Newport Liberty Half Marathon
September 25, 2011
Official Results
1:34:56
7:14 average pace
154 overall
17/995 gender
6/233 age group
Garmin Results- My garmin said I ran 13.28, which is pretty far off.
13.28 miles
1:34:54
7:09 average pace
Splits
Race Report
My dad and I have run this race 4 years in a row.
My Previous Results:
*2008~ 1:47:05 (my first half marathon)
*2009~ 1:38:10
*2010~ 1:33:41
*2011~ 1:34:56
As I said yesterday, I didn’t have high hopes for this race. I had only gotten about 4 1/2 hours of sleep the night before and have been fighting a bit of a cold since Monday. I wanted to run it mainly for the points I would receive in the race series I compete in and to sweat out some toxins 
Getting to the race from Brooklyn went smoothly. I stayed in a hotel the previous night since we were at the wedding. As I was getting ready for bed, it felt like a marathon weekend- staying in a hotel, setting my alarm for an hour that was way too early- it actually felt natural. For the amount of sleep I got, I actually slept pretty well. I stuck to wine and champagne at the wedding and was sure to eat plenty of carbs
The next morning was pretty humid, for some reason, this race is not known for having great running weather but I was just happy it wasn’t raining. My dad and I warmed up a bit, but less than we usually do. The start was smooth and uneventful…we started pretty close to the front and it wasn’t very crowded. (About 3,000 people ran the race.)
I knew I wanted to keep my pace in between 7-7:30, depending on how I was feeling. Because of all the buildings nearby, the garmin pace isn’t always accurate in this race, so I was careful not to depend on it too much. The above splits say I went out a little fast, but according to the mile clocks on the course, I hit the first 3 miles at 7 minutes exactly. From there I began to slow down, but was able to stay in my desired pace range.
I felt okay, definitely not great, and there were a few times that I had to remind myself that it was okay that I wasn’t running closer to a 7 min pace. I ate two gels during the race- right before miles 4 and 8, and they definitely helped. The course is a beautiful route, through liberty state park and along the water, with views of the New York City skyline for the majority of the race.
Dad’s Results
My dad did well, but not as well as he wanted to, finishing in 1:47:34, which is an 8:13 pace. He doesn’t perform as well in the heat and humidity but it was a great training run for New York.
Pictures
The following pictures are by awesome runner, and fellow club member, Karl Leitz.
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