As of 9:26 am on Sunday, I can officially say that I have finished a half marathon! I finished standing up, albeit struggling at the end, but I finished! Final time, and my newest personal best, 2:26:35.

The race was not held under ideal conditions – mid 40s and a cold 20 MPH wind out of the north (which means it was cold since it came off from the Atlantic Ocean). The fact that it stopped raining before we were outside to run was excellent.

Course summary — we took off shortly after 7 AM and headed north for about 3 miles on Atlantic. From there, we ran by both of my children who got out of bed on a cold morning to walk to see me! The kids took the hats and gloves that others wanted to drop. It was really close to the house where we were staying and another water stop. Then, we headed NW on Shore Drive for about 3 miles. Those 3 miles were a boring 3 miles, but were sheltered from the wind by trees. We passed by First Landing State Park, where the eventual Jamestown Settlers first landed.

Next, we turned east into Fort Story, home of the Cape Henry lighthouses (old and new ones). I’ve been on Ft. Story a few times — to climb the old lighthouse and to visit my Mom once (stays there every year for a week with her ex-Air Force hubby). We continued for the 3 or so miles through Ft. Story with the winds whipping off from the Atlantic (you could see the ocean to the left – no break from the trees). Next, we headed out of the west gate of Ft. Story for the 4 miles south. We passed by the house where we were staying, then the water stop where we headed NW (above). This was our Goo stop on the return trip.

Finally, we cut towards the Atlantic Ocean at about mile 12 or so. The elite Marathon runners were starting to pass me (they were heading north, we were heading south), just as I headed towards the ocean. We made a quick jog to the boardwalk and then ran the final leg on the boardwalk to cross the finish line. Done… thankfully.

After finishing, we got our own emergency (space) blanket (foil-like wraps with the Yuengling logo), our finishers medals, bananas, a bag of goodies, and the best part — a hat that declares me to be a 13.1 finisher! I met up with my running buddies who all finished ahead of me and we eventually headed into the celebration tent. There, they handed each runner 4 beer tickets (the race was sponsored by Yuengling), and had Irish Stew to eat.

Eventually, I was able to retrieve my car and head to the house where we packed and headed home. Today, I treated myself to a massage and a day off from work. Tomorrow, the real world will get back under my skin…

Today was the last mid-week run before the half. We ran a measly 4 miles – very short even by mid-week standards. I ran slowly at first, got rid of the congestion that has been plaguing me for the last week, then increased my speed with each consecutive mile.

My miles were 10:31, 10:41, 10:15, and a blazing 9:43. I felt fantastic! I almost sprinted up the final long hill (which I generally hate), then kept going. I passed Melanie and Sara both — I think they were shocked… Knowing that I only had the four miles to run helped a great deal. My knee felt great. My feet felt great, and my belly felt great as well. If it weren’t for the congestion, I’d be really happy now.

The half marathon is Sunday. I have decided to head to Virginia Beach on Friday so I can relax on Saturday all day. I need to visit the Expo to do packet pickup, eat some lunch, then cook dinner for my buddies on Saturday night (pasta, of course). Early to bed, then an early rise on Sunday for the race. At this point, I think that I will need to leave the house around 5:30 at the latest to find parking in a public lot. Driving around in pre-dawn light is not my idea of a good, stress free day. After the race, I will relax, pack up and drive home. The best part is that I am off on Monday, have a 4 PM massage scheduled, and will have zero email or BlackBerry all weekend long.

Last week after the almost 14 mile run, pain set in. My left knee was a bit sore on Sunday, and very sore by Sunday night and early Monday. Ice and ibuprofen were my only resolutions for then. I went to the gym on Tuesday to attempt to run but was promptly reduced to a slow pace on the treadmill. With each step, excruciating pain. It would have to be a week of rest. On Wednesday, Lori and I walked 2 miles – it was cold and my knee was again not up to it. Time to call the doctor.

I saw the good doctor (she is a tri-athlete). and a good bit of feeling my knee and a few digital x-rays later, she had her diagnosis. Pes bursitis or pes tendonitis. Something about the bursis getting inflamed by the rubbing when I run. So, she shot me up with cortisone, fitted me with a strap to keep the kneecap in place, and put me on high-dose anti-inflammatory drugs. If this doesn’t work, I will be back for other stuff on Friday. I am attempting to run on the treadmill tomorrow (maybe 4 miles), then see how the knee feels.

Okay, so it wasn’t a walk in the park… but, I did run 13.85 miles on Saturday! I was so pleased with how I felt, how I worked through the pain, and how I kept going when stopping was so easy.

As scheduled, we ran the first 4 miles with the 10k team. It was so easy… we started late, chatted with everyone we passed (many of them), and finished up significantly warmer than when we started. Then, we took off again after a few minutes of a break for a short 10-mile jaunt. This was actually easy for the first half of a mile, then I started coughing up a lung getting my breathing down right and letting the Allegra kick in. Once I got back in the swing, I ran pretty good through mile 5 (so that would be of mile 9 total). A few periods of walking and I finished it… I was having a hard time when I finished mile 11, right before the SAG. By mile 11, the muscle fatigue had started but I worked through it.

My diet this week consisted of a goo after mile 4, another one after mile 8, and one more at the SAG at mile 11. Lots of Accelerade throughout, and I was feeling pretty good.

Sunday, I was lame as can be expected, then lame again on Monday. Today, I went to the YMCA to run on the treadmill and my left knee was so sore that I just couldn’t run at all. I walked 2.5 miles, but will try to run 5 miles tomorrow night with Lori.

Tomorrow morning, we are scheduled to run 4 miles, them recoup and run 10 more… that makes for 14 total miles. Since we are training for the half marathon which is a mere 13.1 miles, 14 miles is insane.

If I run all 14, I will know that I can do 13 and finish standing up. If I run all 14, I will know that I will feel like I am 80 years old (and I’m not even 50 yet). If I run all 14, I will have the satisfaction that February 23rd, 2008 will be the day that I ran the furthest distance of my life.

While it seems to be a daunting task, it will make the half marathon in 2 weeks much easier knowing that I can cover the distance.