I just wanna know who did the red eye removal?  Or can you vampires do runs during the day now??  

 

I'm in the middle.  My fiance is on my left.  That's a new friend on the right.  He's also part of Ted Spiker's sub-30 club.  That is if this picture link works :-)  I don't always have the best of luck with that.  Anyway, there's your pic.

 

Some of you already know my background.  For those that don't, I'll shorten it up.  Football - wreslting - powerlifting - fatty - runner.  I did well in sports, but was always the BIG GUY.  I'm talking 315 pounds guy.  Then, I decided I wanted to run a marathon.  I'm currently 230 pounds, and my previous race times have been 5K - 31:02, 5K - 26:58, HM - 2:03:54, 5K - 25:48.  Do you like how I just slipped a half marathon in there?

 

Today my goal was to finish in under 25 minutes.  I've never used electronics in a race, but I had considered doing so today.  Then, I realized that my GPS stunk in the town the race was being held.  I'm sure the weather didn't help.  It was raining, and upper 30's.  It may have just hit 40 at one point.  It was also windy, and we had thick cloud cover.  For a guy with a PR in every race so far, and having never used electronic devices I was a little bit relieved.  It was one less thing to worry about.

 

I met up with the guy in the picture when I first got there.  We'd been talking about this race for a while, and he was hoping to break that 30 minute barrier here.  Four of us went for a 1.4 mile warmup run.  Then, I ran my strides.  I don't think anyone else was interested in that.  I like them because they make me feel fast.  Confidence thing you know.

 

Finally, we line up and we're all jibber-jabbering away.  Before I know it, there's an air horn.  It was just out of nowhere.  So, we all turned around and ran.  I couldn't get around some of the people in front of me, and made a HUGE lateral shift toward the lane that wasn't closed to traffic.  It got me out in the open though, and I was off.  Once I found a pace that felt "too fast", that's where I tried to settle in.  I just kept telling myself that this uncomfortable pace was my new reality...deal with it.  That actually helped.

 

I reached the first set of time keepers at 7:58, which was right in line with my goal.

 

The second mile was interesting.  I had been warned that there was a steep hill.  There were actually several steep hills.  I can't tell you how many exactly.  It's kinda blurry in my head.  Anyway, I'm trying to maintain my form up these hills, and I'm struggling.  So is everyone else.  I saw a fairly fit runner put his hands on his hips and walk.  Well, that's when I put my pride aside and ran the hill the way I would on a training run.  I do this weird swimming like motion when I'm training on hills.  You'd have to see it.  I'm not going to try to justify it, but when I did it in the race it was like someone flipped a switch.  My breathing settled as much as it can for a race, and I started passing people...lots of people.  That was pretty fun.  As it turns out the first mile was a very gradual decline, and the second mile was an abrupt curvy climb back to the original elevation.

 

Second mile time keepers said I was at 15:52.  Wait...what?  I was faster?

 

The final 1.1 mile was a bit strange.  The race didn't end where it started.  It was nearby, but instead of the north parking lot, it finished inside the field house.  So, it was mostly flat until we got to the final turn, or about .1 mile.  I had finally passed a guy that I had been going back and forth with the entire race.  I was starting to do that thing where noise was coming out when I exhaled.  I decided I didn't care.  That turn was coming up, and it was downhill.  I was going to head through that overhead door as fast as I could.  My shirt came in handy.  It felt good to hear people yelling, "Give Em Hell".  Then, there it was...the clock...the mat...the end...wooooo

 

Final time: 24:45.8

Pace: 7:59

AG 5 of 11

Overall 90 of 333

Gender 72 of 144

 

I feel like a wizard for pacing that the way I did.  7:58 first mile, and 7:59 average?  Come on.  That's wizard stuff.  Later I found out that while I didn't win an AG award, this was a qualifying event for the inaugural championship race in October.  Placing top 5 in your AG qualifies you, and all who participate get a championship series jacket and medal.  Not too bad.

Congrats on a great race!!  Way to break that barrier.

Do you live in Indiana?  I'm outside of Indianapolis.  And I know we have a few other runners in the Region.

redrum - I'm not sure.  That was taken on an iphone I believe, and then forwarded to me.  I was hoping the course photographer would catch a good picture of me, but after sorting through 56 pages of photos...nothing.

Hipfan - I was already pretty proud of this race, but I'm looking at your PR's and that means a lot coming from someone like yourself.  Thanks!

marymary - I'm in northern Indiana, but I ran the Indianapolis Monumental HM last year and plan on running the Monumental Marathon this year.

MrNamtor - Thanks!  It's been one hell of a journey.  I got down to 225 in 2010 to run Warrior Dash.  I thought it looked fun.  In 2011, I put it all back on.  That's when I realized that I really enjoyed running, and don't enjoy carrying the extra weight.  So, I started running again around the beginning of summer in 2012.  I was already back to 300 pounds...ugh.  Eventually, I found the forums, and the advice I've received from you guys has really helped me put together some solid programs.  You guys are like online coaches.