kc half marathon

I did the half marathon this morning. It was a blast.

The course was very nice, and it was a beautiful day. I liked that it started so early, because we had that really early morning sunlight, where all the folks ahead of me were sillhouetted. It's been a while since I've been in a road race, running amid so many people. There were about 5,500 in the race. It was quite a sight to be going down Grand at dawn amid such a crowd.

For those of you familar with KC, we started at Crown Center, headed toward downtown to 16th and then south on Main, past Union Station, up the hill for a loop by the Liberty Memorial and then back on Main to Westport. We ran through Westport, then south to the Plaza, across the Paza, past the Nelson and Stowers, up north on Troost then Gillham then the Paseo to the 18th and Vine district. We took 18th the last mile or so to a finish in the Crossroads (near where Allie and I got married, for you out of towners).

I didn't see anyone else doing the Jeff Galloway run/walk thing. It was a little odd being the only one, especially in the beginning. To be honest, I felt a little self conscious, like everyone running past me thought I was a pussy or something. But then when I'd start running again, I'd be passing folks left and right.

I wound up getting caught up in the excitement of it, and running the last three miles straight through, with walk breaks at the aid stations at each mile. I wound up coming in at a little under two hours and fifteen minutes.

I probably shouldn't have broken out of the game plan, because I'm feeling a little stiff right now. But I think I'll recover by Tuesday, when I'll be ready to resume my shorter mid-week runs.

Now I think Allie's getting the bug. She's talking about training for a half in the Spring.