The Half

The Half-Marathon. 13.1 miles. A splendid distance to run. My very first Half-Marathon was back in 1999; the San Francisco Home Depot Half-Marathon. I recall the race so perfectly; it was in late January, cold, wet & some rain. It’s SF, what do you figure! I wore Adidas nylon pants, Adidas pullover jacket & Adidas cap.(no, Adidas did NOT sponsor me!)  The course basically went all through Golden Gate park and along the Great Highway. 2 friends had driven over an hour to see me run. I passed them twice along the course. That was it. That is some kind of friendship.

The wind along the great highway was spectacular on the return portion of the course; crazy wind blowing me backwards while the waves crashed in the Pacific Ocean to my left. Felt like I was moving in slooooow motion. The final turn led you back into a section of GG park and onto the finish line. I was so so Happy. My 1st Half-Marathon. Done.

I’ve run a Half about once a year ever since 1999. It might just be my favorite distance. It’s long enough to get your body and mind into that calm state of keen awareness and not so long that you are just experiencing pain & fatigue. I don’t know how calm i will feel running along the Las Vegas strip on Sunday, but I’m sure looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to the race expo and seeing what cool stuff they have & possibly meeting Scott Jurek, Ultrarunner god. (also vegan, want to ask him questions about this..)

Time goal for race? I don’t really have anything concrete right now, but i know i will by the time the starting gun (or Bellagio fountains) go off. Seriously, my longest run since the 40 miler is just 10 miles. I only ran about 75 miles in November. My expectations are very loose. I want to run, have fun, enjoy every step and see what happens. (i have my secret time goal, don’t we all…will let ya know if i make it or not)

Two pals will be with me and as long as they don’t keep me up til the wee hours playing craps and blackjack, I will be there at the starting line in front of Mandalay Bay on Sunday at 7:00am.

Flight leaves in a few hours. Gotta go pack! Cheers!