Amy and Mitch's Adventures: Columbus Half and Full Marathon

I had the most amazing weekend. Apart from my visiting to Columbus to see Mitch, I also ran the half marathon with Seth (Mitch's brother) and Gabby (his fiance), while Mitch ran the full marathon. I began my training in mid June running 3-4 times a week with alternating mid distance runs, speed workouts, and distance runs of up to 10-13 miles. I think the secret to staying motivated is 1) the money wasted for the race if you don't follow through and can't compete 2) the progress you see week after week in your ability to run hills and the times you are running getting faster 3) the transformation of your body and 4) the bragging rights that go along with completing a 13.1 or 26.2 mile run (not many can say that)! I had run a half marathon before back in Winter of 2006, but never on such a large a scale as the Columbus, OH race. About 15,000 people participated in both races combined. You should have seen the starting line. It took me two minutes just to reach the start line and I was in the second heat (the time tracking device doesn't activate until you cross the start line). We ran all over Columbus and had tons of people along the route (bands, singers, DJs, bagpipers, drummers and overall spectators) cheering us on. I have to say that helped a lot. I don't use my MP3 player during races so what do you do think about? I was very focused but of course had spurts of mindless and deep thinking. I thought about all the hard work I put in, how proud bubbie and pop would have been of me (Pop liked to call me Speedy) but I paced myself on a girl and her friend lightly in front on me. I never let her out of my sight and she never seemed to burn out either so that meant she was doing a fairly consistent pace. For me I am a very consistent runner; I do my miles mostly in the same time give or take 1-2 seconds. I did my first mile in 8:38 but it significantly dropped from there. I had to warm up big time since it was in the low to mid 40s at the start of the race. I didn't realize until mile 11 that I would very likely break my previous 1/2 marathon time. I finished in 1:47:30 about 48 seconds faster than 4 yrs ago. At least running gets better with age, right? I also got to see Mitch cross the finish in 3:56:48. I was so proud of him too. I look forward to many future races.

For more info on race if you desire visit...www.columbusmarathon.com

Seth, Mitch's brother doing a little dance while he eats pasta the day before the race