Another One Bites the Dust!

Wow. That's really all I can say. What an amazing weekend I had! I was so nervous this time around, and slightly jaded after my last horrible 11 mile run a couple of weeks ago, which ended up with me losing my breakfast. To say the least, I was just a little bit of a Nervous Nelly to run another Half!

Jason and I picked up our race packets on Saturday and then drove the course around Mercer Island to see what we were getting into, because the elevation scales on the websites are always a little hard to make a mental picture of. Well, the view from the island is amazing, but there were definitely a lot of hills...big ones too. Surprisingly, after driving the course I started to get a little more relaxed, and really excited, despite the huge hills that were at the end. I just made a mental note of where I needed to stock up on energy, so there would be no surprises during the race.

Charlie made us a great dinner Saturday night, and we had Brandon, Sarah, and Jason's friend, Patty, over to enjoy it with us. (I stayed at John and Charlie's for the weekend). We had a great time, and then we all went to bed early and geared up for the race. It actually didn't start until 9:00 the next day, which is pretty late in race world, but I wasn't complaining because it was chilly enough for me then!

We got there nice and early, stretched, hung out, ate gummies, took care of business a couple of times (wink), and then off we went! The weather was perfect! The sun was actually out, the sky was clear, and it was just chilly enough to not get too hot or cold while we ran. Toward the end, it started to get a little overcast, but it was seriously still perfect! We couldn't have asked for or lucked out and gotten better weather - especially in Seattle! I totally got my nutrition right this time, took advantage of the electrolyte jelly beans, paced myself correctly, and felt great the whole time! I didn't hit my usual wall between miles 10 and 11, and stocked up enough energy for the hills from 11-13. I told myself before the race that it would be ok if I had to walk because of all the hills, but I felt so good during the run that my body wouldn't even let me. I ran the

whole way again! Between miles 11 and 13 when those big hills started taunting us, I drop

kicked them right in the face, ran my buns off, passed a bunch of people, and was so proud of myself! At the bottom of the hill right before 13, people were cheering us on and telling us the Finish line was just over the crest of the hill. I pushed my body, chanting to myself my mantras from the past 2 miles, got over the crest, saw the Finish line, and my adrenaline kicked in.

I sprinted the last 1/4ish mile of the race with everything I had left in me and then some. I'm always surprised how our brains can summon that energy out of seemingly nowhere. I was absolutely shocked when I saw the clock at the finish line. I couldn't believe it! I crossed the line and had my usual split second rush of emotion - adrenaline speed, slight nausea, tears of

accomplishment brimming my eyes, excitement, relief, ecstasy, pride..the list goes on. Brandon

and Sarah were there when I crossed and Jason had gone to the finishers tent to get some water and such.

I was so proud of all of us for finishing so well and was so happy I got to do such a challenging course with such good friends. We had a super great time running, even though we all ran our separate paces and didn't see each other until the end. Sarah and I both cheered back to the spectators, and I definitely didn't take myself as seriously on this race. In a way it kind of felt like just another long, weekend run, so I was definitely more relaxed in that aspect. Anyway, I felt great after the race, my body felt great, and it got me pumped to do our Ragnar Relay in a few weeks. I keep saying I'm going to hang up my shoes for a while and not do races for a bit...but I don't know if I can. I kind of love this whole running thing.

Oh, and because I know the suspense is killing you...Sarah finished at 2:11, Jason at 2:24, and me at...2:30! That's right, folks. I beat my last Half Marathon time by 15 whole minutes! And this course was all rolling hills and then a few big ones!! That means my pace was 11.29 min/mile, which is still slow, I know, but what an improvement in time in just 4 months! My new goal for the year is to finish in 2:00 flat, so I guess I have to at least do 2 more Halfs ;) On to speed work and interval training!