My Half Marathon Debut!

And here is what we did this weekend...

I ran the CHaD Outrun the Sun Half Marathon in Etna, New Hampshire. Scott and Bruce came along, of course. The race was point-to-point, so we all took a shuttle bus to the starting line. We sat on a lawn for an hour and a half or so until the race started. Bruce kept busy by terrorizing someone's dog. He also dumped water all over himself, which prompted me to put my jersey on him and get some photos.

Overall, the race went well. There were lots of people to run with and lots of downhill. I ended up winning in 1:21:21, which is right where I want to be right now. I especially wanted to break 1:25 because with that time I can be considered an "elite" runner for the Hartford Marathon. That means they will pay for my entry fee, hotel, transportation, etc. - and I'll be eligible to win prize money. I'm not counting on any big money from the marathon, but I want to at least break even on this silly habit of mine!

Anyway, a big thanks to all who donated to the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD). After the race, I accepted my prize (a running shirt made out of New Zealand merina wool manufactured by some ritzy Woodstock company) from a cancer patient and listened to a moving story from a former patient who finished the half-marathon.

After the race and awards and such, it was pretty late. 8:30ish. So Scott, Bruce, and I went to our campground in Vermont. We'd set up our tent before the race - thank goodness - because it was totally dark out by then. Scott built a fire, while I took care of a fussy Bruce. Once the fire was going, Scott took Bruce while I went off to take a shower. When I got back, Scott and Bruce were laying in the tent and our foil dinners were next to the fire and the fire was pretty much out. So I took Bruce back and Scott got back to the fire. He got it going again, so by about 10 pm our dinners were finally on the coals. Needless to say, we were eating quite a hearty meal very late at night. While I waited, I ate some S'mores though. I know it is totally cheating on the whole cholesterol diet, but I wasn't really caring that I'd just eaten 10 mg. Maybe I'll care when my next blood test comes back.

I woke up the next morning first and listened to Scott snooze for awhile. Bruce kept rolling around and kicking me too. At one point, Bruce rolled over and squashed his face into the zipper of my sleeping bag and it looked horribly uncomfortable. So I tried to gently slide him back onto a softer surface and he woke up. He sat straight up and looked all around, then started chatting his gibberish talk. He was quite excited to be in a tent and in our sleeping bag. He's usually chipper in the mornings, but this was a new high.

We packed up and started driving. We stopped at a church ward in New Hampshire. Several members of the congregation had run the half-marathon too, so it was fun talking to everyone about the race. After church, we hopped back in the car and made it home two dirty diapers later.