Texas Half and the Four Seasons Challenge

January and February are busy months because the weather is usually perfect for running and so there was a quick turn-around between Too Cold 15K (aka Birthday Race) on Sunday (1/22) and the Texas Half on Saturday (1/28). I was looking forward to the race because it would be another chance to see some frunners, and also because it would complete the Four Seasons Challenge for Erik and me. The Four Seasons Challenge consists of running all four of Mellew’s half marathons (spring-Big D, summer-Hottest Half, fall-Tyler Half, and winter-Texas Half) consecutively. Completing this challenge means that we would score a special medal and t-shirt once we were finished.

The weather was beautifully chilly when we arrived at the race and we took advantage of the camp house at Winfrey Point. We milled about, talked with friends, and took pictures until it was time for the start. As soon as we were off and running I could tell that Erik was feeling strong and I decided not to expend any extra energy to keep up with him. It was great to see him running away looking so strong and I was sending him my best thoughts for a great race. I had some realistic, progress oriented goals for this race—they were:
1) Run it in less than 2:00
2) Focus on negative splits
3) Try to match the pace from the Too Cold 15K (8:52 avg pace) .
I felt very comfortable with the course as it was essentially a loop around White Rock with some extra miles and an out-and-back section added to complete the total 13.1 . I run the White Rock loop almost every weekend for my long run so I am familiar with the area. I knew that the first few miles would be hilly and then the rest would be flat and right next to the lake.


Team K is ready to run!

The first four-five miles were quite challenging and I was wondering if my legs were going to give me what I wanted them to that day. I was planning on running the first eight miles at a comfortably pushed pace and then pushing harder in the last few miles. The hills at the beginning certainly helped me to slow down and get those negative splits.


Nice to see Corina at the race!

Soon enough things leveled out and after a slow mile 5 I found my pace settling in just where I wanted it to be. I let my mind wander as I listened to some music and just cruised—it felt good. I did some math and figured that a 1:57 finish would be very possible—definitely on track with my goals for the day. The out-and-back section started around mile 10 and tried to open up the pace a little bit more as I knew that I had a 5K left and should be able to meet my goals for the day. The people who were finishing ahead of me were passing us on the other side and I enjoyed looking at all the runners and trying to find Erik. When I spotted him he was still looking nice and strong, I knew that he was not on pace for a personal record (PR) but I could tell that his time would be very good. This gave me a bit more energy to push on towards the finish.


With Elaine--fellow Four Seasons Finisher

Oh and the finish…..so clever of them to put it at the top of a hill and have the wind blowing in our face at the same time. I ran this race a few years ago and remembered this tricky ending, so it didn’t totally take me off guard. When I hit mile 12 I focused on passing people that were near me and then staying in front of them. I gave it my all as I approached that hill and I could see 1:58 on the clock at the finish line. That hill was TOUGH and I was so happy to be at the top. Whew…..official time 1:58:04. Dang that felt good!

Here are the numbers:
Mile splits-8:38, 8:51, 9:06, 8:58, 9:21, 8:51, 8:52, 8:48, 8:43, 8:57, 8:43, 8:45, 8:39, 8:38 (last .33)
Avg Pace 8:51 over 13.33 miles (by Garmin)
12th out of 106 in my Age Group
GOALS MET!!

It turns out that Erik did have a great race too—1:53:36! We were both very happy with our races and ventured into the camp house to collect our Four Seasons bling and enjoy some post race food, drink, and socialization. Looks like a successful day for Team K!


Four Seasons Bling

Thanks, as always, to EW, Corina, and Elaine for the pictures!