Half Marathon day!

Well, race day began a little colder than we would have wished. Here is the forecast for the day. The race started at 6:30am, and we were out the door by 5:45. It was so cold that I wore 3 layers on top, plus a plastic bag at the start line to keep my body heat in. We took off the bags right before the race started. I kept my hat and gloves on the entire time, except for when I took them off to snap these pictures.

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The best part about the Daytona Beach half is the course. You begin with a loop around the speedway (a little over 2 miles), then run to the beach and back. That does, by the way, include a bridge. A big bridge. Twice. This year they changed the course slightly, which allowed us to run on the beach for a block.

Even though we live there, we still took some time to snap a few pictures on the beach. Both Chris and I were thrilled to be able to run. He's been battling knee pain, and I've had a cold all week.

We were running well, despite the cold. We usually try for a "negative split" where we run the second half faster than the first, but that did not happen this time. I attribute it mainly to the wind - we ran INTO the wind the entire way back. At mile 12, Chris needed to slow down, but I plowed on. We both finished just a minute apart, and we both had a PR (Personal Record!) Mine was 2:14:47. The closest I've come to that lately was in the 2:20 area, so I was very excited.

Although Daytona does throw a nice after party, we didn't stick around. We wanted to make it to church (made it just in time), and we were abolutely freezing by that point. It was still in the low 40's, windy, and now we were soaked with sweat. I've never been so happy to be inside a hot car as I was this morning.

Instead of the post-race beer and pizza, we opted for the next best thing  - Krispy Kreme. Each runner receives a free dozen glazed donuts. Benjamin offered to drive me there (!!!) to pick them up. I'm sure the boys will help us eat them quickly.

This week's total: 17.1 miles (4 mile treadmill run on Thursday)

This year's total: 123.4 miles! I'm getting there!!!!