Morse Mini Marathon

Morse Mini Marathon
Date: 9/4/2010
Nobelsville, IN
13.1 Miles

So I convinced Cyndi on Monday to sign-up for this race. I haven't run a half-marathon since June and that race was miserably hot. This is only the second year for the Morse race and neither of us had any idea what to expect. I train in the area so I had a good idea it was going to be fairly flat and fast. Being only the 2nd year for the event, it's a gamble on how well they'll have the course marked or supplied with water, etc.

The weather was almost perfect. Cool and clear. The only issue - the damn wind. Cyndi and I met up with my tri friend Katie before the race. We all started together towards the middle of the pack. My mission for the day - break two hours. Honestly, I ran a good race, except for mile 9. I don't know what the hell happened in mile 9 but I was evidently day dreaming or something. My pace slipped down to a 10 minute/mile and I screwed myself. The rest of the race was fantastic. I hit the 13 mile marker and looked at my watch...it was going to be close. As I turned down the drive to the school at started to sprint to the finish, I felt a gush of fluid in my left shoe. I looked down and saw the entire top of my shoe was bloody. I ignored the pain and grossness and pushed to the line finishing in......I know the suspense is killing you...2:00:22. Yes - I missed breaking two-hours by 23 seconds.

After the race I changed clothes and went back to the finish line to wait for Cyndi and Katie to finish. Bob O - another tri friend was also running this race as his first half marathon. He finished with a great time and had fun! Katie and Cyndi also both had good races. Cyndi and I both had PR's. This one was 5 minutes faster the my previous best time. Now I must find those elusive 23 seconds and break two hours!! Good things - My nutrition was spot-on for the race. I ate one bag of chomps and only took water. It worked because the weather was cool. Any more heat I would have had to take Gatorade too. Luckily no stomach issues! The foot was gross but it didn't really hurt after I got out of my shoes. The blister healed quickly. I'm going to start breaking in new shoes this week for Augusta. Hopefully they'll help minimize the blisters.