Second time running The Bull City Race Fest Half Marathon. No big plans for the event as the group of Insane Running started to train for our event in April. 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, that includes a couple of easy speed-ups at the end to give the legs a chance to get loose before the start of the event. Since I remembered from last year that it did help me to get ready and helped make those 1st few miles easier to find the flow and event pace.

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, Rakesh, Brendan, Charu, Rahul, Arvind, Andrew, Ken, Prasanth and Kiphog

Miles 1-3

As I started mid-way in the back, Kaleel, Venu, Arvind, and many others were just a tad ahead in front of me. Similar to last year, it was a slow-going pace to get used to running close to 9:00. My legs were just feeling ok, not super fresh. Still, after zigzagging a bit, for the next couple of miles, I was able to find a good decent running pace to sustain around 8:30. Since I started mid-way in the back, I was able to start passing a few runners. I met a couple that was running together, we chatted briefly, but both of them were running solid even pace even with the constant change of the hills.

Miles 4-7

Now for this next segment, I felt like I warmed up well. The temperatures were fantastic, and today we had some great cloud coverage protecting us from the sun. At the water stations, I decided to grab Gatorade and water since I did not carry any fluid with me. The rolling hills continue, making it a constant change of pace due to the ups and downs. Energy-wise I was feeling ok; my sugars were fine, and I decided to take a gel close to mile 5. I took my time finishing it, enjoying the hills and pushing the pace. Still, my pace slowed down a touchback to 9:00. I still passed many runners but not as many as in the first few miles. Baohong kept me company as he was pacing one of his friends from his running group. It was great to chat with him for a little bit.

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. Sugars are still within a good range.

Miles 8-11

Now by this time heart rate has been fluctuating between my orange and red zones. In the past few miles, I was tackling the hills at the same pace or increasing the cadence. But by now, even though the legs were just a bit tired, I knew I needed to slow just a tad if I wanted it to keep a good pace coming into the final files of the event. After mile eight, the hills finally got the best of me today. Halfway on one of the hills and with my heart rate reaching max, I had to make a decision to either walk, let the heart rate come down, or suffer soon after the hill by slowing down the rest of the event. With the slowest mile pace at 10:12, I walk about 3/4 of the hill. I am glad I did; after reaching the crest of the hill and finally putting some music on, I started to feel better enough to start running close to the 9:00-mile pace for the next few miles.

Miles 12-Finish

This last few miles are mostly downhill. I took advantage and pressed the pace a bit more, 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. I talked to the couple from the few early miles as they finished just a few minutes ahead of me. After a few minutes, I headed out to do a cool-down. Easy 1-mile job to make sure that I kickstart a really good recovery since next week I have a couple of events that I will be pushing the pace.

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 6 and Gatorade with water at aid stations.
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.

Month/Year	Event	Location	Type	Time
Oct-22	Bull City Half	NC	Half	1:59:01 unofficial