2 Days before the big race, I felt like I was getting a cold and it got worse from there. I stayed home all day Friday resting, drinking liquids and downing vitamin C hoping it would get a little better before the race.
The night before the big race. I couldn't sleep. Probably a mix of not being able to breathe and the anticipation of the race the next morning.
She sure is cute isn't she?
Saturday, Andrea and I both ran the Newport Half Marathon. The weather looked promising. It was calm, cloudy but no dark clouds. As we were waiting at the starting line, it started to rain.
The course was pretty fun and my first few miles were great. Being sick caught up to me and my pace slowed. We ran down a long gravel road, through a narrow trail, over slippery footbridges, through a tunnel and onto the sand. Once we got down the beach close to the water, it wasn't bad. The sand was hard but while watching a guy in front of me I realized, we had to run through water. 6 miles of the 13.1 was on the beach and had to run through several small rivers flowing into the ocean. Running through 8" of water, there is no way your shoes and socks are staying dry. Once they were drying out a little and not feeling so heavy, we had to run through another one. It almost felt like an obstacle course.
That's Andrea on the left almost at the finish. Just one more river to cross.
It was tough. My last few miles were really slow. My hopes for finishing in less than 2 hours were gone thanks my my cold and lack of energy. As I ran to the finish I was surprised to see that I beat my Helvetia time by more than a minute! Crushing those first 3 miles made up for my lousy finish. I finished in 2:04:35. I got first place in my division (Men 19-31). It wasn't as big of a victory when I realized I was #1 of 2.
way to go! you guys are amazing!!
ReplyDeleteditto to what kristy said!
ReplyDeleteWhat an adventure! Glad you made it in one piece.
ReplyDelete