In the morning I woke at 5am, the half marathon put on by Greg Klein (Klein sports) did not start until 7am but I needed a cup of Java, prepared my running gear and felt remarkably fresh considering the 115 mile bike ride yesterday!
Suzy's Century Bike Yard
I sprayed the insoles of my Brooks with Kool n Fit, and decided to wear my Brooks long sleeve top as it was pretty nippy!
My Husband Al and Chris were going to ride a Tandem bike to take photos and cheer the team on, we made the park with 10 minutes to spare, so Jodi and I ran to the check in to get our numbers, I was the first leg of the relay, each of us ran 4 plus miles.
As the gun went off it was difficult to get a good stride going due to the amount of runners! But soon I was striding along, trying to focus on my breathing! And hoping I put in a good time to hand off to Jodi.
The next 9 miles were tough as I do not normally go flat out at the beginning of a half marathon, I took a Hammergel at mile 9, I looked around for Jodi thinking that she might be waiting for me to run the last 4 miles together but could not see her so I thought that she had ran with Dave her husband on the last 4 miles!. So I continued, running through Urban Palm Springs, left, right straight another right left, oh my I thought when is this going to end!
Then I saw my husband waving at me the finish was in sight! I kept my head up a huge smile on my face as I crossed the finish in a time of 1 hour 42 mins, considering the 2 times I stopped to goof and change, and the fast first 4 miles I was quite pleased with my overall time and had I registered for the 13.1mile would have made the podium in my age group! As it happened 2 chicks and one old guy made 2nd place mixed masters, being beaten by 2 guys and a gal! by 90 seconds! As for Jodi she had waited for me but I had missed her as she took a bathroom break!
Good way to wake up on a Sunday morning and my huge thanks to Brooks USA for great running shoes, Hammer Nutrition, Rudy Project, Kool n Fit and my husband Al for making me laugh while he escorted Chris on the tandem to take photos, and my good friends Dave and Jodi Ruby for the whole weekend of racing!
The good news was I raised $91.70 for Avon of Puerto Rico Breast Cancer Crusade added to my total from yesterday of $805 from riding Palm Springs Century I raised a total of $896.70!
