Third year participating in The Bull City Race Fest Half Marathon. There are no plans for PR or push the pace in this event as I am still struggling with left knee issues. Some runners from our Insane Running group were starting the training for Umstead a couple of weeks back. For the morning routine, the usual hot cereal, coffee, some water, and this time no banana as sugars were feeling good this morning.

After an easy 1-mile jog, give the legs and knee a chance to get loose before the start of the event.

It was great to see many of the friends from the training group as well as others we normally see each other passing by during the training runs. Great runners like Kaleel, Venu, Brendan, Charu, Rahul, Arvind, Malini, Ranga, Kiphog and many others.

Miles 1-3

As I started way in the back, Kaleel, Venu, Arvind, and many others were just a tad ahead in front of me. Like last year, it was a slow-going pace to get used to running close to 10:00. My left knee was just feeling ok, not super great. Feeling the knee during the first few uphills, it was a reminded to take it easy. For the next couple of miles, I was able to find a good decent running pace to sustain around 10:00. Since I started mid-way in the back, I was able to start passing a few runners.

Miles 4-7

The next few miles, I felt like I was able to warm up. The temperatures were fantastic, and today, we had some great cloud coverage protecting us from the sun. Since I was carrying my energy fuel, I decided to skip the water and Gatorade at the water stations. The rolling hills continue, making it a constant change of pace due to the ups and downs. Since I was definitely going at a more easy pace than the last couple of years, energy-wise, I was feeling okay; my sugars were fine, just a tad on the high side but good. I decided to take a gel close to mile 5. Still, my pace slowed down a touch, just a tad below 10:00, but I was still slowly passing a few runners as they were slowing down more than I was. I ran next to Sidney, a friend of my daughter; it was great to chat with her for a little bit. Her Dad, who we have run past each other at Umstead many times, was ahead of us, running at a great pace. Both of them were training for the Marines Corp Marathon in a couple of weeks.

My leg started to feel a little bit heavy, but every time I heard the other runners nearby breathing heavily and very shallowly, it gave me cues to check mine. I was pleased to check that mine were very controlled ones. Deep and slow-in with a slightly faster exhale.

Miles 8-11

In the last few miles, I was tackling the hills with ease at the same pace or increasing the cadence a little bit. With the slowest mile pace at 10:19, I continued tackling the hills. After reaching the crest of the hill I grabbed some water at the water station. I finally put some music on, to carry me on the rest of the way. I started to feel better enough to start running close to the 9:45-mile pace for the next few last miles.

Miles 12-Finish

These last two miles are mostly downhill. I took advantage and pressed the pace a bit more, running next to Arun and finishing with a smile.

At the finish area, I was able to catch up with a few other friends, get some water, and exchange a few of the learnings and experiences from the event. After a few minutes, I headed out to do a cool-down, an easy 1-mile jog to make sure that I start the week with a really good recovery before my visit to the doctor to talk about the next steps in treating my left knee issue.

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Month/Year	Event	Location	Type	Time
Oct-23	Bull City Half	NC	Half	2:14:01 unofficial

Highlights:

Course: Great ample road right of the start. Great scenery as you basically stroll the city streets of Durham. There are hills and more hills, some rolling, others just a tad steeper. You will need to constantly manage your pace and effort as you do not want to run out of steam in the later parts of the event because you tackled the hill too aggressively.

Venue: At the finish, it was good, simple but effective. A few vendors and food trucks.

Expo: No Expo

Weather: Perfect weather with very few clouds until the finish. A great 55º with just 79% humidity.

T1D: Sugars were good at the start and held pretty well in range throughout the event.

Fueling:

Pre-Race: 1 serving of Hot Cereal and Latte.

Race: Maurten caffeinated gel at mile 5 and an energy drink I was carrying with me.
Post: Protein shake and lots of water.

Learning Points:

• Running a conservative 1st couple of miles allowed me to run at a higher pace in the later parts of the event.
• Fueling went well, as I did not need that second gel I was carrying.