2008 Capital City Half Marathon

Sometimes, really good things happen when you're not expecting them or even looking for them. You might not even realize you wanted them to happen. Until after they happen, that is. Then it's up to you to embrace them and make the best of the situation. You might not know what's going to happen in the beginning, so all you can do is believe in yourself, trust your instincts, and run with them.

And that folks, is what I did this morning. I have been having a phenomenal week and it carried over to today's effort. Everything has been clicking. It happens, but not very often. So this morning I felt good and just ran. I was watching my mile splits come in under where they usually do and I made the decision to run as hard a pace as I could. I had no expectations for today so I went out hard. If I pooped out towards the end, it was OK. There was no pressure.

Not only did I DESTROY my half marathon PR from last year, I ended up beating my PR dating from 1994. Did I just beat a 14 year old personal record? Yes I did! 33 year old Mr. Pythagoras just kicked the snot out of 19 year old College Pythagoras. I wasn't even worried about doing well today. I haven't been doing any specific training for the distance. I don't know what happened, but it did, and I'll take it. My official finish time today was 1:38:28. That's over seven minutes faster than my best time last November, and two minutes four seconds faster than my long standing PR from 1994.

I feel really good right now. I feel very accomplished. We had temps around 50 but clouds and wind. Lots of wind. It felt like a headwind no matter what direction we were running. It was a relatively flat course with only minimal hills. See, I guess that's why I love Columbus. I've had VERY good results there. The pressure is really on for Rite Aid in May now. Can I beat my new PR then? I don't know. If the weather is nicer, possibly. If I train more for it, possibly. If I continue to have really great days leading up to it, possibly. I'll just need to do my best and hope it pays off in May.

Finally I need to thank John, a friend of mine from Columbus. He managed to find me around mile 9 and ran with me for a couple of miles. Having someone to talk with was a great way to get my mind off of the wind and the tiredness that was setting in. I wish him luck as he runs Boston in a couple weeks.

Mr. P