"The Rest of the Story....Madill Half Marathon

Well, I'm not sure what I can add to Bonnie's race story, nor do I truly want to take away from it. I did run more this half marathon distance than I have in the past. I officially PR'ed by just over 8 minutes from my half marathon in April......wooohoooo!!!!!

My time was 2:38:20 and my old time was 2:46:40. I had an 11:59 pace, I'm surprised I came in under 12 minutes per mile. I felt good the first half, making the turn at 1:16:00. At mile 4 I encountered a couple of dogs, large dogs, large barking snapping dogs that threw me off my gait for a while, plus they scared me to the point I thought I was being attacked.

The last 5 miles I ran and walked, but ran more than I walked, it was definitely not the run/walk pace that I had done for other races. At mile 11 though I hit a pretty hard head wind that seemed to just about bring all runners to a standstill. I did run the last 6 miles or so leapfrogging with 2 women that were also doing more than just a run/walk routine. It turns out that Bonnie had be-friended their spouses and family at the finish line...and when Bonnie saw me coming down the stretch...just over a quater mile and let them know...they also told her that their wives were just behind me.

I had a great cheering section at the finish line...making sure that I stayed ahead of the two women...I felt great at the finish, feeling that I could have run further.

I did start out with some sort of pain in my left ankle and foot that made my foot seem almost dysfunctional for about 5 of the first miles....it eventually went away.....at least somewhat, but it was a hinderance to start out with.

Total Time: 2:36:20
Pace: 11:59
Avg HR: 151
Max HR: 180

Mile Avg Paces:
Mile 1: 10:47
Mile 2: 11:12
Mile 3: 12:16
Mile 4: 11:49
Mile 5: 11:55
Mile 6: 11:58
Mile 7: 11:38
Mile 8: 12:30
Mile 9: 11:53
Mile 10: 13:46
Mile 11: 11:43
Mile 12: 13:13
Mile 13: 11:40
.20 Mi: 8:31 (Wow where did this come from?)

Nice course, very scenic around their town lake.