Monumental Challenge: ½ Marathon<br>
10/7/2007<br><br>
Greetings fellow PRTers. Well we did it. TG and I ran the race and had a pretty good time overall. To start off with I would like to personally thank each of you who provided TG with the inspirational quotes which she had put on a shirt for me. Also thank you to all the well wishers who posted in the thread supporting me the other day.<br><br>
We got up early this morning to get to Hill City to catch a bus to the starting line. It was pretty cold and the busses were not organized well so we had to wait a long time out in spitting rain and 43 degree weather. The buses were still hauling people to the starting line at 8:00 when the race was to start. Since they are using chip timing, it really didn’t matter when the race officially started. So during the 1.5 mile hike from the starting line dropoff point to the actual starting line we were seeing runners already running the race.<br><br>
We got to the starting line and started running. Something was wrong with TG. She was not able to catch her breath even though the pace was not too fast and the uphill grade was not one that was very strenuous. I was having no problem running along but after about a mile she said that her breathing was very labored. We walked then jogged and kinda limped along until mile 3. At that point TG was not sure she was going to be able to finish the race. She was pretty upset at the thought of not being able to run the whole thing with me, but suggested I go on and run. I knew that she would feel far worse if I just stayed with her and walked her in. {{TG}} I took off at mile 3 and really didn’t have any trouble until about mile 11. My energy was waning and my body was starting to complain. I had to walk at least ½ of the last 2 miles but finished strong and was actually running across the finish.<br><br>
The course (the George S. Mickelson rail trail) is beautiful. As I was running along I kept seeing scenes and thinking – (I think I have done a jigsaw puzzle with that scene). As I would be walking I would think of the shirt and all the inspiring messages on the back and it would spur me on to running again. I’m pretty happy with my run. I could have been better prepared but for my first race, it wasn’t too bad.<br><br>
TG found her umph and started to run. She finished maybe 5 minutes behind me! It was kinda funny, I knew that she might get to a point where she was fine and could catch up to me. In fact, as just about every person was coming up behind me about to pass, I would think, “is that her?”. It never was but she wasn’t too far behind me. We were pretty happy about being done and getting back to our cabin for a shower and nap.<br><br>
I will post my time later, after I look it up…. If it isn’t too embarrassing. We got a great long sleeve race shirt, and a really nice finishers medal.
10/7/2007<br><br>
Greetings fellow PRTers. Well we did it. TG and I ran the race and had a pretty good time overall. To start off with I would like to personally thank each of you who provided TG with the inspirational quotes which she had put on a shirt for me. Also thank you to all the well wishers who posted in the thread supporting me the other day.<br><br>
We got up early this morning to get to Hill City to catch a bus to the starting line. It was pretty cold and the busses were not organized well so we had to wait a long time out in spitting rain and 43 degree weather. The buses were still hauling people to the starting line at 8:00 when the race was to start. Since they are using chip timing, it really didn’t matter when the race officially started. So during the 1.5 mile hike from the starting line dropoff point to the actual starting line we were seeing runners already running the race.<br><br>
We got to the starting line and started running. Something was wrong with TG. She was not able to catch her breath even though the pace was not too fast and the uphill grade was not one that was very strenuous. I was having no problem running along but after about a mile she said that her breathing was very labored. We walked then jogged and kinda limped along until mile 3. At that point TG was not sure she was going to be able to finish the race. She was pretty upset at the thought of not being able to run the whole thing with me, but suggested I go on and run. I knew that she would feel far worse if I just stayed with her and walked her in. {{TG}} I took off at mile 3 and really didn’t have any trouble until about mile 11. My energy was waning and my body was starting to complain. I had to walk at least ½ of the last 2 miles but finished strong and was actually running across the finish.<br><br>
The course (the George S. Mickelson rail trail) is beautiful. As I was running along I kept seeing scenes and thinking – (I think I have done a jigsaw puzzle with that scene). As I would be walking I would think of the shirt and all the inspiring messages on the back and it would spur me on to running again. I’m pretty happy with my run. I could have been better prepared but for my first race, it wasn’t too bad.<br><br>
TG found her umph and started to run. She finished maybe 5 minutes behind me! It was kinda funny, I knew that she might get to a point where she was fine and could catch up to me. In fact, as just about every person was coming up behind me about to pass, I would think, “is that her?”. It never was but she wasn’t too far behind me. We were pretty happy about being done and getting back to our cabin for a shower and nap.<br><br>
I will post my time later, after I look it up…. If it isn’t too embarrassing. We got a great long sleeve race shirt, and a really nice finishers medal.
