Tale of 2 Half Marathons - 2014 RnR USA Half 1:22:48 / 6:19 & NYC Half 1:29:07 / 6:48 (Pacing)

Two half marathons in a weekend.  One was a quick trip to race in DC and 24 hours later paced the NYC half marathon 

2014 RnR USA Half
Net Time: 1:22:48
Pace: 6:19
Rank: 70/16724
AG: 71.80%

I registered for this race along with my teammates due to our NYC Half Marathon rejection.  We made it a mini-road trip to DC and got some decent racing weather.   This was my 3rd trip to race in DC with the previous two being the marathon.  The course was definitely different from previous years.  I felt I was in great shape coming into this race, however everything was going smooth early on until mile 6-7.  My plan was to hit sub 6:15s unfortunately, the long steep hill was tough and I never recovered.   Nevertheless, I've been racing a lot recently and hopefully this would mentally give me an edge in the full marathon.  Added a few more miles and ended close to 20 as a long run.  Until 24 hours later....

 

The National @ Carnegie Hall

@ Iron Horse

Splits:
01 - 6:15:77
02 - 6:09:47
03 - 6:11:40
04 - 6:07:30
05 - 6:11:35
06 - 6:27:01
07 - 6:52:36
08 - 6:19:41
09 - 6:10:20
10 - 6:24:91
11 - 6:35:95
12 - 6:14:63
13 - 6:09:14
.1 -     33:87

2014 NYC Half (Pacing 1:30)
Net Time: 1:29:07
Pace: 6:48
AG: 66.79%

Although I stated that I was rejected for the NYC Half, I signed up as a 1:30 pacer instead.  24 hours after racing DC, maintaining a pace under 6:52s felt very comfortable.  The weather and the wind conditions (with the exception of the 42nd street crosstown) was close to perfect.  I kind of wished I had raced this, however I had to fulfill my duty as a pacer and I hopefully I didn't let anyone down.  A few years ago, going under 1:30 for a half marathon was a daunting task, so I knew as a pacer it was important to hit around the 1:29:00-1:29:50 range.  The first few miles in the park was tough to get into a solid rhythm due to the congestion, however after the west side hills in the park, it was smooth sailing from there.  Being a pacer was quite rewarding especially at the end of the race where a lot of runners who were relying on me wound up being very thankful.  Pretty humbling.  Although I was able to hit 2 halves in one weekend, I was happy that I did it and surprisingly my legs felt fine.  I hope I can leverage this for the upcoming marathon.

Splits
01 - 7:07:07
02 - 6:19:79
03 - 6:38:88
04 - 6:51:84
05 - 6:48:04
06 - 6:42:71
07 - 6:46:99
08 - 6:47:07
09 - 6:42:64
10 - 6:47:91
11 - 6:51:93
12 - 6:45:43
13 - 6:55:15
.1 -  1:01:45

CPTC Post Race @ Becketts - Traditions...