A New Take on the 1/2

Usually I do a big list of thank yous after the 1/2 marathon every year.  But I usually end up thanking the same people, so see here  for my huge THANK YOU to all involved.

This year, the half was quite a bit different for me.  First off, I tried to meet up with my running buddies at the race instead of heading down there with them.  I think I'll stick with meeting them before hand.  It is hard to find people in a crowd of 10,000!  I even had one friend's bib tag (which you can't run without) until minutes before the gun blast.  Thankfully, it took us over 20 minutes to cross the start line, so we had enough time, but it got a little stressful.

I'm towards the back

I actually had a fabulous training partner this year instead of having to run on my own.  It was so fabulous to have someone to chat with, especially on the long runs!  I was just terribly bummed when she had to make a pit stop after mile 5 and we were never able to connect again, so we didn't get to do our longest run together.  The girl actually went to the bathroom and then passed us while trying to catch up with us and ended up finishing way in front of me with a time of 2:01!  (Way to go Linsey, you are my hero!!).


I was super glad to have my ol' running buddy, Julie to run with again this year too.  We have run it together all 3 years and it is always such a great time.  My other new thing this year was my own GPS watch!  It is super helpful when trying to keep a certain pace. Julie and I ran together for 10 miles and then for some odd reason I got a huge surge of energy and blasted off on mile 10.  I slowed back down a little on mile 11, but finished strong. 

I pretty much sprinted the entire 50 yards.  My husband informed me that my
shorts were way too big on me and I need to get smaller ones (Yeah!  I love an excuse to shop!)



passed him!

This was the first year I actually enjoyed running across the 50 yards of Nebraska turf!  The first year, I was exhausted from being ill the night before and last year my foot cramped up and I hobbled all the way across the field.  This year, I felt great (probably too good and realized I should have pushed myself a bit harder) and enjoyed every yard!  I finished in 2:08 which was 3 minutes over my goal time, but still faster than last year so I'll take it!  I am somewhat glad I did it a bit slower as I still had too many activities to get through in the following 48 hours to be completely exhausted from running.  But I was a bit disappointed too, wondering how I could have done if I really pushed myself.  I guess I'll find out next year!

Our annual sweaty finishers picture

It was another great year and I thank everyone who made it possible, from my family for letting me train, my training buddy and running buddy, and all the volunteers and workers who put it on.  I also thank the huge crowds that come out with entertaining signs.  You really do help.  I realized the mile stretch with the least amount of cheerleaders and signs was my slowest (there wasn't any entertainment to keep my mind off how tired I was).  Turns out my favorite sign was actually one from someone who graduated the same high school as me!!  "Worst Parade Ever!"  Hilarious!

Now, I am moving onto improving my speed in 5 and 10Ks.  My previous best 5K time is 26:47 and 10K 58:13.  I'll keep you updated on how I do.