Put it on the Board! The 2008 Flying Pig Half-Marathon Race Report

At the start:
It was very cold at the start and I was wondering if I made the wrong choice in wearing a singlet instead of a technical t-shirt, but shortly into the run I knew I had made the right decision. We started a little late, 6:45 instead of 6:30, which made for some antsy, and cold, runners at the starting line.

The Race:
The plan was to shoot for 8:40 for the first 3 miles, then assess how I felt and readjust for the next three miles, then do the same at mile 6 and mile 9.
1. T: 9:09/9:09 For the first mile that was impossible, there were just too many people and not enough roadway.
2. T: 7:51/17:01 The second mile was too fast but part of that may have due to the downhill on the bridge.
3. T: 8:29/25:30 At mile three, I was feeling really great, better than I had expected, which left me a little wary. at this point I was on pace for a 1:51ish half, but I knew I had the hill still to come so I decided not to up my 8:40 target but instead to stick to the 8:40 plan and save a little energy for the climbs.
4. T: 8:30/35:00 Mile 4 was still a little fast but there was a good bit of downhill from a bridge with Mile 4 starting partway up the bridge.
5. T: 8:35/43:35
6. T: 8:36/52:12 The climb started at the marker for mile 5, yet I still held the 8:40 pace pretty well. After 6 I thought about whether I should push for 8:40 through the hill... for about half a second. I'd run this hill before, I knew better though and just hoped to get through in under 10:00 and then shoot for 8:40 again once I crest the hill just after the mile 8 marker.
7. T: 9:32/1:01:44 You wouldn't think of Ohio as being hilly, but Cincinnati definitely is and there are some tough ones in the middle of the Pig half, making for a tough two miles.
8. T: 9:10/1:10:55 I was pretty pleased to hold sub 10 for the two miles through the hill, and actually kind of impressed.
9. T: 8:24/1:19:19 After the hill, it was mostly flattish for about two miles and I absolutely FLEW! I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard, but was holding a low 8 to high 7 minute pace.
10. T: 9:06/1:28:25 A little bit more of an uphill... I think I lost my focus a bit here as well and fell off the pace.
11. T: 7:53/1:36:19 Wow, I feel really, really good...
12. T: 7:55/1:44:15 Seriously? Still feeling THIS good? Mostly downhill, but I'm still flying...
13. T: 7:30/1:51:46 The downhill ended but I was feeling really strong and didn't have far to go, so I just pushed a little harder, it's the last mile, KICK SOME ASS!
13.1 T: 0:42/1:52:29 There's the Finish line!
Final time: 1:52:29 A new Personal Record!
Some quick hits. I didn't walk at any point in the race, not even the water stops, which I only used 3-4 times anyhow. I didn't even think about the fact that I was or wasn't walking, it just happened. I did stop for maybe 15 seconds to water some shrubs, but that was it.

The Finish and Post-Race:
After I finished, I felt briefly like I might heave due to the sprint I had put on at the finish, but this passed really quickly and I realized that, as good as I felt, I probably should have gone harder throughout the race. I got my space blanket, a nice towel and my medal (pics will be up eventually) and a whole lot of food . There were bananas, bagels, Frozen Gogurts, cookies, potato chips, Sun chips, Peach Mango Chips, Cheez-its (which I somehow passed on), ice cream, cereal/snack bars, lots of water, Gatorade and oranges. I got a little bit of everything then went to get my gear bag that I had checked at the start.
I got my stuff, checked my phone for updates on my friend Nicole to see how she was doing (Chip udates were texted to me) then found a patch of grass in the sun. I spread out the space blanket, did some stretching and snacking, sent a text message to some key people regarding my time, changed into dry, comfy clothes and proceeded to nap in the sun for an hour.
After the nap I did some reading and after about 3 hours of waiting Nicole finally appeared. Her race had been a disappointment as far as results (4:26 for the marathon, though it turned out to be a quarter mile longer than a marathon due to a reroute around a fire) but she enjoyed it immensely.

I've posted a screenshot of the data from my Suunto below. Disregard the Altitude numbers on the right, I reset the altitude at one point incorrectly and have yet to correct it. the changes in height are correct but the 'Zero' needs to be fixed.
from looking at the speed graph on the bottom you can see pretty clearly at what point I stopped to 'water the shrubbery'.