We're Halfway to Chicago...

Yesterday I ran my second "half marathon" of the year. While it wasn't the event Nashville was, it still was awesome to complete 13.1 miles a second time in one year!

I met Becky at 5:30 AM at White Rock Lake... yes... I said 5:30 AM on a Sunday morning! We met on Wednesday at that same time to beat the heat and run 9 miles before work. So, since it was a great experience, I figured I should start doing that on the long runs.

It's a rough morning to meet that early. I actually woke up at 3:45 and left my house by 5. I should have known it would be hard - the humidity (my old nemesis) was very thick (even though the temperature was 74 degrees).

We started out and within the first mile I was starting to feel the sweat. By mile 3 it was still dark and I was drenched. Becky's iPod was dead, so I just kept mine in my pocket and we talked a lot. By mile 5 we were at the spillway - the sun had come up and I actually ran up it. This means my legs have gotten stronger, which has been a problem in past runs.

Around mile 7 she commented that I had rung out my sweatband/headband at least 5 times on the run. Now for comparison, on Wednesday when we ran I never had to do that. This was BRUTAL humidity! The crazy thing was the sun wasn't blazing down on us, and the temperature was nice... it was just humid!

By 9 we were back at the parking lot and I needed a new dry wristband. I had been hitting every water fountain since our run began, and I was soaked. My socks were even wet... and I'm wearing all of the clothing that is supposed to be dry-fit! Running in wet socks is not a joy, believe me!

Well, we headed around the lake again. This time we just went 2.05 out, and then the same back. It was AWESOME to finish 13.1 miles! We both high-fived each other and she was screaming! I then took my shirt off and rung it out. (Becky didn't like seeing that, ha!) When I got home I discovered 2 more toenails were ready to come off. For those keeping track, I've now lost 4!

I then proceeded to take a shower, eat my sonic breakfast burrito, and went back to bed. Slept for 2 hours and felt pretty dang good after that. Later I went over to see my folks, then met Kevin for a few beers at the Flying Saucer. I decided to eat dinner at "The Flying Fish" just across the street. While eating my catfish and sipping on my Shiner, I just smiled: "Wow... you did it... and you're DOING it!"

Crazy thought - one year ago I was contemplating playing soccer in an adult league. To do that, I went out and kicked the ball around. Well, that was almost a year ago and I could barely run 2 laps around the soccer field. What a year it's been!

Chicago... here we come!