After being rocked by the wind waiting for the start, I was surprised that it was hardly a factor once we got going. My first few miles were a little slower than I would have liked as I got warmed up and threaded my way through slower runners. I was able to shed my long-sleeved shirt after mile 1 and by mile 4 I was really in the groove.

There was entertainment along the entire course and lots of people came out to cheer along the runners. I found plenty to make me smile as I was chugging along.

At one point, I shamelessly paced off a 12 year old boy who was just cruising along. He lost a little steam as we were running around the track so I eventually had to pass him up. I wished I had gotten his name or race number so I could see how he finished. So cute. And then there was the guy dressed like a memeber of KISS. He ran behind me for the last few miles. I kept hearing people in the crowd saying, "Hey! Look at that guy!" I got passed by both Mrs. Incredible and The Flash. I also got passed by a very hot marine in very short shorts. I wished I was faster because that was the best pace booty I have ever witnessed.

By the time we exited the track and headed back towards downtown, I was confident that I was going to finish the race strong. I knew my goal time of sub-1:50 was out of reach but my secondary goal was to run a solid race and really get a feel for racing the HM distance. Goal accomplished.

Last year was my first attempt at a half-marathon. I was undertrained, didn't have much base, and had no idea how to approach the race. I crashed and burned around the 10-mile marker. It was a miserable final 3 miles. This year, I was still undertrained but I had a lot more running miles under my belt so I was able to go the distance. It was a mental boost to make it past the site of last year's meltdown. I was able to eek up the pace a bit and make a final push for the last 5K. I finished strong and with a big smile on my face.

This was a great way to start off my season. It was really nice to see the extra run miles pay off. This is all the incentive I need to keep training.