2:01:46 - A GREAT Race!

It indeed took a couple of miles to warm up, but not as many as I thought. Lindsay and Jen were at the 2.7 mile mark, and we tossed our extra layers to them as we passed by.

The four of us were making really good time, maintaining about a 10 minute/mile pace. We should've placed ourselves a few corrals earlier because we were passing people left and right. On the one hand it was motivating but, on the other, it caused us to exert extra energy, as we were constantly looking for ways to cut through the masses and we zigzagged across the street too much.

We kept speeding up with every mile. Andrea was out in front blazing our trail. I was afraid we'd gone out too fast and that we would burn up before we got to the end! But I also appreciated being pushed.

Then, a few miles into the race, Andrea and I really had to pee. I was hoping I could just hold it, but that was not going to be an option. Since we were trying to PR, we couldn't afford to stand and wait for a port-o-potty. What to do?! Well, that leaves one option, and we took our chance after rounding a street corner by ducking into someone's driveway. Their bushes may grow a little greener and lusher come next spring!

We only lost about 30 seconds for our pit stop, but then we had to catch up with Ernie and Kelsie. It was hard work! We really sped up to find them, and it took at least a half mile before we saw Ernie's head in the crowd. I was ready to sit down and rest by the time we came up behind them, but that wasn't going to happen! It took a bit for me to "catch my breath."

The four of us stayed together for about 8 miles, which is a lot farther than I thought we would. Then Andrea and I pulled ahead just a little bit. I'm actually glad Ernie didn't keep pushing it with us -- he was running the full marathon and I would've felt awful if he ran out of steam before the end. Andrea and I stayed together for a few more miles, but we even separated around mile 11 or so. I kept looking over my shoulder for her and she was only 50 feet or so behind, but soon I couldn't see her anymore. I was on my own, for better or for worse.

Around the 11.5 mile mark, I became aware that the half- marathon course had met back up with the full marathon course (the marathoners split from us at mile 10.5), and the woman who was leading the full marathon race passed by, smoking me! That was right about the time my knees and quads started to hurt, but I thought, "if she can smoke me after running 24-25 miles, I can sure as heck keep going!" Looking at the race clock, I knew I had a chance to break the 2-hour mark, and I used the woman as inspiration. However, I knew it would take an act of God for it to happen. I was just running out of juice despite being well-fueled.

In my head, I was like the little engine that could, and I just put one foot in front of the other. That's all I could do. When I turned the corner with about a half mile to go, I saw a hill in front of me. What?! Are you kidding? At the end?! Okay, it wasn't a real hill; it was more like an incline and, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't very long (maybe the length of a football field?), but still, it was a hill! Who designed this course?

My knees and quads were burning by the time I hit the top and turned the corner into the final stretch. I didn't have enough left in me to kick it up, so I just tried to maintain my speed to the end. Crossing the finish line felt so good! It certainly was a different kind of accomplishment compared to the San Diego race. I got my medal and kept walking toward the finisher's area, but I pulled off to the side to wait for Andrea. I knew she wasn't far behind me. Indeed, she crossed the finish line less than two minutes after me. We both PR'd by a lot! It was awesome.

Here are my race stats:

• Average pace - 9:18 (waaay faster than I ever thought I could run)
• 5k - 30:33
• 6.1 miles - 59:29
• 10 miles - 1:35:14
• 13.1 miles - 2:01:46!

To view official photos of me during and after the race, just enter my last name on this website!

To view the course map, click here.

32 degress -- yes, it was freezing!

After gathering in the lobby for shout outs and a team cheer, we boarded the bus to the start line. Well, the corral area, anyway -- there were some 40 corrals needed for all 30,000 runners, so we were actually nowhere near the start line.


It was still dark out when we got off the bus, and it was COLD! Freezing to be exact. Like good little boys and girls, we stood in line for the port-o-potty and then huddled together to try to stay warm. Several of my technologically savvy teammates had their iPhones and Blackberries with them and tracked the temperature in various cities. Even Denver was 46 degrees to San Antonio's 32. Are you kidding me?!



None of us was prepared to wait for so long in such chilly conditions. Even the freebie gloves we had gotten at the expo didn't do much to ward off the cool air. It was just plain uncomfortable. Finally, at about 7:15am we stripped off any extra clothes we didn't want to run in, checked our gear bags and headed for our corrals.

Kelsie, Andrea, Ernie and I all stuck together. The race was supposed to start at 7:30am, but it started late due to logistics. Each corral was supposed to start a minute apart. Well, we were in corral 18, and we didn't make it to the start line until 30 minutes after the gun went off! By the time I stepped on the electronic mat under the balloon arch, I couldn't feel my toes and I guessed it would take about 4 miles just to warm up.

How I get dressed for a race

I woke up on race day morning at 4:30am! I had set several alarms, just in case, but I didn't need any of them. I woke up on my own just before the first one sounded. Guess I was that anxious because I certainly wasn't that rested!

We didn't have to be in the lobby until 5:30am, but whenever I have a lot of things to coordinate, I like to leave enough time to move slowly and methodically so as not to leave anything behind. What could I possibly need to do besides get dressed? Well, shower for one (helps me wake up), and getting dressed itself required multiple steps.

I had to body glide (to prevent blisters and chafing); then, after the clothes went on, I had to affix my bib/number. To do this, I had to put on my Camelback (water belt) so I knew how much real estate I had to work with. I had to fold the bib to a smaller size, then figure out how to pin it on straight!

As for the Camelback itself, I had to make sure everything I needed was in there: goos, a mini-Clif bar, a pack of pretzels, cell phone, chap stick, my hotel room key, a $5 bill (hey, you never know) and, of course, water, to which I added an electrolyte mix. Filling the Camelback is tricky, so it took some coordination to get all 32 oz. in there without spilling.

After that, I had to check my gear bag to make sure it had pre- and post-race stuff, including sunglasses, PowerBars, my silver thermos (which I would fill with coffee -- it stays hot for 8 hours!) a clean shirt and sports bra (in case I got really cold after the race and needed to put something dry on), and Birkenstocks, among other items. And, of course, I had to make coffee and put in my contacts.


Yes, I'm a bit complicated and I like to be prepared, but that's my prerogative! The only thing I hadn't done by 5:30am was affix my race chip, and that's because I had so much trouble with it when I ran the San Francisco half-marathon in August that I figured I get someone on my team to help me (thanks, Carol!).