This October I ran a half marathon in Des Moines, IA. If you know anything about Iowa it’s that the weather doesn’t always want to cooperate but on the morning of October 17 the skies were clear and the sun was shining. I’d like to say that I’m a natural runner and it was an easy race for me but I’d be lying. It was a beautiful run but it was a hard run and I was happy to see the finish line.
As many of you know, Dusty ran two marathons a few years back and it has always been a goal of mine to run a half marathon. This September I finally did it and am proud to say that I finished in a faster time than I had hoped for. I would like to thank Doreen, Jane, Sara, Rod, Suzane, Les, Stefanie, Keely, Alyssa (who ran the first 10K with me), and of course Dusty for coming to cheer me on. People have told me that it’s such a boost to have family and friends on the sidelines and it truly was for me. Everyone time I would see a familiar face I could feel the difference. A couple friends and I will be starting to train for the Lincoln Half Marathon, which will be in May. Wish me luck!
People Gathered At The Start
This past weekend Justin, Keely, Dusty, and I made a road trip to Minneapolis, MN for the Minneapolis Marathon. Dusty and Keely ran the marathon andI ran the 10 mile race. Dusty’s dad, Dean was kind enough to host us so we were able to have a homemade pasta dinner the night before and rest up before the big race. The day before the race we had a leisurly day, Keely and I went shopping at the Mall of America while the guys went golfing.
The Minneapolis 10 Mile, also known as “The Shortcut to the Capitol,” race starts near the HHH Metrodome and shares the last seven miles of the marathon course, including the spectacular finish at the State Capitol. You can get a better idea of where we were running. The day of the race was beautiful, the weather couldn’t have been better and the spectators were wonderful!
Me Crossing The Finish Line
My goal for the 10 miles was to run in 1 hour 40 minutes, a 10 minute mile pace. I met my goal by two seconds. Keely and Dusty ran the 26. 2 mile marathon in 5 hours and 7 minutes. Very impressive.
Dusty and I ran in the Omaha marathon to prepare for this weekends run. I ran the 10K (6.2 miles) and Dusty ran the half marathon (13.1 miles).
W
ell, it’s that time of year again. Some of you may remember that about this time last year, Dusty ran in the Omaha Marathon and Keely, my maid of honor, ran the half marathon. I cheered them both on as a spectator. You may also remember that Dusty almost swore off running completely after that. If you can believe it, he changed his mind. This year he’s decided to run another marathon and he’s got me to start running too. Dusty started training in March and I started shortly after. We decided to change the scenery a little and will be running in Minneapolis. Next weekend we will be running the Minneapolis Marathon, “The most beautiful urban marathon in America“. Dusty said anything has to be more beautiful than running through majestic North Omaha. This past Sunday, as a “warm up”, Dusty and I ran in the Omaha marathon. Dusty ran the half marathon and I ran the 10k! Dusty is a little crazy though, on Saturday he ran 18 MILES with Keely, which made his weekend running total 31 miles. The half marathon ended up being WAY more difficult than it should have been. He admits that it might have been a dumb to run so much the week before the BIG race. He seems to be doing fine after a few days of rest. Dusty finished the half marathon in 2 hours, 1 minute. That’s a 9:22 minute mile pace. Not bad. I ran the 10K in 1 hour 26 seconds. That’s a 9:44 minute mile pace. Not nearly as good as Dusty but I’m not ashamed.
