I’m tired. Still exhausted today with a sore knee from a lot of pavement running in the past few weeks. Making the transition from the trails to harder surfaces should have happened a little sooner in training. That being said, 4 races in 9 days! Time for a Montana Half Marathon, or two.
Last weekend was the Bozeman 5k and the Bozeman Half Marathon — both PRs for those distances. Saturday, I ran a tough leg in the Ranch Run 25-mile relay. Friday night, I signed up for Sunday’s Montana Half Marathon, because I didn’t want all that training to go to waste with my racing season coming to a close.
Montana Half Marathon Course
The race starts with a steady downhill mile before flattening out and rolling into easy, fast hills through residential areas on the west side of town. I got a great start with a 7:24 mile to get ahead of the crowd. Compared to last week, I never settled into a mental zone, but kept a steadier pace throughout most of the race, between 7:36 and 7:53, with the exception of mile 5 which had a bit more of a climb.
Once I got to mile 9, things were a little more difficult, my legs were tired, but I pushed on. The finish was a fast downhill and I was running to beat the clock.
I ended up with a second consecutive Half Marathon PR — 1:41:32, which beat last weekend by more than a minute! — and finished 27th overall, 2nd in my division. Christy finished in 25th a minute ahead of me, also 2nd in her division. The Montana Half Marathon was a great race and weekend for Team Beef!
I look forward to giving the Montana Half Marathon another go, hopefully, a bit more rested next year.
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