Race review: 13.1 Dallas

ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I came up short of my time goal, though not ludicrously so, finishing in 1:37:55. I felt like I did all I could and blame the extra couple minutes on the cold I was right in the heart of.

DID YOU WIN?
No but I placed better than I thought I would, really. I was 104th of 1675 overall, 87th of 800 men and 12th of 127 in my age group.

HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I started as slowly as I wanted and gradually got into my groove coming back down Cole and turning onto Cedar Springs. I felt like I was keeping the pace I wanted, but little by little I was slowing down as we gradually climbed Turtle Creek into Highland Park. I crossed the 10K mat in 45:56 and already knew there was no chance of sniffing 1:35.

But, just as I'd faltered a little on the way up, I regained strength coming back down the Katy Trail. When the trail ended and we were spit out onto Houston Street, I picked up the pace and started passing folks. I kept right on going up the hill on Ross Avenue and finished with a strong spring to the finish. It wasn't as fast as I wanted, but it was the race that I wanted to run.

WHAT ELSE?

The course was promoted as the best half marathon course in Dallas, and as much as I enjoyed the Rock 'n' Roll course, I tend to agree with this assessment. Sure, there are plenty of watch-your-step moments through the first 3 miles, but I like the urban setting. Where the RnR course wanders into a sort of wasteland crossing 75 on Mockingbird to Skillman and down to Swiss Avenue, the compact 13.1 course keeps things interesting and scenic. If I ran the Katy Trail all the time I might be burned out on it, but I don't, so I'm not.

The convenience of the start/finish line is of course a big plus as well, being just a few blocks from the DART station. I liked the village-y feel of the exhibition area, though a couple of strategically-placed floodlights before the race would've made the port-a-potties easier to find.

SPLITS?
7:39
7:29
7:10
7:10
7:22
7:38
7:51
7:33
7:31
7:40
7:31
7:22
7:33
6:13 pace last 372 ft.

OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
The shirt was lame -- it's the same shirt handed out at every stop on the nationwide series, individually and unnecessarily wrapped in a plastic bag. The medal, on the other hand, is a beaut:

WHAT'S NEXT?
Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon, Nov. 12.