Half marathon

I met my sub-two hour time goal in the Des Moines half marathon! I ran it in 1:55:59, with an average pace of 8:52 minute miles. I came in 450th place out of 1393 competitors. I'm really happy about it. It's a sweet feeling to meet a goal like that.

In 2002 and 2003 I ran the Des Moines Marathon, but running 13.1 miles in 2004 instead of 26.2 worked out great. I'm definitely running the half again next year. For one thing, unlike the marathon I wasn't ever in excruciating pain during the run -- a little chafing maybe, but that's to be expected. Second, the training was tough enough to get me in shape but not all-consuming like a marathon. Third, I wasn't ever able to *run* an entire marathon. Both years I broke down and had to walk at least a couple miles. I can actually run an entire half marathon.

Thanks to Holly, Marie, and Kim for waking up early to come out with the boys to cheer me on. Sorry for throwing a Kleenex at you!