Waking up this morning and stepping outside, I could feel a great day for running. It was about 50 degrees and overcast with just a little humidity, but nothing to be worried about.

Getting to Coney Island for the start was little bit of the pain due to track work on the F train but made it there with 20 minutes to spare before the start. Tried to find the rest of the Dukes of Flatbush at the start, but no luck, this race was going to be solo.

I have to give a huge hand to the NYRR and the volunteers for a great start using the seeded corral system. My bib color was red and number was 15xx which meant I was in the 2nd corral, right near the start. This was especially useful since the first 2.5 miles of the race are on the Coney Island boardwalk, which is a little old, warped and sandy. Not a place you want to have to jostle for space.

Toeing up on the line, I got my Garmin 405 ready for its maiden race, and then the cannon went off.

Mile 1 & 2 were on the boardwalk and according to the Garmin I average a 7:15/mile pace, a little quicker than planned but I was feeling really good.

Miles 3 - 9 were along Ocean Parkway and were flat and built for speed, except for a little headwind blowing here and there. I was cruising along at a 7:20 pace and feeling strong and then a minor miracle happened. At mile 6, Birch, fellow DOFB member and training partner pulled up alongside me. I think he may have been behind me for awhile, checking me out from that perspective , but he said nothing. Seems suspicious.

Birch and i cranked along at a little faster clip, about 7:10/mile until the end of Ocean Parkway, where Birch started feeling some pains and needed to slow down and told me to go on without him. This is a first as Birch is normally running sub 7 minute miles and I am ready to die trying to keep up.

Mile 9 - 13 saw me entering Prospect Park, fan support started to build and so did the hills. There is a small downhill in the beginning but then we came up the big hill that leads to Grand Army Plaza. The thing I hate most about this hill are the false peaks. Each time you think you are done there is another climb. Damn those park architects.

The last few miles were a race for me as I tried to break 1:35 for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. I pushed and tried but the final small hills at the end drained me of the precious few seconds and finished the race in 1:35:55, a new PR for me. I am not going to say the Garmin 405, made the difference, it was probably training, but running a race with a GPS watch changes the whole race. I strongly encourage anyone serious about running to purchase one.

Overall another great Brooklyn Half Marathon and look forward to race reports from other members. More important, I believe the Dukes of Flatbush finally had 5 racers finish which means we earned club points. Look out Los Compadres, here we come in the Club Competition