284/365 Half Completed

284/365 Half Completed
Originally uploaded by tallasiandude.

Finished my 3rd half-marathon -- a respectable 1:42:40, especially given that my training paces (and sadly, my age) would suggest I would have finished a few minutes slower and I was worrying that I was coming down with a cold. (apparently not)

A few thoughts and observations:

• Almost missed the start of the race waiting in line at the port-o-johns. (thankfully, it wouldn't have been a complete disaster because of the chip-timing)
• It was a bit cold at the start, but it was a beautiful day to be out -- sunny, blue skies and a few white clouds for contrast.
• I would have probably enjoyed the scenery more if one of my contacts hadn't been acting up all morning.
• Because it's an out and back looped course, it's sometimes possible to see the elite runners, which is cool. I think this happened somewhere around mile 5.
• What I also thought was cool was seeing runners cheer on the elite/front-runners.
• I've lived in the Boston area for about 18 years now, and this was my first visit to the Franklin Park zoo. (all of maybe 10 minutes)
• I saw CAMELS!
• Passing the aid station from the other direction, I was entertained to hear a group of younger women runners (from the sound of it) getting vanilla bean power gel.
• I saw someone lose a shoe in the middle of the race -- I still don't understand how that happens.
• as much as I love my GPS watch for helping me keep track of my pace, it's really only good for ballpark estimates. According to it, I ran a 13.3 mile half-marathon (and a 26.45 mile marathon last year).