6 Tunnels Half Marathon

Carolyn said, "This is Rinar and his harem."  haha!  From the left, Leanne D., Amrayne M., Carolyn M., Rinar, and me!

Yep, I did it again. I ran a half marathon yesterday.  I really wasn't in love with the training this time around and I felt like I was getting slower every time I hit the road. Nevertheless, on Saturday I laced up my shoes and pounded the pavement for 13.1 miles.  

Surprisingly enough, I actually really like the course.  It has a bad rap, but let me tell you, there were some definite positives to this race. First of all, it was the perfect Saturday to run. The weather was ideal, just a gorgeous day and wonderful time of the year. The course had two out and backs, so you had to turn around twice.  I really liked that because there was always someone to watch and since it was a wide bike path, there were always lots of runners around me.  We started the race in the middle of the course and headed toward Boulder City. It was a steady climb for about 2.5 miles, then a quick descent to the turn-around. After that first hill (I usually hate hills) and a quick hello to Leanne, Amrayne, and Carolyn, we got to run back down the long hill. So, on the way out I kept my pace just under 10 minutes, and on the way back I held myself back so that I did not run faster than 8:00. I didn't want to be sore, because I have a lot of things to do this week, and sore is not one of them.

After we passed the finish line we headed out to the tunnel portion of the race. I really did not like the gravel, but after a while I got used to it and stopped thinking about it.  Then the fun part was going down a steep hill, only to see even more descent.  I was a little panicked, because I knew that what goes down, must go up.  Then right before the last turn around at about mile 10 or so, it was a steep, killer climb. Yep, I walked. There was no point in running it because I couldn't have done it any faster.

I was surprised that the hill coming back was not as bad as I thought.  I got to say hello to Rinar on the way out, and then to Leanne, Amrayne, and Carolyn on the way back. That was fun.

I conserved my energy for the end of the race. I never usually do that. I must be growing up or something. Therefore, when everyone else was walking up the hill, I was running at a pretty good clip. Then when we hit the tunnels again I started reeling people in at a pretty good pace. No one passed me, but I bet that I must have passed about 30 runners. I felt great and I had a lot of gas in the tank.  

When you have runs like that, you want to do more.

My time was not that great, 2 hours 5 minutes and 58 seconds, but I felt really good afterward and I am looking forward to doing another one real soon. I think halfs are the perfect distance for me.