Kentuck Derby Half-Marathon ... April 30, 2011

Heather and I decided a few months ago to train for the Mini-Marathon that is held each year in Louisville during Derby season.  Heather could probably run a mini at any point, but I had to actually work a little bit to get ready.  I was targeting just to finish and Heather was kind enough to agree to just run with me and we would enjoy the run together.  It was, admittedly, an amazing experience and between having all the runners around, the crowds, the music, and fantastic weather, I felt good the entire race.  While the original goal was to finish, as each mile passed and I continued to feel well, we began to run a little faster than the 10 minute mile pace we began with.  We ran through Churchill Downs, which was great.  Ultimately, I realized that if we kept up our pace we could finish below two hours, which is what we did.  I finished in 1 hour 59 minutes.  Heather could have done it faster but, as I mentioned, was kind enough to stay with me throughout the race.  It was really fun to run it together, even though right at the last 200 meters she took off in order to beat me by a few seconds.  I guess she deserved that.  And I think it was my lucky headband that really pushed me through the race!