Half the Distance... Double the Fun...

This weekend Colleen and I ran the Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, VA (referenced here). Colleen came up with the brilliant idea to make shirts in honor of our cousin Lamar who is a Major in the Marines since we were running the Marine Corp Half. Didn't they turn out great?

Colleen ran it in the pace she thought and I ran it a little faster than I thought I would... don't get too excited we had very different expectations for our races.

Colleen planned out her training plan, read up on technique, anatomy, form, and even did a little one-on-one tutoring to prepare for race day.

I, on the other hand, ran a couple times, but largely ignored my running plan. I ran when I could and my schedule allowed. I only did 2 long runs - both of which were interrupted by late night calls to my blackberry. Not exactly the most ideal of training conditions. I also did all of my training on a treadmill in the middle of the night (fun fact: sometimes I consider whether I'm nocturnal... and then I remember that I'm awake during the day too).

Colleen ran the half marathon in under 2:30 hours and I came in just a smidge over 3. (3:03 to be precise). It was a great morning. We chowed down after our free massages and then passed out in my apartment for the rest of the day.

After some icy hot and a long stretch session this morning I'm feeling pretty good. My office mates took it upon themselves to mock the fact that I waddle more than the pregnant lady in the office. It is pretty funny, to be honest. By this evening the waddle is pretty minimum and all of the soreness/stiffness seems to be gone. I expect it will take a couple more days of stretching and walking to fully get back to normal.

A couple of friends have asked if I'll be training for a full marathon now... my simple response... don't you think I should train for a half marathon first? I'm thinking about doing another one in November after the election. I'll have several months to keep running at a reasonable pace and hopefully build in some long runs. The fact that it's in November does make me nervous, but I think I can squeeze it in and it does feel nice to have a goal to work towards. We shall see.

Thanks, Dad, for cheering us along and taking pictures of us! It was great to have you with us for the weekend!