I could tell in the first few miles that this was not going to be a great run. I felt ok, but I just knew that I didn't have "it" today.

I tried to keep pace with Joe, and was able to through about mile 5, but he ultimately pulled away. I decided to try and settle into a pace that felt comfortable and just focus on running the best race I could.

The crowd was just ok, but that's understandable considering the temperature outside. I knew that I had some friends on the course to cheer me on at about mile 6, so that kept my spirits up through the hills. Thank you Angie, Neal, Christie and Jill. I apologize if I missed anyone, you guys were the ones that I noticed.

The next 6+ miles were pretty tough for me. I knew that the course was an overall descent after the halfway point, but I didn't feel the benefit.

By mile 10 I was feeling hungry and was worried that I was going to run out of gas. I could see downtown, but it sure wasn't getting close as quickly as I wanted it to. I need to eat more before the race to make sure that I have enough energy.

I reached the mile 12 point and there was a good crowd. They were loud and all I could hear was "One more mile!"

Just one more mile ...

That was the longest mile I've ever run. I kept thinking that I would see the finish around the next bend, but didn't. I decided to keep my eyes down and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

Finally I reached the finish and I pushed as hard as my body would allow. I heard Lisa and her mom yelling my name, so I threw my hands up for a picture.

I crossed the line and was so thankful that the race was over. I was exhaused and pretty dizzy. I rested for a moment and a volunteer handed me a heat retaining blanket.

I continued up the ramp and saw Joe looking for me. We exchanged finishing times (he finished in 1:44:04 ... an excellent pace) and I recieved my medal and took my finisher's picture.


Eat more.

Drank some water and ate some food.


Lack of energy past mile 10. I wasn't able to get that last push that I wanted.


I was really happy with my pace. When I started training last summer, my goal was to run a 9 minute mile pace. That would put me at the finish just under two hours.

My best training run was 8:05/mile pace, so I wanted to be around that pace coming into the race. All things considered, I'm very happy with my race ... especially since this was my first half marathon.