Garden Spot Half Marathon

I've been neglecting this...and have a very important update. It's been over 3 weeks since I ran the Garden Spot Half Marathon. My time was 1:56:16, which was over 3.5 minutes faster than my time last fall. I didn't have the same problem with my calves tightening up like they did last fall. I'm learning that a lot of things probably contributed to that. First of all, I'm a stronger runner than I was last fall. Second, I was probably partially dehydrated, which can lead to muscle cramps. So I'm a bit more seasoned of a runner and was destined to improve. I could have pushed myself a bit harder, but there were some pretty tough hills on that course, so I still feel good about my time.

April & the kids came out to see me off again. And this time, they drove out to about the 6-mile mark, which was right before the turn-around. So I got to hear them cheering me on at the beginning and twice in the middle of the race. April, you're the best...honest, I'm really not trying to pick races on cold Saturday mornings. Thanks for hauling the kids out in the cold and supporting me. Hey, at least it wasn't raining!

For the first few miles, I ran with a friend of mine, Jeremy Landis. He was running the full marathon. After about 3 miles (we had been running right around a 9-minute mile), he held back a bit and I kept going. His family was all there cheering him on. And they were cheering me on as well. After he held back, I could tell that he was about 30 seconds behind me. I'd see his family and they'd all cheer for me (a very loud and rowdy bunch). Then about 30 seconds later, I'd hear them again. Thanks Landis' for coming out and cheering us both on!

So I'm not sure what's next. A full marathon is something that I still want to do, so I'll try to keep in half-marathon shape until I figure out what race(s) I want to do this fall. I have a few options, so I just need to make a decision.