I really wanted to do some longer racing but there have been few chooses out there. Luckily Millennium is putting on a number of events. I was reluctant to enter the half as the entry fee ($102!) was a bit out there. Funny, since the marathon and the 5k were both decently priced, I'm not sure why the half was out of line with the other entry fees.
I submitted a projected time of 1:24 which I felt might be a bit aggressive considering the hilly nature of the course. I'd run 63 minutes at the hilly 10 mile earlier this year and this was a bit tougher course. Better to seed myself at the fast end of what I thought I could do rather than sandbag and pass a lot of people (seems like a few people went this route). With two runners starting every 10 seconds I figured I'd have people to work with, no need to start further back and be passing (that is the whole reason for putting in accurate times). I ended up seeded 30th in the half-marathon and 22 marathoners also were seeded ahead of me. Again, that meant there would be opportunities to key off of others. The biggest drawback to the time trial start is that you can't race head-to-head so you can be beaten by someone you never see (I lost by 1 second to someone who started WAY behind me).
I got to Manchester a bit early, just to make sure I had enough time as city races can be a bit stressful. I got in a nice 2 mile warm-up out/back on the rail trail (which we'd race on). It was fairly warm for an early November race. Fifties and sunny (it'd get into the 70s!), not super uncomfortable but not bad either. I switched into my racing gear and then scurried to the start line, getting to my spot as the first few starters were heading out. I was happy to see CMS teammates Iain Ridgway and Scott Leslie. Both were competing in the marathon. I also saw my prime competition Jeff Walker who I'd beaten by a scant couple of seconds at the 10 mile. He'd be starting a minute plus behind me so hopefully I wouldn't be seeing him (and hopefully I'd be far enough ahead that I wouldn't pull him along). My time came up and off I went.
My fist goal was to get up to Rock Rimmon feeling good. After a mostly flat mile we'd climb up to the scenic viewpoint in Western Manchester. This was just the start of a LOT of tough long uphills with absolutely brutal SHORT downhills. Definitely not the way I'd want to run. I was a bit surprised to be passed by a couple of guys in the first 2 miles (at least one was in the marathon) but I was feeling okay and my pace was close to what I'd hoped. I kept thinking "get to the 5m mark and see how you feel". Thirteen miles is a long way and feels much longer if you are having a bad day. I did not want to have a bad day. The big downhill got me to the rail trail and the gentle two miles heading back to Manchester. I tossed my final pair of white cotton gloves dad had given me over the years (I've tossed hundreds of the gloves he got from General Foods over the years), as the day was warming up and I was as well. The tough little hill heading up to downtown got me to 5 miles right at 32 minutes which had me right on goal pace.
At that point I upped the pace a bit as one of the relay runners went by (Nickson and NHTI runner who I'd raced a month earlier). I tried to go with him but it was a bit too fast. I did catch up to one of the marathoners who had passed me in the early miles. Six to 8 miles had some tough ups and another steep downhill leading into Livingston park. Somehow I thought I'd coast down the hills and work through the short dirt section in Livingston. I probably pushed it a bit too hard and was really feeling it on this section. I was worried as the worst climb of the day lay ahead. I was not looking forward to climbing up to Derryfield park from 9.5 to 10.5 miles. I hit 10 miles in a step over 64 minutes so I was still on pace. I was now just thinking "get to the top and bury that last 5k". Although I was slowing quite a bit I did pass another runner and began to close on Nickson.
I got past Derryfield and was relieved by the downhill on Mammoth road. Ugh! I forgot about the tough little "bump" at 11.5 miles. I again felt like I was grinding to a halt. After the bump I got rolling but downtown look so far away! There was a lot of signage just before 13 miles and I had to read it a few times to ensure I went the right way (apparently some did not). Then it was the final turn on Elm street and kick for the finish. I had nothing left so it wasn't much of a kick. I was happy to see that I was .4 under my projected time with an official time of 1:23:59.6. I waited at the end of the chute to see Jeff Walker come in. He got me by 10 seconds!
I headed back out onto the course to get in a 2 mile warm-down and to cheer on marathoners and half-marathoners who were out on the course. It was an enjoyable way to finish the day.
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