Milford Half Marathon

You've been anxiously awaiting a race recap, haven't you?  I have to put it here, because this is the only place I have to look back and remember what/how I did.

Since the beginning of June I have been training diligently 5-6 days a week....doing the hard stuff like speed work and tempo runs and getting up out of bed when I really want to just stay there another hour.

I've slowly but surely been making progress and since this race was advertised as flat and fast, I had high hopes of setting a personal record this day.

You know what makes me crazy?  Excuses.  Whatever that saying is about excuses are for people who can't get the job done.

But in a less callous way, the realization struck me anew that we all have a story.  There are struggles and challenges and victories that have happened along the journey even to get to the starting line.  But I'm certain that showing up on race day and fighting through will make you stronger.

We had overcast skies with temps in the 50s.  There were plenty of water stations.  The crowds thinned out after 1.5 miles.  A beautiful course in pretty neighborhoods and along the beach.  Really, perfect conditions.

This is the second time Sarah, Laryssa and I have done a race together and it was a lot of fun being with them.  It was also handy that Sarah's house was close by so we could do showers.   Nathan helped with logistics and met us a couple times on the route and Tony and the baby were waiting at mile 13, just before we hit the sand.

Ooph...the sand!  The last .10 miles was thick, fluffy sand...it felt like I was running in slow motion, but the end was in sight!

Honored to run alongside these two.

There was some discrepancy in the actual distance.  The course was set out as 13.35, which is roughly what Laryssa's device said.  Mine clocked it at 13.02....maybe it was the shortcut I took?  ;)

Among females 35-39, I finished 11 of 53.  My official race time was 1:58:31, a 9:03 pace.

Now my sights are set on the Marine Corp Marathon next month in D.C.