Looks like we made it!
Well, we did it.
Last Saturday a group of coworkers and I gave a good wallop to the Hamptons Half Marathon, with all of us finishing strong and raising a ton of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Based entirely on a supportive group of individuals, I was able to raise over $2,800 for the LLS, benefiting individuals and families afflicted with blood cancers.
The race couldn’t have gone better. It was a clear, crisp day, not too hot, not too cold. I got plenty of sleep the night before, despite a weird throat infection that had worried me all week.
The plan for the race was to stick as close to the 9-minute-mile mark. Earlier in the season I’d set a goal of a sub-2 hour finish, but with my IT band barkin’ it seemed like slower would be the norm. But everything felt good, and at the 6 mile mark it seemed like I was on track to finish in under 120 minutes.
So I stuck with it, and sucked it up when it started to get ugly around 12 miles, and finished in 1:53:33.
I’m not sure if I’ll do a full; maybe next summer. I’ve taken a week off but will soon be getting tuned up for the Nike Human Race 10k later this month, so I’ll stick with running a bit longer. I still don’t get the zen immediately. But maybe I will someday. I am, though, proud of what our group did, and thankful for the fabulous Team in Training coaching, as well as your support.
