Another Run Bites the Dust

Well - Another 1/2 Marathon has come and gone. I have to say that this time around I feel really proud of myself but I can't help but think that it would have gone better if I had trained a little better.

This time I ran during training to really just stay in shape rather than really turn on the jets and really try to improve. That being said I still finished in under 2 hours.

I have to feel pretty good about that. I mean how many people in the world can run a 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours. And...how many people in the world that are 227 pounds (weight as of 6:00pm today) could do a half marathon in under 2 hours.

So I bet you are asking what the vitals were and don't worry my little stat head friends as I have them here for you.

Based on the Gun Time I finished in: 1:59:32

Based on the Timing Chip I finished in: 1:57:36

So both are under 2 hours. I feel great about that. It was a scary moment when I turned the last corner and saw the race clock tick to 1:59:00. I can tell you that I mustered every last ounce of energy to run as fast as I could to the finish line. I didn't want to see that clock flip to 2:00:00 without me past the line.

So what does that mean? How did I finish against the rest of the runners?

First I like to say that although there were less people in this race I believe there were more seasoned athletes as a percentage of the whole in this one. I felt like I ran a really good race and I still finished in the last 50%.

I finished 1476th Overall out of 3865 Finishers.

I finished 894th out of 1490 Men.

And finally...

I finished 98th out 136 Men aged 25-29.

Well how fast was I running? I was clocking 8:58min/miles, so about 5:34min/km. I felt this was a good time. I feel during the race my pace between the 5km and 15km markers is what really made the difference for me. I really felt like I was trucking through that part.

So now what...

Well - It is time I set some new goals. I still have a little way to go in this weight loss journey. So here comes the next chapter.

#1) For some stupid reason I am going to do another one of these things. I believe the Vancouver Marathon next May is the next one that I will be doing. I have teased the idea of runner one in Vegas in December but I don't think time is on my side.

The real strange thing is that I actually felt I had fun with this last race. I actually feel like I enjoyed myself. That may have as much to do with the excess of alcohol comsumed after the race than the race itself. I need to say thanks to Blair and Audrey for making this a crazy fun weekend. So really the key is to make the race just part of a great event weekend. Maybe for 2008 I can get half a dozen people in for a 1/2 Marathon trip to Vegas.

Anyways, I digress, my first goal is to somehow finish the 1/2 in under 1:55:00. That means shaving another 2:30 off my new personal best. I think I can do it.

#2) I want to be under 215 by Festivus - which I believe is going to be on the 15th of December this year, mark it on your calendars. I think this is a pretty fair goal. It is going to be close. I have been having trouble getting below the 220 barrier so this is going to be a good motivator.

#3) I want to be in the gym at least twice a week actually doing weights. I think this is actually going to be the toughest of the three goals to keep up with but I am going to give it a whirl. I want to keep this up until the same Festivus date as goal #2.

So that should set it up for now. I haven't blogged for a long time so maybe that should be a goal as well.

Maybe not...

This is the sweaty post-race me.