This past weekend was the Inaugural US Half 2 “The Other Half” in San Francisco. The original US Half still takes place in the fall, but to add some Spring to your step (pun totally intended) they introduced a race earlier in the year.

The morning started off early with trip into the city to pick up a friend before the race. I’m not going to say that he overslept and I’m not going to say that he set the world record for getting dressed and out the door on any given race morning or that he is the perfect example for why you should lay all your race gear out the night before. I’m also not going to imagine his “oh shit” moment when he saw a text, missed call and a voice mail. I wouldn’t say any of that and I wouldn’t do that to Tom. 

At the start line, I had an opportunity to meet a facebook friend, Claudia who came down from Oregon to run the race. She was unsure if she would be able to run due to injury, but she managed to finish the entire course. We exchanged general pre-race chit chat, took a photo together and wished each other luck as we set off on what looked to be a gloomy and windy day.

I ran with Tardy Tom (ha, I couldn’t resist) most of the course. We run similar paces and it was great to catch up over a familiar course. Around mile 7, I decided to pick up the pace and see if I could come in under 2 hours. At the 6.5 half way point I was at 1:02, so if I could turnover quickly on some of the downhill and pick up a few minutes on the return over the Golden Gate, I might just make it. However the head wind had a different take on the situation.

I was able to clock a few low 8 min. miles and some solid 9s, but I just didn’t have it in me. Around mile 11 I realized that it most likely wasn’t going to happen (I had no more 8’s in me) and decided to throw on the headphones and come in comfortably. I finished at 2:02:28 with a smile on my face and a medal around my neck. Tom finished strong a few minutes behind me and the rain came through the clouds for the last couple miles so we didn’t hang out at the finish line too long.

Along with the medals, we also received an aluminum water bottle (filled with cold water) at the finish line. It was an eco-friendly solution to all the plastic water bottles typically handed out post-race. We also received eco-friendly technical shirts at the expo the day before and it was great to see some “green” steps being taken by a local event.

If you are interested in running the US Half, it happens November 7 and is the exact same course.