Run The Line 2014 Recap

Well, my first half-marathon has come and gone. WHAT A DAY!

As far as the race itself, I was pleased overall. I felt good at the start, made sure to start slow, and was on my way. I started off the first mile or so with my buddy Stephen Dumas (also a first time half-marathoner) that I have spent some time running with over the last month or so. He finished ahead of me by a few minutes, and I couldn't be happier for him or prouder of him!

I was rolling along well overall, and comfortably under my 10 minute per mile goal, until both quads started feeling crampish around mile 9. That sucked. Fortunately, I knew my wife and two of my kids were handing out water and nutrition around mile 11, so I just put it in cruise control to get there, and figured my body and I could come to terms on some sort of agreement for the last couple of miles then. After sloppily and quickly kissing my bride and my 9-year old daughter, and a quick howdy to my son, I was just worried about finishing, and was picking my spots to get a little extra burst. It was so great to see the mile 12 marker, knowing I was in the home stretch, and then getting towards downtown and hearing and seeing the crowd of people. I crossed the finish line in 2:08:38. A 9:49 per mile pace. Both goals ACCOMPLISHED!!!

And my day didn't stop there. Because I have been DYING to get on my new bike, I ended up riding (a painful) 18 miles at just under a 16mph pace in the late afternoon. There's a decent chance my decision making should be SERIOUSLY questioned, and EVEN MORE of a chance that I won't be able to walk tomorrow!

The biggest takeaways for me today are that I'm lucky to be staying healthy this past year with all I have been putting this big ole body through, that I am SO blessed and fortunate to have such GREAT support from family and friends (ESPECIALLY MY WIFE!), and that I continue to find that if I will put the work and effort in, my body will give me more and more. Alright Galveston 70.3----YOU'RE NEXT!!!!!!