Monday, March 19, 2012

First half is over.



Sandy and I ran our first half marathon yesterday in Virginia Beach, VA. We ran the Anthem Half Marathon, which is the half marathon associated with the Shamrock Marathon. This was the 40th Shamrock, so there was an extra air of celebration to the event.

We rode up on Saturday and picked up our race packets and checked out the expo. Lots of vendors and lots or people made for a crowded event. We each picked up some souvenirs, Sandy getting a '13.1' sticker and a nice T-shirt. I got a Brooks running hat with a shamrock on it and a tall shot glass with the Shamrock logo on it.

We stayed with one of our fishing friends, Scott, and had a nice dinner with him and his girlfriend, Chelsea. The Mexican food at El Gran Rodeo was very tasty.

On to the run. The weather was great, starting out a chilly 53 degrees. It was mostly overcast, with the sun peeking out a few times during the run.

We worked hard to maintain our planned pace, even though we were passed continuously for the first 6 miles. At about mile 10 we started to pass other runners, some of who were walking. The closer we got to the finish the more runners we passed. Our final time was 1 second per mile faster than the time projected by the McMillan calculator.

Our chip time was 2:19:26, with a pace of 10:39 minutes per mile. My GPS recorded a distance of 13.15 miles. Unfortunately, I hit the button on my GPS some time after we had finished and added another .35 miles at a walking pace as we moved around the finish area.


All I could think about the last few miles was reaching the finish line. Within the last 1/4 mile I decided that I would be back next year to run this one again.

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