Dennis and I now have a wonderful tradition - running a half marathon the morning of Super Bowl Sunday and then pigging out at Super Bowl Parties!
I signed up to do the Kaiser Half Marathon with Dennis, but up until Sunday, 6 miles was the longest distance I've run since the Nike Half back in October. On top of being not so confident with the distance, I did a marker set bik ride on Saturday (36 miles including 3 Bears & Pig Farm), so I knew that my legs would be fatigued. Den reminded me that I was in great shape and that I wasn't there to PR, I was there to get in a day of training and to have fun. So I put myself in that exact mindset.
Perhaps my mindset was a little too lax...I was in the port-a-potty when the National Anthem started, but I did make it to the start on time (with no time to spare). I started the race with my new Run/Walk strategy. I swear by this now. I ran 9 minutes and walked 1. At first it was bothersome to have all of these people pass me as I walked on the side, but as the miles went on, I would quickly catch and pass the folks that had jogged past me. I felt really good until about mile 10. At that point, I struggled to maintain my pace and by mile 12, I was allowing myself to run 5 minutes/walk 30 seconds. As painful as the end of the race was, I crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 10 minutes, 15 minuts faster than last year!
Dennis had an outstanding race! He finished in 1:34, 21 minutes faster than last year. He went into the race hoping to maintain an 8 minute mile and he ran a 7:13 average! It think he officially has the running bug. Now we have to find a marathon for him to sign up for :)
Heather and Jimmy's and Matt & Claire's superbowl parties were icing on the cake. We ate lots of yummy food, drank beer, and watched football and commercials...ahh, bliss!
Condition: Elated & Exhausted
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