Here's a race report I wrote for my club newsletter. The Pittsburgh Marathon & Half Marathon Training started for the Pittsburgh half in early February with a 8 miler. The next two weeks involved a 9 and a 10 mile run with Linda accompanying me. Following those runs Linda decided she too would run the half in Pittsburgh. February training included long runs of 10, 12, 8, 11 miles. Shortly after the 10 miler Linda started calling it the "stick with Rick" program. She had concluded that if she had put up with me for 30 years she could survive a couple more months. April long runs of 10, 9, 12 and 8 miles sometimes involved some name calling. She really likes hated finishing up the staircase but I kept telling her she would appreciate the hills when she gets to mile 12 of the half marathon. Linda's times were dropping all through training but she definitely grew confident when 8 and 9 milers became short runs. Race weekend finally arrived and we drove down to Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon and checked in at a downtown hotel close to the convention center where the race would start and finish. I made those reservations in January before we even signed up for the race. We then made our way 2 1/2 blocks over to the packet pick-up and met Carol and Larry along with Jen and Tim. The next important step is the carbo loading (that's what it's about) I did some research to find a family owned and operated Italian Restaurant. Fully armed with directions we picked up Larry & Carol at their hotel and proceeded to Carbonara's Ristorante on Mount Lebanon Blvd. ( the name literally means pasta sauce restaurant). The directions I had were from our hotel not Larry & Carols so being the logical person I am I thought I could wing it. I knew we wanted the Liberty Bridge and tunnel so I was sure we could go down Liberty Ave. and run right into them, wrong, Liberty Ave. takes you to the Fort Pitt tunnels (what?). Like all these bridges and tunnels don't make this city difficult enough to drive around. Fortunately with co-pilots Larry and Linda helping, I got us turned around and through the Liberty tunnels. So the 6 mile, 15 minute drive turned into 10 and 30 but Carbonara's, a real Italian family restaurant, made it worth it. Race day arrived and the Hampton Inn accommodated the runners with a early 5am breakfast and late checkout time of 1pm, now that was cool. We were able to stay at the hotel until about 12 minutes before the race then walk 2 short blocks to get lined up in the appropriate place. Then at 7:30 sharp the city where the rivers like to run had its streets flooded with 10,500 race participants. The course was mostly flat with only 2 hills entering bridges and a couple of other small humps in the road. Race time temperature was 52 with 88% humidity and cloudy. Due to a sore back I wanted to be sure I started easy and got loose slowly. I don't remember all my splits but after a slow 1st mile I think I carried a very consistent pace of between 8:35-8:40 for every mile. I barely had time to walk back toward the finish line when I saw Linda finish about 5-10 minutes ahead of what was expected. Her first 2 half marathons were both in 2:20 but this time she crossed the line with less than 2:02 on the clock and I knew her chip time would break 2 hours. Awesome improvement as she really cashed in on the dividends from the "stick with Rick" program. Now we are looking at the Mount Desert Island Marathon in Maine on October 18th. The MDI is known as "Big Sur of the East" both for the beautiful course and the big hills. So it looks like the "stick with Rick" program will be continuing. Chip times were Jen & Tim 1:51:08 Larry 1:47:25 Carol 1:57:37 Linda 1:59:45 Rick 1:54:14

Great job for all of you, and thanks for the restaurant tip. I am in Pittsburgh a lot and will try out Carbonara's. Spareribs

It sounds like a great time, Sarge. What could beat friends, good food, and a speedy half. Congrats to all, especially to Linda on her PR. TomS

April long runs of 10, 9, 12 and 8 miles sometimes involved some name calling.

Sounds like a great race - friends, fun, PR for DW - well done!