Comparing Splits from my Two 2016 Half Marathons

During the Securian Run Half Marathon last month, I was leery about my calf injury. I took it easy on the way out, and cranked up the pace on the way back.

At the Half Fast Half Marathon nine days ago, I went out a bit more aggressively, but then then all of us racers got off course, and the group I was with ended up doing 15.4 miles instead of 13.1. I noted that I didn't build to any sort of "kick" in the final few miles because I was afraid those extra miles could injure me.

Here's what my Garmin-logged half mile splits look like from those 2 races:

The fast 4th split from the Securian Run was coming down a long "useable" hill,
and slow split at mile 5 of the Half Fast was from waiting and chatting
with another runner about how to get back on course. Everything else is "normal."

If I add in lines that help average out the peaks and valleys, my race effort can more clearly be seen:

I was more consistent starting the Securian Run, but I ran it a lot easier until around mile 8 where I picked it up. And then I REALLY threw down after mile 10.

At the Half Fast Half, I was more consistent from mile 2 through the finish. (Most of these half mile splits are within 10 seconds.) I held a faster average until mile 8, and then I DIDN'T kick because I still had a lot of miles to go and wanted to get through them without getting hurt.

My average pace was within a half second at these races: 6:33.58 at the Securian Run, and 6:33.90 at the Half Fast Half. Nice.

Alright, that's enough thinking about "longer" races. Time to prep for some shorter events. Me likey.