Riverton Half Marathon

Up at 7:30. Slept ok, although I did wake up several times in the night. Had a granola bar and Gatorade for breakfast. 33 degrees outside, but it was clear, so I went with shorts and a t-shirt. Drove up to Riverton for their Half Marathon. Picked up my bib and goodie bag. They had a nice technical race shirt. It’s a trend that I appreciate. Those old cotton t-shirts were terrible.

Did a short warm-up, but my knees were hurting, so I figured what’s the point. Stripped off my jacket and pants in the car while I waited for the race to start. Ran into Blaine at the starting line. Managed to get my watch and iPod going at the start siren. I had no race plans… just run at a comfortable pace and hope my knees didn’t hurt very much.

I started off quick, as usual, and pretty much stayed in about 30th place most of the way. I kept a fairly consistent pace. Thankfully, my knees didn’t give me trouble until after the race. Then they throbbed like crazy. I was glad I didn’t wear extra clothes, because the sun was out and it warmed up quickly. There were quite a few hills too, including some really steep ones.

Mile 1 6:59
Mile 2 7:14
Mile 3 7:00
Mile 4 7:23
Mile 5 7:17
Mile 6 7:15
Mile 7 7:26
Mile 8 7:21
Mile 9 7:46 (Not tired, but my legs are fatiguing)
Mile 10 7:42
Mile 11 7:49
Mile 12 7:25
Mile 13 7:05
.05 Miles 6:00

This was the only picture I could find of myself online. I'm walking through the chute on the far left.

I finished in 1:36 flat. My average pace was 7:21. I would have been 10 minutes faster if this were a downhill course like Hobble Creek. I burned 1454 calories, but didn’t eat anything during the run. I had a few gulps of Gatorade though. Competition was tough. I came in 30th overall, 27th in Men, and 8th in my 35-39 age group. 398 finishers total. No trophies for me today. All runners received a finishers medal though. I’ve never medaled in any distance over a 10K.

They had free massages after, so I went directly there. The lady worked on my legs for a long time, which I appreciated. There wasn’t much she could do for my knees, but it felt good. Ate a smoothie and bagel with cream cheese before heading home. They put on a nice race.