Brett’s Half Marathon

So I did it again.  Every year I say I'm done and this might have been it.  I may have just run my last half marathon.

Sunday was a great day as far as weather goes.  It was a little bit on the humid side with temperatures in the 80s but because the run started so early, it didn't seem as bad.  We had a start time of 7 am and this year I was determined to be better prepared for my race. 

Although this year, I had some things get in the way that were out of my control.  My sleep schedule for instance was something that I couldn't control.  I had a wedding the night before (which was very fun by the way) that kept me from getting to bed before 1 am.  I ended up getting about 5 hours of sleep the night before the race.  Breakfast on the other hand was not going to be overlooked this year.  Last year I ran the entire 13.1 miles on nothing more than a granola bar and felt terrible once I crossed the finish line.  So this year I made sure to have  a good breakfast before I hit the starting line.

We got there early enough to find a parking spot and I did a little bit of stretching.  I can't emphasize little bit enough.  I've never been good at stretching.  I mean...my toes are way down there. 

Then that was it.  I jumped in line at my desired time flag and waited for the gun to go off.  When it did...I started running.  The plan was to go as far as I could without stopping.  Last year I felt like once I stopped it was hard to get going again so I just wanted to keep moving.  Even if it meant I was barely at a jog.  Just keep moving.

It was 7 miles before I decided to get a little something to drink and I still felt really good.  I was further than half way now and so I felt there wouldn't be any harm in a drink.  WRONG AGAIN...

Stopping for a drink could have been my biggest downfall.  I know that you need to keep your body hydrated but once my body thought it was stopping for the day, it was tough to convince it to get going again.  I had a time in my mind that I wanted to beat and had said out loud to a lot of people that if I didn't beat that time, I would stop running races.  I wasn't going to stop running.  I was just going to stop running in races.  So needless to say, I didn't beat my time.  Heck, I didn't even beat last year's time.  But I still am not all that upset.  I did something before 10 o'clock that most people don't do their entire lives.  And now...I've done it twice.

There's no question that I couldn't have done it without my family's support.  There's a lot of time and effort that goes into these races from training to the actual race day.  I can't tell you how great it was to be feeling the way that I was at some points in that race only to come around the corner to see my wife and kids and my sister standing there holding signs and cheering me on.  There's nothing like that feeling.  Nothing.

So have I run my last race?  I think that I have.  But then again...I said that last year.