Part 2: I'm only HALF crazy, 13.1

This is the starting line for the Half-Marathon. Start time was delayed

Chilly morning, November 13, 2011 in Malibu, California. Not a bunch of wind and the sun is about to come over the mountains. It was a perfect day for a little run. 

Lance followed me the whole way in the car, taking photos out of the sun roof. 

Hello!

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." 

This smile is before I hit the hills. 

This race started unlike any other race I had been to. First of all, it started 15 minutes late and upon starting the race it was like 5:00 p.m. rush hour on the 405.(beep, beep move out of the fast lane if you are walking)

Proud of myself that I started and kept my pace of 9:30 for the beginning but hit a slow wall when running up a few long hills.  

Top of the dreaded hill. 

It seems that I always seem to hit a wall around the 8th or 9th mile and when I did it was running up a large hill. What was the best thing about the top of this hill was that Lance was waiting for me at the top. Definitely motivation, he always gets my heart rate up.  


Highlights of running the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). 


-Surprised at the people who ran while still using their iphones (really, you need to send that text now?) 

And this guy...Another Challening Day? Really..LOL

-Why is it that people wear those fanny pack/belts with six water bottles, yet they are always stopping at the water stations?

- Best runner that I saw was pushing a stroller with his dog harnessed in and a video camera hooked to the handle bars. YES! 

-Best tune that I listened to while running: toss up between "Honky Cat" by Elton John or "Boondock Saints" theme by the Young Dubliners. Two different songs...i know. 

-Dad must have been sending me "Rocky" karma because when I came to my last mile...Rocky theme played on my ipod. 

Official results:

Time: 2:10:19

Pace: 9:57

Overall: 692/1865

Division: 75/251

This is the best time I have ever ran 13.1!

One of my regrets was not having my parents there. I know it was hard for them to miss it too. But I know that they were thinking of me and I was of them during the race. Just want to make them proud. 

Look Mom...finished number 3!

Lance was my support during this race. His motivational speech this morning was priceless "You're HOT!". He suggested that I run the Seattle Marathon, since my first half was in Seattle...something to ponder. 

Isn't he handsome. 

After race was spent at my favorite Malibu spot called Paradise Cove. We had lunch and mimosa's, because Orange Juice is very good for cramps after a workout. :-)

The beach at Paradise Cove. 

 Have to admit that I was a nervous wreck prior to the start of the race. But I enjoyed the amazing scenery, the crashing waves along the course and amazed that my fastest mile was the last mile of the race (9:16). 

What next?

Yoga at the beach and a foot massage tomorrow, begin training for my next race on Wednesday.

Next 13.1 in January at the Tinkerbell Women's Half-Marathon. 

~Amanda