Long Island Half Marathon, May 3, 2026 — PR, 3rd Age Group

Prefer to watch this one? Here's the race recap on YouTube: Long Island Half Marathon 2026

Strategy

Going in, my target was built around a negative split: first 5 miles at a controlled base pace, the next 5 building, and the final 5K as an all-out effort. I wasn't chasing a number blind, Stryd had modeled my expected finish at 1 hour 41 minutes plus or minus 2 minutes based on prior performance. This was my first time running this half marathon, but I pulled last year's results and saw that a 1 hour 42 minutes would've landed on the podium in my age group, so that became my benchmark, and the target was clear: land somewhere in the 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 42 minutes range.

The day before, everything was dialed in. A steady 2-hour bike ride followed by a 30-minute run, dinner finished by 5:15, protein and carbs at the same levels my body's used to, white rice instead of sweet potato so digestion wouldn't interrupt sleep. In bed by 8:30, up at 2 a.m. Nutrition-wise, the plan was also different this time: instead of fueling by mileage markers, I was taking in calories every 20 to 30 minutes regardless of distance covered, so the tank never ran empty in the first place.

This course I didn't know at all, and with an unfamiliar course comes elevation I can't predict or plan around. Pace becomes meaningless when you don't know what's coming next. So for this one, the decision was to race strictly by power, not pace, it's the only number that stays honest regardless of what the terrain throws at you.

Race Experience

Right from the gun, my buddy Howie took off. I checked my watch, did the math on his pace, and knew immediately that's not my pace. The temptation to chase him was real. That impulse to match someone else's pace just because they're pulling ahead is powerful, and most people follow it without even noticing they're doing it. I made the call right there to stick with my own numbers and let the result be whatever it was going to be.

6 miles in, no sign of him. By the turnaround at mile 8, I spotted him about a minute and a half ahead. 5 miles to go, a minute and a half to close.

I settled into 280 watts for the first 5 miles, a noticeable step up from my last half marathon. Then I pushed into the second 5 miles and found myself holding around 288 watts, roughly a 3.5 percent increase. By mile 10, I caught him.

That's when I shifted into the last 5K at everything I had left, and ended up pacing 7 minutes 10 seconds per mile for that final stretch, faster than I've ever closed a half marathon.

Outcome

Final time: 1 hour 41 minutes 38 seconds, right in the target range and a 5-minute personal record. 3rd place in a 55-59 age group, just a couple of minutes off the 1st place podium.

Lessons Learned

1. The gap closed not because I was faster off the line, but because I trusted a strategy built for my own body instead of reacting to someone else's pace. That's the same mistake people make with their health constantly: someone says keto worked, someone says fasting changed their life, and they copy it with zero evidence that it applies to their own biology. You end up running someone else's race and wondering why you're not winning yours.

2. The race isn’t over until it is over. Don’t let your mind drag you down. Stay on target until the end!

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