"A" goal achieved! I broke 2:00 and achieved my overall 2009 goal. I still thought that I was a couple of races away, seeing as though I took 4+ minutes off my time at Monday's race. It's hard to believe that I have taken 8 minutes off my previous time, in the span of a week. Has my training gotten that much better, or was I just slacking off before? Jury's still out on that one...
The weather was pretty good. 80 degrees, very humid at the start, good breeze coming off the lake, strong sunshine after the turn.
Mile 1: 9:38. By far the slowest mile of the day. I had to zoom zoom around walkers and people going way to slow to have lined up with the 1:50 pace groups. Argh. Rant over.
Mile 2: It's so freaking humid out here. My forearms are DRIPPING... and I still have 11+ miles to go!
Mile 3: The golfers waiting at the cart crossing do not look pleased to see 20,000 runners! Guess they'll have to add a little time onto their round...
Mile 4: The weirdest thing happened- instead of running down the road, everyone made a sharp right turn, stepped over a low guardrail, climbed a hill, and came down the other side onto the road. If I had known it was a cross country race, I would have worn my spikes!
Mile 5: There are so many people out here cheering for us! And bands! Ooh sensory overload...
Mile 6: The idea of running down Lake Shore Drive all the way to 31st street is slightly daunting. If there weren't so many other people out here, I doubt I'd have the motivation to do it. Seems endless.
Mile 7: Best sign- "6.55 and still alive." Yep, halfway there. I hit that point at almost exactly an hour. Now all I have to do is run negative splits to the finish. (Oh is that all?!)
Mile 8: Still moving, still grooving. The Michael Jackson tunes played by the DJ, coupled with the Britney Spears on my ipod, certainly has me running at a good clip.
Mile 9: Awkward turnaround, but we're in the home stretch now! This is the point where I am finally confident that I will finish the race. LOVE it.
Mile 10: A half marathon is just a 5K with a 10 mile warmup. I tell myself this every time, and it seems to work. Commence 5K tempo!
Mile 11: Where oh where can I find a gel? I would even take a bag of chips at this point. I am STARVING! My breakfast is officially gone...
Mile 12: The sun has mercifully disappeared. While it won't help the sunburn already present on half my neck, it will surely save me from melting like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Mile 13: Bon Jovi's "I Love This Town" takes me home, and I know that I am going to reach my 2009 PR. What a feeling!
Mile 13.1: Ditto. Job well done.
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