Brooksie Way 1/2 Marathon, Rochester, Mich -- Race Report

It was a crisp sunny morning today. 41 degrees and about a 10mph North wind. But.......at least it was sunny. The Brooksie is a nice race about 2500runners through some subs, a dirt road and a couple of slag trails. One thing I've never quite figured out is what to wear on these kind of days. Wore a heavier than normal long-sleeve shirt, throwaway gloves and a headband. Pretty good, but should have worn a short sleeve with arm sleeves. I got quite warm the last few miles even though the temp didn't change and the wind was cold. The course is downhill for the first 5, uphill for the second 5 and relatively level for the last 3. So you have to watch your pace. Get a bit ahead early knowing you'll bleed some, especially 7 - 10 and then give it what you've got left.

I haven't run many 1/2s and it's been about 15 months since my last one so a new PR wouldn't be a big deal with three more marathons and a couple of thousand miles under my belt since. This was kind of a throw-in race that my brother talked me into running so I said what the hell earlier this week. Glad I did.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect only four weeks since a marathon PR of 3:08, but I ran 1:28:36, which was a least a minute better than I'd expected. An 11 min PR, but that's compared to the "old" me. Finished 45/2643 overall and AG 5/184 (can't wait to turn 55 next month!!) and was far enough behind the guys in front that a few seconds wouldn't have made a difference.

Now the big question, can I run the Grand Rapids Marathon in two weeks and give it a good go. Maybe a new PR. Two weeks isn't a lot of recovery time, but I surprised myself today so you never know. I haven't registered yet and will give it a couple of days before committing. We shall see.

Congratulations.
Looks like the temperature was similar in Detroit and Atlanta.

Wow - great pace and congrats on the race!!!! You should probably have a good sense of where you stand for the marathon in a couple of days - BIG difference in recovery between a marathon and a 13.1. Great job!

Very nice overall and AG finish. You'll probably start taking home some hardware once you hit the new AG!

Congrats on the huge PR, and yes, I think you can be ready to run the Grand Rapids in two weeks.

Congrats on a good run, and I guess I'll see you in Grand Rapids (I'm only running the half).

Great job and congrats on the PR.

Very nice job on the race and a great PR.