 12 – 6:21
Mile 13 – 6:19
Last 0.16 = 5:43 min/mi pace

At mile 12, I thought I was a little closer to the end, and I kept wishing for some crowd support because I was needing it badly. With a 0.5 mile to go, I finally got to a section of people cheering, and then I knew I was getting close. There’s one final climb to the finish, and the last 0.1 mile is downhill into the finish chute when I booked it as hard as I could.

As I approached the finish clock, I saw it had already clicked over to 1:24–bummer! But I continued to push because I couldn’t remember the seconds of my PR, so I wanted to make sure I at least got a PR.

Just a few meters after the timing mat, I stopped and immediately sat down because I was beat! I sat there for a few moments, closed my eyes, and tried to slow my breathing.

After a few moments, I stood up, regained my composure, and then slowly walked out the chute to find my friend. I saw a couple other competitors and we chatted about our races. I was really happy to PR but was so close to being under 1:24 that it was kind of a bummer. I’m not sure if it is reassuring or not, but I calculated what my finish time would have been if I would have run exactly 13.1 miles, and my time would have been 1:23:40! Kind of crazy how much it makes a difference when you run those tangents!

All-in-all, it was a really solid race and one I am so proud of. It sets me up well for the Twin Cities 10 Mile at the beginning of October and my marathon in November. Any guesses as to which one I’m running?