Cascade Half-Marathon

First Half-marathon did and done. The weather sucked. Really couldn't say much else. Sideways rain and killer wind. Could it be worse? Well, it could have been 30 degrees. It was in the 50's so I shouldn't complain. Though, the wind was really rough.

The first 3 miles were very crowded because we were sharing the same route as the 10K. I really tried to watch my Garmin carefully to slow myself down. I was still at a 8:00 pace. I also started getting a hot spot between my big toe and the one next to it (pointer toe?!). Throughout the run I consumed 2 Hammer electrolyte capsules and at miles 6 and 10 I had half of a PowerGel. I felt really good until just after mile 10. No surprise since most of my "long" runs have been 10 miles. Mile 11 was my slowest at 9:04. Mile markers 12 and 13 took FOREVER to pass. The entire run was on rural farmland and the start (local high school) wasn't in view until just after Mile 13. I sprinted in the last 200 meters and was very excited to be done. I was dragging towards the end and wanted to be done. My legs actually felt pretty good the whole time. No shin or knee pain and only until mile 10 did my hamstrings really start to feel tight. I felt walked after the finish and because there was no chip timing we had to stand inline for someone to collect the little thingies off our race numbers. I kind of forgot about my Garmin so i forgot to stop it after crossing the finish line. So, I'm pretty sure my actual time is at least a few seconds less than what I have below. Either way, I finished under my goal of 2 hours. Barely, but did it. I'm happy. I don't know how all of you crazies out there finish these things in 90 minutes or less.

I should also mention that TH Mama ran her first race in a long time. She competed in the 2 mile run. We started together but I lost her after we got out of the parking lot. I think it was awesome of her to sign up and I can't wait to see/hear about her triathlon this spring.

TH Mama and I waiting to start.

Her finish! I didn't see it, as I was out being blown away by the wind.

My finish. I guess I kept running past it?

The awesome tech t-shirts. It's hard to tell in the pic but they are Brooks and are that safety night green color. YAY. They ran a bit large though and ran out of XS.

Garmin Time: 13:20 miles; 1:54:27; 8:40pace