The Race

Today I ran the half-marathon here in Phoenix. Judi came into town to watch the kids for me while I ran, and they all came down to the finish line to cheer me on. It was a great feeling of accomplishment, especially given the lack of great training since Thanksgiving due to injuries and then Tory's deployment. I may even do another one.

The summary: its a really long way! It took me about 2-1/2 hours. I have no idea why people run a full marathon. The first 8 miles were great - I felt good, kept a good pace. Then miles 9-10 took literally twice as long to get through as the early miles. It was getting hot (about 70 degrees at the finish), I needed more water, I was tired, etc. Somehow miles 11-13.1 were doable.

Andrew was so excited I got a medal.... he was cheering and telling me it was a gold medal (it was actually blue). It was very fun having them there to help celebrate.

I am pretty sore and tired now.... I don't think going up and down the stairs will be very fun the next two days.