13.1 Miles in Titletown

There was a fair amount of drama encircling last Sunday's Green Bay Half Marathon. The unseasonal extreme heat forced the race director to close the course at 9:35am. Only ten elite runners finished the full marathon. I was lucky enough to finish the half marathon at around 9:15am, only 20 minutes before they completely closed the course.

Here's my race report. . .

This is what was hanging on the refrigerator door for twelve weeks--my Hal Higdon Half Marathon Training Schedule. Every box is now officially crossed off!

We always build a "running man" the night before the race. This ensures that you have the essentials. . . socks, shoes, Garmin, SpiBelt, shades, iPod, headphones, etc. It's hard to think clearly when the alarm goes off at 4am.

Tricia's "Running Man"

I pile into the car with Drew Ehlert, Cliff Morris and our awesome "fan man", Liz, at 5:15am. Right on schedule.

Drew, Tricia and Cliff

Off to the start line. Ahhhh--look at that beautiful stadium. Gotta love the Packers.

Isn't it beautiful?

The hot weather was a force to be reckoned with, for sure. Maybe I'm a little wimpy because I've been spoiled by cool, cloudy mornings perfect for those long training runs. But I had to dig deep--really deep--to finish this one. These were my goals for the race:

1. Achieve a PR (Personal Record) time of less than 2:07:54.
2. Run the whole thing.
3. Run, but walk through the water stations.
4. Finish.
5. Live to tell about it.

Pretending to feel awesome at Mile 11

Goal #1 was abandoned at mile 5. I started walking through water stations at mile 8. I spent mile 13 approaching the finish line party at Lambeau Field at a respectable and very determined "jog."

Coming in for the finish!

My eyes may have been leaking ever so slightly when a kindly volunteer put that beautiful football shaped medal around my sweaty neck.

Look at that COOL medal!

And then, I reunited with my running pals and enjoyed a 12 oz. cup of fabulously delicious 26.2 Ale made especially for this event by Titletown Brewing Company in Green Bay. I assigned everyone a bright, bold color so that we'll coordinate well in the final scrapbook. (Actually, that was a happy accident.)

My running pals: Cliff, Drew and Todd

Driving home from the finish, this was the temperature reading in the car.

Next up, it'll be time to print my half marathon photos and make them a part of that permanent record. And that's where Club Scrap's fun Marathon Collection comes in. I love the prints because they have a framework where you can fill in your finish time with digital numbers. Way cool. 2:14:54.

Fill in the numbers to record the chip time. Nifty.

Are you training for anything? Have you caught the running bug? Some folks say I'm crazy. Last Sunday, I was only "half crazy." Can't wait to hear about what you've been up to. Pick up one of the last Marathon Collections from Club Scrap while they last!