This picture was taken after the race at the American Airlines Center, Redraiderrunner (left), Spareribs (center), Me (right). 

Arrived Saturday afternoon.....saw Spareribs (bib 7797) at the Cross Country Club of Dallas booth....talked a bit.....went to a movie....ate dinner.....got to bed about 11:00 PM.
My goal for the year was to get under 1:40 in the half (my best was 1:41:26, the year before), which would lay a solid base toward a possible BQ....I had just missed a BQ by seconds in 2004....
I needed to be better prepared in 2005. My previous two half's were not close to my goal, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do at the Whiterock Half.
I told Ribs that I would probably run MP and pick it up in the second half, but before bedtime I decided to attempt a Tempo type run, 7:30's for a few miles, a little recovery and so on.
Up at 5:15 AM...immediately ate two Accel gel's, started drinking some water and Gatorade....Another Accel gel 30 minutes before the start of the race...
About 37 degrees at the start..very sunny...
I positioned myself close to the front...but not too close...
The gun went off, and I said the heck with it…I’m racing and there I was weaving around trying to position myself in an open lane. Within a few hundred yards we were merging in with the Marathon runners. It took about a half mile for me to find my rhythm.
At mile two I noticed that I was running with the 3:10 Marathon pace group….I knew I was going way too fast, I backed off a bit. I also knew the hills were coming, so whether I wanted to or not, the hills would slow me down, which is a good thing.
If I could get through the hills close to a 7:45 pace, then I would be in a position to run a decent race. No PR in mind at this time, I just wanted to get close to my best half marathon time.
Things started leveling out at mile 6, but the roads were not in the best shape, I almost stumbled a few times.
I missed mile marker 7, and 8: I knew I was running good, the terrain was flat, I just keep looking for a mile marker. When I saw 9, my split was 21:39:53, ohhh…..that averages out to 7:13’s….Can I run faster than 7:30’s the rest of the way? Now, I am heading into negative split territory for the second half of this race.
I’m thinking PR now and Swiss Avenue is in sight, flat all the way to the finish.
As each mile passes, I see the Marathon Mile markers and when I see mile 22, I think wow that is the fastest 22 miles I have ever run..hehe
Mile 11-12 is hard, I feel my pace slip a bit, I really want to stop now…I really do….my legs are slightly tight, my right hamstring is warning me to back off.
I make it to mile 12, with a 7:40 split….I didn’t loose much, now I am beginning to feel charged up…short of a disaster I have a PR.
Now, I have run the Whiterock Marathon 6 years in a row, I know the course by heart, so why in the world did I get confused at about mile 12 ¾…I thought the finish was around the corner so I started picking up the pace, for the final “lap”. I turn the corner, no finish line down the road, geez, so I try to keep the pace a bit longer.
When I finally do turn the “real” corner for the finish line, I still have a little energy left, so I sprint (well, it’s a sprint for me..hehe) to the finish line…
I look up…1:39:14…a 2:12 PR…I was absolutely ecstatic. I was disappointed that I had broken my 6 year Whiterock Marathon streak…..but now it was worth it…
I hills probably helped me by making me run slower in the first half, which led to a negative second half…Hey, I also got a 10K PR out of this effort…
Based on Sundays Whiterock Half results, the McMillan Running Calculator, has me training at an 8:00 MP, which is exactly what I have been doing.
So, I feel a lot better about my chances at the Chevron Houston Marathon in January, we shall see…….
I hooked up with Ribs later and got a pic of him, redraiderrunner (yes Virginia, there is a redraiderrunner).
My main disappointment…missed meeting breger.
Hopefully there will be another opportunity.
And, I am sure it was the Chocolate Chip cookies from Mrsribs that gave me all that energy….thanks..

Splits:

Mile 1 7:34:44 Flat.
Mile 2 7:41:07 Flat and down hill.
Mile 3 7:37:30 Flat Uphill.
Mile 4 7:50:12 Flat Uphill,
Mile 5 7:42:09 Flat Uphill.
Mile 6 7:36:10 Flat and downhill.
Mile 7 7:13:18 Flat.
Mile 8 7:13:18 Flat.
Mile 9 7:13:17 Flat.
Mile 10 7:25:28 Flat Swiss Ave.
Mile 11 7:28:94 Flat Swiss Ave.
Mile 12 7:40:82 Flat.
Mile 13 7:22:63 Flat.
Mile 13.1 1:34:88 Flat.

Bib 6135
1:39:14 (unofficial results)
Overall 250/3889
Division Place 15/157
Male Place 218/1768
10K 46:35