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Jul 13, 2015 12:00:00 AM
I went into this years Missoula Half Marathon with higher expectations and less nerves, as last year was my first time running the Missoula Half Marathon, as well as my frist time running an official half marathon race. I ran the Pittsburgh Half Marathon about two months before and was happy with my continued improvement. I was hoping to see the same type of improvement in Missoula after putting in over 100 training miles in June leading up to the Missoula race.
Conditions were ideal this year with cooler temps and some rain before and during the start of the race. When I ran this race for the first time last year, I remember the first few miles along Blue Mountain Road as being so nice. This year, with the rain, it felt a bit different, but that could also have to do with the first time novelty no longer being with me.
Well, everything does not always go according to plan. I still set my fastest half marathon time, but fell short of where I really wanted to be by at least a minute. I definitely felt a bit of disappointment as I noticed the clock when approaching the finish line and realized that I was not going to be under the 1 hour and 43 minute goal that I was hoping for.
While I was faster this year, I had the same late race struggles as last year and again fell well behind my average pace on the 12th mile. I clearly need to work on finishing stronger as late race struggles are becoming a contiued pattern. Ultimately, I just need to use this as further motivation for the future. I'm already looking forward to completing my fourth half marathon this September.