Today I can in the Race For A Soldier half marathon in Gig Harbor. This is the one that Linda & Steve signed me up for a couple months ago. I wasn't happy about it then but today I definitely was happy. Let me tell you about my race...
The start and finish at Gig Harbor YMCA in Gig Harbor. Lan and I arrived at 6:45am, still black outside. Went to packet pickup, walked around the vendors a second time looking for the toilets. Finally found them way out back in the woods. They couldn't be seen from the area most people were and I wondered why they weren't in the parking lot since there was lots of room there.
Me. It was pretty chilly and I didn't want to freeze my body before hand.
On the corner of Borgen/112th and Peacock hill rd, 1 mile into the race. These are some of the first people to get here, I'm still farther back.
Here is Steve banks, he and I ran together for a few minutes but it was too slow for him. He left his son, Brayden, with the lady, Betsy Rogers, pacing the 2:30 hour people. I stayed with her for a while, until the 3 mile mark. I had to pee so bad that I lost 4 minutes waiting for a toilet to open up at the 1st aid station. Then I ran slowly with Linda for another mile, before I left her in the dust. She has bad knees and they have been very painful for her.
Here's me, in the blue jacket in the middle. Brayden is the boy in the white with the glasses next to me and Betsy Rogers holding the 2:30 sign. There are several people who have found themselves in the photo, cool.
Here's me again at the 4-5 mile point. I was running about 11 minute miles so I could catch up to 2:30. It wasn't as hard to run up those hills as I thought it would be, I just took smaller steps and kept my heart rate at 164.
2:30 pace was still being elusive to me at this point, they were about 1/4 mile ahead of me at this point but I didn't know it. Sherpa Lan took all these photos. And Brayden is still there talking her ear off.
2:30 kept a steady pace and it took me 6 miles to catch up with her. At just past 9 miles I did, stayed with her for a few minutes and then left them behind. I really wanted to beat my previous time and needed to make up about 3 minutes to do it. I finished in 2:24:58, a full 4 minutes faster than my previous half marathon time.
I finished feeling good and strong, I had a smile on my face and IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.
I'm not sure who Kyle is but at Mile 9 we als aw this sign. Cool. Way to go, Kyle.
This soldier carrier a full pack, someone said it was 75 lbs, and he ran in his boots. And he beat me, by about a minute.
Linda and me after the finish. I went back and found her and ran the last 1/4 mile with her like she has done for me so many times. Her finish time was 2:49.
The medal
Flip side
Steve, Linda and Brayden.
And also way cool, Sanjaya, from American Idol, was there to sing for us at the end of the awards ceremony.
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