Spooky Sprint Race Analysis

A couple couple hours ago, I finished my first half marathon - the Spooky Sprint! Here is my analysis:

• The preamble was a little hectic; I only got my bib on about 2 minutes before the race started; there was a long line for check-in and I had to run over half a mile back and forth to the car beforehand. That alone represented one of my longest runs of October.
• Breakfast was excellent. I had most of my donut before the race and finished it off during the first mile. There was a garbage can conveniently located next to the path to throw away the bag. 
• I spent the first few miles averaging a tad slower than 8 minute pace, but I felt like I needed to lay it out there a little bit so I left the 1:50 pace group.
• I hit halfway almost precisely at 52:30, so I decided to go for sub-1:45. However, my efforts were hampered by having to turn into the woods to pee about a mile later.
• I spent the next 4 miles catching up to the guy I had been running with before my bathroom break. After the break, I was averaging around 7:40 per mile to catch back up.
• I finished in 1:43:17, or 7:53 mile pace, in 21st place. I thought I was top 20 but must have miscounted. 
• The main limiting factor was my calves, which were hurting even before halfway. Thankfully they did not cramp up and I was able to sustain a strong negative split.
• The course was nice, very flat, with long straight sections and mostly on the Little Miami River and Ohio River bike paths. It was an out and back, run concurrently with a 1 miler, 5K, and 10K.

Overall, I'm very happy and blessed to have made it through the race without too much trouble. The winner was about 34 minutes ahead of me, so I'm sure he was feeling the pressure.

I'm not sure if I'll pursue another half marathon in the near future. I'm interested by the prospect of running much longer but slower, or much shorter but faster. The half marathon distance was very painful, exacerbated by the fact that my training, while excellent, was also almost nonexistent. I'm interested in perhaps a 5 miler next spring, and a 50 miler a few years down the road.