Karma Got Me

So it really served me right when I showed up in my purple shirt hoping to blend in with the Team in Training runners....

And everyone else at the run was wearing orange for Team Challenge.

They were not running for Team in Training

Hi, Team Challenge!  I see you like to wear orange shirts...

Instead of blending in with the masses of purple that I expected to see, I stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of orange that ruled this race.  I have to admit that this serves me right for pretending to be a part of a charitable group in hopes of hearing a few people cheering me on. 

Despite my foiled wardrobe plan, I had a really great race.....once the race actually started....  Apparently there were transportation problems with shuttles from the hotels so the race actually started about 40 minutes late.  I'm pretty surprised that it started so late since last year they had the same problem.  I guess the race organizers didn't learn anything from their inaugural race and I wouldn't hold my breath for the problem being solved next year either.

Once we actually started running, the run felt really good.  My dad and I ran the first two miles together and then I told him he could go ahead without me.  The weather was a perfect fifty something degrees with an occasional breeze.  The course also had a significant portion that was shaded with trees, which made the run even more enjoyable. 

Me and My Favorite Running Partner

I finished the race in 2:17:04 chip time, which would have been faster had I known that the race was going to start 40 minutes late because I would have used the port-o-potty one last time and would have eliminated the bathroom break at mile two.  I paused my Garmin for the potty break and my finish time was 2:15:03.  I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon in the running community but I don't care.  In case you don't remember, my goal for this race was 2:22:00 so I beat that time by a five minutes!

I'm pretty proud of myself!  In comparison to my first half marathon time of 3:22:27, I have improved by over an hour :)  To top of my elation, I got some pretty nice finishers gifts as well.

Riedell Wine Glass.  Fancy!

I love getting a technical shirt instead of the regular cotton ones but I have to admit, this one is pretty ugly.  What $100 for this shirt.  I also really like the medal that we received.  It is a bottle stopper AND has a corkscrew on it!!  My one complaint is the medal weighed about fifty pounds and while walking around with my nice wine glass, it hit the glass once or twice and I was pretty sure the glass was done for.  Thankfully, the glass held up to the beating but maybe the race organizers should rethink that combo.

What has been your favorite race swag?

Vices are Nicest

Is it still a vice if it is helping you to get attain a healthy goal?   I hope so because I have taken the leap!  I will be running another half marathon!

I have never been a runner that set timed goals for myself until recently.  I was always ecstatic if I was able to finish the whole race without walking at all and only focused on increasing my mileage and race completion.  I've used a Nike+ for quite some time but never really paid much attention to the pace.  It was merely my odometer. 

I think it has actually been this blog that has inspired me to keep track of my pace and set more ambitious goals for myself.  Well, probably not MY blog but all the other blogs that I have started reading since starting this blog.  For instance, some bloggers are running 50 mile races and make my sad attempt at a half marathon look um, sad.  I still think they are crazy but it makes me feel like a marathon might not be that insane to attempt ;)

Just a mere twenty-four weeks until I get my second chance at half marathon glory.  I have to admit, it won't take much to beat my previous time of 3:22:27.  But my goal for this half is 2:22:00 (10:50 min/mile).  I'm actually running as part of the Lake Ridge RidgeRunners team so I feel like I have to meet this goal not only for myself but for them as well.....and now for all of you :)

What race are you training for?

Do you think Hershey would put on a better chocolate race than RAM racing?