No full-blown race recap / review since this was more of a tempo run than a race for me, but did want to give a brief update.
Big NOLA confidence boost today!
As I said in my post last night, this race was a NOLA tune-up. I was not going to race at full half-marathon speed, but shooting for an average pace of 7:16 (Just under goal marathon pace). The weather conditions were tough with 25+ mph wind gusts and a “feels-like” temp of less than 15 degrees at race start.
I knew the course was going to be hilly, but it was actually a little more challenging than I expected. There was a nasty hill right at start, and at least some elevation gain in every mile with several long inclines throughout the course. I was a little worried about the three-mile gravel segment, but this turned out to be a great surface. The ruts in the road were more like packed dirt than gravel which felt fantastic. It was a bit of a shock moving back to asphalt.
I felt great during my warmup, though it was tough to keep my toes from going numb. Even though I knew 7:16 was my goal today, I really just wanted to run at a pace that was within myself and felt comfortable. After finishing the first mile in 7:14, I ended up settling in around 7:05 pace. I felt strong up most of the hills, and smooth on the flats and downhills. I generally resisted the temptation to go crazy on the downhills.
