Finished Berkeley Half Marathon in 2:22:59 non-stop, no water stops. Thank you #NPSF cheer & run support especially Jorge Moreno (of the always entertaining @hashtagbikegang) for running a mile with me at miles 6 & 11 and most of all @thegreenK for running just barely ahead of me from miles 11 to 13 and pushing my pace as hard as I could. It's because of her I at least beat 2:23, if not my PR. I missed PRing (setting a personal record) by 55 seconds. My PR was and is still 2:22:04 from very my first half marathon #KPSF this past February: tantek.com/2014/033/t2/finished-first-halfmarathon-rain-cold-wind I did beat my most recent half marathon time from July, the SF Half Marathon (1st half) of 2:23:45, by just 46 seconds. tantek.com/2014/208/t1/finished-sf-half-marathon The Berkeley Half Marathon was a tougher race than expected, and in unexpected ways. I was worried about the initial 5 miles of hills, however, coming out of that, I was a decent distance ahead of the 2:10 pacers (which was my race goal). However the temperature was rising at this late start (~8am) race, and soon after the halfway point, the 2:10 pacers passed me. By the time I got to the loopback section by the bay, it was a lot warmer than I expected and my pace slowed even more, yet I could see I was a good distance ahead of the 2:20 pacers. I got a big boost at mile 11 from the November Project SF cheer squad, and Jorge and Krissi peeling off and running with me. However by about mile 12 the 2:20 pacers caught me, and slowly pulled away. There was something psychologically more challenging about this half marathon than the others, except my first. I really wanted to quit for the last 2 miles. Or walk. My right knee was hurting and I had difficulty keeping an even stride. It's amazing how a few friendly encouraging words can make a big difference at that point, which helped me push to mile 13, and then pick up the pace to finish just barely under 2:23. This was my fourth half marathon (attempted and completed) and last for the year. Upcoming races: * Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5k - with dad, nephews, niece * December Northface Endurance Challenge - with @Nov_Project_SF

Finished Berkeley Half Marathon in 2:22:59 non-stop, no water stops.

Thank you #NPSF cheer & run support especially Jorge Moreno (of the always entertaining @hashtagbikegang) for running a mile with me at miles 6 & 11 and most of all @thegreenK for running just barely ahead of me from miles 11 to 13 and pushing my pace as hard as I could. It's because of her I at least beat 2:23, if not my PR.

I missed PRing (setting a personal record) by 55 seconds. My PR was and is still 2:22:04 from very my first half marathon #KPSF this past February:
tantek.com/2014/033/t2/finished-first-halfmarathon-rain-cold-wind

I did beat my most recent half marathon time from July, the SF Half Marathon (1st half) of 2:23:45, by just 46 seconds.
tantek.com/2014/208/t1/finished-sf-half-marathon

The Berkeley Half Marathon was a tougher race than expected, and in unexpected ways. I was worried about the initial 5 miles of hills, however, coming out of that, I was a decent distance ahead of the 2:10 pacers (which was my race goal). However the temperature was rising at this late start (~8am) race, and soon after the halfway point, the 2:10 pacers passed me.

By the time I got to the loopback section by the bay, it was a lot warmer than I expected and my pace slowed even more, yet I could see I was a good distance ahead of the 2:20 pacers.

I got a big boost at mile 11 from the November Project SF cheer squad, and Jorge and Krissi peeling off and running with me. However by about mile 12 the 2:20 pacers caught me, and slowly pulled away.

There was something psychologically more challenging about this half marathon than the others, except my first. I really wanted to quit for the last 2 miles. Or walk. My right knee was hurting and I had difficulty keeping an even stride. It's amazing how a few friendly encouraging words can make a big difference at that point, which helped me push to mile 13, and then pick up the pace to finish just barely under 2:23.

This was my fourth half marathon (attempted and completed) and last for the year.

Upcoming races:
* Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5k - with dad, nephews, niece
* December Northface Endurance Challenge - with @Nov_Project_SF