Battleship Half Marathon 2008

Well, as I am sure all of you are sick of hearing by now, Tod and I ran the Battleship Half Marathon here in Wilmington this morning. Tod has run it before, along with the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon 2008. I have never run the Battleship but I had an awesome experience in Myrtle Beach running their half marathon earlier this year. We have both trained really hard. Tod is a much better (faster) runner than I am but we were both pretty well prepared for the race. Anyway, we woke up to 45 degree and sunny weather, perfect running weather. Tod was injury free for this race and I was not. Along with a number of nagging injuries, I also have a chest cold. No amount of good weather could save me. Around mile 7, I knew my goal of 2 hours 15 minutes was no longer possible. My next step was to finish within 2 hours and 20 minutes. By mile 8, I knew that also was no longer a possibility. Finally by mile 10, I knew that beating my Myrtle Beach time of 2 hours and 25 minutes wasn't possible. The death march began and I struggled to even finish. With the help of my trainer who ran with me, I did manage to finish with a smile on my face. It was a lesson in humility. It was also a good lesson for this control freak that I am; I cannot control everything. My final time was 2:36. Considering the walking and talking and complaining and whining that my trainer (thanks Roxanne!!!!!!) had to endure for 13.1 miles, I was pleased with my time. It could have been much much worse.

The great news is that Tod set a new personal record with a time of 1 hour 50 minutes. He will go on to train for the full marathon in Myrtle Beach in February and I will take a week or two off from running and I will be sticking with 5k's and 10k's for a while! I need a break from running, physically and mentally.

We didn't capture any pictures but we both think they'd be pretty painful to see anyway!