Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Hottest Half




Aug 24, 2008, Dallas, Texas. Going to run a half marathon around White Rock lake in Dallas. Jimmy decided to take on the 13.1 mile trek as well. Hollee is running the 10K portion of the event. And of course, my Pit Crew, Deb and Amy are there. Stayed the night in Dallas and got in some swimming at the hotel. Hit the race first thing in the morning. Not sure if I'm catching a cold, or if the allergies are kicking my butt. Ok, there were over 1200 people registered for this event. On race day, 636 ran the half. We started out on the bike trail by White Rock Lake. Once again, I started off way to fast for what I was trying to accomplish. I hit the first mile marker at 7:14. I was running in a small pack up until mile 3. That's when they all decided to start leaving me. Some friends. Ha Ha. Before we started this race, someone told us this was a nice, flat course. Ok, they must have come from the hill country where the hills are considered mountains elsewhere. We hit a few hills along the way and I started thinking to myself, "I have to hit these on the way back too. That's just wrong." We made our way through the park, dealing with some bike riders and some non-event runners. Dallas PD did a good job of controlling the traffic. We dealt with a bit of traffic when we were crossing the halfway point. Nothing major though. Hit the first bridge on the way back. That thing bounced so much, I thought I was drunk. Then hit the larger bridge, same results. At this point, I started feeling that 8 mile run I did on Friday. Pushing on, making my way through the last mile, we came around the corner for the finish. I think I speak for a lot of the runners when I made the comment, "You have got to be kidding me!!" The last, oh quarter mile, was UPHILL!!! Not a small hill but, a ever ascending hill. Ok, someone who put this race together has a dark, sadistic side to them. My goal was to be at 1:40:00 or less. Didn't happen. 1:44:05. I finished 6th in my age group, 77th overall. Jimmy, competing in his first half marathon, finished at 2:02;34, 28th in our age group, and 250th overall. Hollee, competing in her first 10K, finished at 1:05:09, 10th in her age group, and 186th overall. They did great! We had a great experience, enjoyed the Elvis impersonator, and some free beer after the run. Looking forward to the next race.

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