Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon Race Report

Beautiful race weather today! The rain and wind started shortly after I was done with the race. What a blessing! It was about 45-50 degrees and the sun even peeked out for a little today. Gorgeous course for a road race! My friend Lisa and I ran together for the first half of the race which was so much fun!Since my marathon is 2 weeks away, I didn't want to overdo it - I tried to enjoy myself and run at a reasonable pace. The first part of the race I averaged 9:30 minute miles. I had so much energy, so it was hard to stay at a slower pace! When I thought I might be able to finish in under 2 hours, I couldn't help but pick up the pace. The second part of the race I ran 8:30 minute miles for an ending race time of 1:58:04 (9 minute miles) for the 13.1 miles. I came in 92 out of 481 women, and 239 out of 775 overall. I was happy with that. You won't find me in the results, however. I ran in place of my friend Laurie, who was injured. I am so grateful for the opportunity and sent good thoughts her way today.

Ran into my friend (no pun intended!) Andrea from the trail races back in January. Great to see her! Her time was around 1:53! Congratulations Andrea. We'll be doing a trail run together in April. Can't wait! Here I am in my pink Moeben sleeves - got lots of complements. They are fantastic for days like today. You can find them at http://www.zombierunner.com/.

I met John Bingham, aka 'The Penguin'! He is the Race Director for this race and a well known author and motivator on running. He has helped thousands of people get going by his quote "The miracle isn't that I finished; the miracle is that I had the courage to start." I was able to get my picture taken with him; unfortunately, my camera was on 'movie mode' so I'll have to see what I can do with it.

I'll post the pictures from the race that the photography company takes when they are ready (action shots!)

I'm glad the weather held out for the race this morning - this afternoon, it hailed so much in Tucson that it looked like it was snowing. The mountains surrounding Tucson were completely snowcapped and gorgeous! Here is our front yard:

Congratulations to all the Half Marathon finishers, especially my friends Lisa, Andrea, Mark M., Dan, and Mark C. I also wanted to congratulate Marnee, who I have yet to meet! Great job Marnee - I found you in the results! You really picked up the pace the second half like I did. Blue Pants Racing was out doing the pacing, and they did a great job!