Mistletoe Half Marathon, Winston-Salem NC

Well it was time to return to the great state of NC. I got my 5k Personal Record (PR) there last year in November. We went down for a weekend visit to see my cousin, Christi and her husband. They were nice enough to let us invade their house. My cousin's husband, Brian, had trained hard this fall for many weeks getting ready for this race. As an Reserve Army grunt, he's gone from running 5 milers up to 13 milers now. I'm sure PT tests will be like eating cake to him now. He had worked his way all the way up to a practice 13 mile run. He learned the meaning of nutrition, hydration, and injury along the way.
Saturday December 1st, hey we're in the south why is it in the upper 20's this morning? It was cold! I thought it was perfect though. I knew once I got started I would be fine. I was planning on a 7:37 pace so I could finish in 1:40:00.
First was the fun run. Madison signed up for the fun run. About 8:00 we were hanging around the start line. Madison was to cool to stand with her family so she was standing with a group of kids on the other side of the street. They were late starting the race so I was getting nervous about making it to my 8:15 start about a 1/4 mile away. I was preparing myself to go to the starting line when someone said okay let's have the fun run. A pack of kids lined up, I searched the pack to see Madison, she wasn't there! I ran across the street and over the hill on a soccer field, with that same bunch of kids, she was having her picture taken with them. There she was right in the middle of them. They all had on some sort colored shirt while she had on a gray sweatshirt and stuck out like a sore thumb. I said Madison get up here the race is starting! About that time the fun run started. Parents were standing there looking at me like I was crazy one of them said, "Aw that's just the fun run" I said I know she's supposed to be in it! Madison get up here! I yelled.

So she broke rank in the middle of the picture taking and came up the steps. The other kids were already out of sight down the road. Apparently, the kids she was with were running the 5k! As she took off running she almost broke into tears but her GoGo stepped in and started running with her. She was mad now and took off flying. I think the run was about 1 mile. I would later find out that she came in 5th and that she passed a bunch of kids. I know she gave them almost a 2 minute head start! She did good but it was quite funny after it was over.
GoGo was there to run the 5k so he had to stop running with Madison about half way she was wearing him out! He ran the 5k one second slower than his best at 35:53 for an 11:33 pace. I think he enjoyed this race in particular.

I didn't get to see her finish as I had to hustle to my start. Brian, Christi and I went to the starting line. We were pretty far in the back. Christi was there to wish us well and take our extra clothes. The Star Spangled Banner was sang, I didn't care for the style, sort of a bluesy interpretation and then bang the pistol fired. I didn't even have my sweatshirt off so I yanked it off and gave it to Christi. I was in my light, short sleeved Hokies shirt and some brown running shorts. I ran past Brian and said "Don't go out too fast!" Check out Dr. Frankenstein and Igor in the picture below("Yeeesss Master!").

The pack was pretty crowded here and I was in the back. Fortunately there was a sidewalk and I boogied past a bunch of runners. About mile one the pack began to thin out. The first mile was a little slow but it was still in the high 7's/mile for pace. I ran with an intensity that I'd never run with before for such a long run. Usually I hold back on anything longer than 10 miles. This time I was not holding back. I was going for it. I also wore my heart rate monitor this race. It was reading in the high 160's. My max heart rate is somewhere in the high 170's so I was working at about 90% of my capacity right from the start. The course featured a couple out and backs and on one of them I passed Brian going the other way. I said Go Hokies! He was wearing his Hokie shirt too. He looked good and like he was focused.
I ran very strong throughout the race. I carried a Gatorade bottle for the first half of the race and sipped on it. I had a gu pack at the start, about mile 6 and about mile 9. The course was beautiful mostly through nice residential areas and even a couple fancy shmancy mansions. About mile 11, it seemed like I was beginning to tire out but I rallied and actually ran the last two miles at a faster pace than any of the other miles. I crossed the line in 1:40:17 and I was very happy. Brian finished strong with a time of 1:58:01 and I think he is very pleased with his 9:01 average pace. Great job Brian! He was exhausted but in good spirits.
Statistics of my run.
Time 1:40:17
Pace 7:39
102 out of 602
15 out of 45 in Males 30-34
Average Heart rate 169
Fastest Mile 7:19 (Mile 12)

I got to tell you the post race party for this race is great. There was excellent child care setup and Madison had a blast. They had those blow up slides and jump houses as well as craft tables. They gave the parents bracelets for checking kids in and out. Audrey chose to keep Erin back at the house because her asthma had acted up the night before and I missed them being there. For food they had Papa Johns, Krispy Kremes, Chik Fil A sandwiches, as well as fruit and nuts. The whole family was permitted to eat as well. A great deal for $25. All in all it was an excellent race and I hope to be back next year. It's a great time of the year to run, the course was great, and the party was great too!