Day 231 - CDA 1/2 Marathon Day!

 The weather and race conditions couldn't have been more perfect.  Although a lot of goofballs showed up at the starting line with jackets, hats, gloves, etc., the temperature was just around 50 degrees at the start and warmed up to 60+ degrees by the finish.

This being my second 1/2 marathon and having previously run 2 full marathons, I didn't experience any sort of pre-race jitters this go around.  The people near me at the starting line, however, were clearly first timers.  When I'm nervous, I have a tendency to talk, a lot.  Apparently, this is how my starting buddies cope with nerves too.  In every direction, people were spewing advice that they had heard from their sister-in-law's uncle's accountant who had run a 1/2 marathon at some point who swore by the need to tape your nipples/eat only fish the week leading up to the race/ bring four fairly large water bottles strapped to their waist despite knowing that there would be many water/aid stations along the course.  I don't mean to belittle any of their pre-race preparations or race day equipment, but some of the stuff they had done/brought was just silly.

That said, many of those newbies probably wound up beating me to the finish line.  My lack of consistent training, being crazy sick around Easter and then rolling may ankle a few times leading up to the race resulted in a less than impressive finish time, 2:25:42.  For comparisons sake, I ran the Seattle half-marathon in 2005 in 1:59:48.  That's 2 minutes slower per mile.  Thank god I made the decision not to go for the full marathon.  I'd probably still be crawling on my hands on knees to the finish line.

Oh well, I finished!  I walked a bit, but ran probably 85% of the course.  I really can't complain about my time, because it is what a deserved.  I didn't make training a priority and chose on many occasions not to go for a run when I should have.  Plus, prior to this blogging adventure, I would have struggled to finish a 5 mile run.  All things considered, I'm a healthier and happier person than I was this time last year and for that, I am proud.

 Besides taking Tucker for a quick walk later in the afternoon, I spent the majority of the rest of the day off my feet.  I soaked in the tub while I re-read the second half of Harry Potter 7 (the final movie comes out July 15th!), watched 3 episodes of 16 and Pregnant and enjoyed a movie on the couch with the hubs.  Part of my sloth was due to my legs feeling completely shot.  The other was due to not wanting to put any pressure on my right foot.  Why?  Scroll down to see.  WARNING: THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHS SHOULD STOP READING HERE.  DO NOT SCROLL DOWN.

Sorry, but you were warned.  The top left corner of the pic shows the remnants of the blister I acquired in San Diego.  On the inside of my foot is a standard run-of-the-mill blister and an ANGRY and throbbing blood blister.  I usually develop a good enough callous that I don't wind up with blisters.  BUT, I made the mistake of getting a pedicure before going down to SD.  I thought nothing of it as they scrapped the callouses off my feet and was thrilled at how silky smooth my feet felt when they were done.  LESSON LEARNED.  As long as I continue to run, I will learn to love the callouses so I don't wind up with more nasty photos like this one.  YUCK.

I hope my feet heal quickly, as I now must turn my attention to preparing for the mountain climb (in addition to school and work).  I begin my bid for the Summit in only 34 days.  Cardio training will still be important, but I am going to be putting a greater emphasis on weight training during the next few weeks.  On to the next adventure!