October 3 - Marine Corp 1/2 Marathon - PR 2:12:22!

Me, Crystal, Jennifer - pre-race, and Crystal and me afterward with our medals!

I flew back into town yesterday afternoon. I had been going back and forth on whether or not to sign up for the Marine Corp 1/2 Marathon. Well, as of 4:22 p.m., I found myself at 1st Place Sports, signing up and getting my race number and shirt. I figured I could do it seeing as how I managed 10 miles last weekend, including the bridges. I just thought I'd take it slow, run 2:30 to 1 run/walk ratios, and be happy to finish. I got up this morning at 4:55, ate my standard peanut butter and banana toast (2 pieces) and bottle of water, checked the weather (75 degrees, 74% humidity) and got ready to go. After the gun went off I steadily ran the first few miles at a moderately slow pace (10:30) including over the Main Street bridge at mile 1 and over the larger Acosta bridge at mile 2. I ended up running until I hit mile 6, in 60 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised. I walked a little here and there, but kept going. The weather was decent, not too hot, not too cool, but mostly overcast. By miles 8 and 9 I felt good and jogged through most of the course. At mile 6.5 and 11 I took chocolate GUs. Around mile 9 I realized that if I kept up a 10 or 11 minute pace I was set to gain a new personal record. I kept thinking, "I can do this." There was a steel drum band at mile 10 which was great and I ran past a guy in a shirt that said "Pain is weakness leaving the body" to which I assured myself (again) that I could do it. Miles 11 and 12 are on the Riverwalk — staring directly into the bright sun. Must keep going, just deal with it, I told myself. As I sprinted around the corner to the finish, I tripped over the finishing mat as I looked down to stop my watch. I fell, and slid, and above all, felt foolish. I quickly got up, got my photo taken, and frantically searched for water. After that I felt fine. My time was 2:12:22, a new personal record, and vast improvement over my Marine Corp 1/2 marathon time last year (2:16:35). I beat my Outback Distance 1/2 time from last year by a mere 17 seconds. I could have done a little better but I didn't want to push it. Overall I was stoked with my finish and so happy I decided to sign up!