Blazin'

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Ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at a picture the winner of the 2009 Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon! He was going so fast that the BF's iPhone camera only read his passing as a blurred body with a slightly demonic grin, but if I was at the 12.5 mile mark, cruising 4:56 minute miles with no competitor in sight, I'd probably have a grin on my face too. In fact, I can attest to the fact that Crosbone (the winner and my friend and running guru) had that same smile on his face as he sprinted by me on the Great Highway...this was around my mile 8 and his mile 11. I can say that he seriously upped my cool points when he slapped me an easy, down-low five mid-stride. Despite the fact that he was 3 miles ahead and averaging 2:22 minutes/mile faster than me, I think he felt a lot better at that moment than I did too. Yep, against all advice and odds, I ran all 13.1 miles this morning. I will say that I ran a PR (and my first 1/2 in 5 years). I will also say that it was really dumb to do so, and I will not be running for at least a week because of it (I know, I know, Cros/Kim/Dr. O/BF. You told me not to). And you know what? Despite how much my knee hurts right now, I don't regret it at all.

This was an incredible morning for a race. Twelve of my friends all decided to run this thing together, and everyone ran great on this 66 degree, sunny, February morning. There was only a hint of a breeze, the course was fast, the fans were loud, and everyone was there to have a good time. I'm so proud of our whole "team." We had at least 3 members who ran their 1st half marathon EVER; a teammate who trained (and fell) in 2 foot snow drifts in Minnesota after being banished there until March by Wells Fargo; various peeps who powered through runner's knee, hip issues, shin issues and knee issues; at least 2 PRs within the group; people who didn't train but showed up to gut it out anyway; and basically just a bunch of all-out champion awesomeness demonstrated today. Yeah, I have bada** friends. I also have a bada** BF who drove me to the race this morning and cheered everyone on from the start to the finish (taking blurry pics along the way). I think the highlights of the race were running the out-and-back on the Great Highway and cheering on various teammates as they ran by in the opposite direction...followed closely by the moment I dumped an entire cup of gatorade over my head at mile 11, thinking it was water. Expert tip #122: Gatorade is sticky and not optimal for thermal management.

Now it's time for beers, burgers (of the veggie variety), and football. Happy Superbowl Sunday, everyone.

PS Cream of Wheat is the perfect pre-race fuel. I'll fight anyone who says different.