Passports and Pastries - Tales From a Travel Addict: November 2014

"There will be days when I don't know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have". - unknown

This weekend Ryan completed his first half-marathon race.

"I did it" was all he said as I met him at the finish line. We proceeded to get our medals, take our finishers' photos, and of course get RB his free beer for running 13.1 consecutive miles.

Then, as we debriefed the race, the excitement began to show in his voice. He crushed his previous 10-mile PR by eight minutes! His five weeks of training certainly paid off this past Saturday.

When we started he was unsure if he was going to complete the full run, but by the time he had reached the 5K-mark he was running a sub-10-minute mile pace even with having to dodge the slower runners that started in the eleven corrals ahead of us.

He really put his mind to this feat, and accomplished running a distance that only .4% of males will accomplish this year (RunningUSA). To say I'm proud is an understatement. "It was mostly mental", he said already thinking about how he could improve for his next race. I love seeing his indomitable spirit coming out into his running. Whatever you decide to do next Ryan Barry - you've got this.

I've created a ~~monster~~ runner!

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." -Fred Lebow

My Race Highlights:

They started the race playing, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...".

Waving and giving high-fives to the kids on the course.

When the five-year-old little girl on mile seven was playing frogger through the runners.

The group on mile nine chanting "I, I believe, I believe that you will win".

Seeing Ryan's face as he crossed the finish line!

My Race Stats:

After not training (read My Marathon Diaries for my reasoning behind that), I was able to finish in 2:16. I had a fairly good 5K, 10K and a decent 10-mile split time even though I dropped pretty hard through the last three miles. I didn't break my PR (2:03), but I was still pretty excited to be close to the 2:15-pace group based on my current running shape.

Ryan's Race Highlights:

Lining up in the corrals and hearing the countdown to start.

Settling into my pace and and listening to the music along the course.

Seeing all of the signs and hearing the crowds cheering through the race, specifically the group giving out Jello shots for quitters.

Crossing the finish line!

Ryan's Race Stats:

Ryan knocked 8 minutes off of his 10-mile PR and ran a faster 5K than several of his training 5K paces. He was pretty thrilled to finish and even come close to his 2:30 goal. His training was split over five weeks running in our neighborhood about three times per week.

... and then we celebrated with some delicious fried seafood overlooking River Street and a trip to Hilton Head Island where we ate more delicious seafood, drank pina coladas, and watched the waves crash from our balcony - cheers to 13.1!