Valpo 13.1 Half Marathon Recap

So this year I officially completed a "hand full" of half marathons. The Valpo 13.1 was my 5th and final half marathon for the year.

I first did this race two years ago. Untrained and unprepared. This year when I set out I felt fairly confident. I really do like the Northwest Indiana local races. They are feel like family reunions because I usually know so many of the runners and like this race the support our local community. The Valpo. 13.1 supports the local United Way.

This year though even feeling confident with training I knew though the weather was not going to be my friend. After my injuries from the Chicago marathon I set my goal for this race very easy.
1. Finish

I love the motto that Extra Mile put on the bibs.... couldn't agree more

2. Don't kill myself... since I still have one more race this year and its twice the distance.
3. Be proud no matter what

At the start line I ran into my friend Tom. He was really wanting to get under 2 hours. I told him all he had to do was stay with me and most likely we would finish in under 2 hours since this is my average pace for a half marathon.

The first mile or so the wind seemed to just take an extreme toll on me but I was maintaining an excellent pace. Once we got out toward the airport the wind seemed to calm down quite a bit. Once we  were headed out into the further parts of the race I just knew the wind was not going to be my friend. I still wanted to see how I could push myself without totally giving up. Here I am at mile 6 not totally falling apart yet.


Thanks Valpo Life for capturing this picture and ever better my friend Nora is right there by me in the pink.

At this mile marker I caught up to a fellow runner Diane who was really trying to do under 2 hours. By this time I had long lost my friend Tom who just didn't have his best day. Just after I caught up to Diane who had a pacer with her we made a turn where a fellow runner Dan was out there cheering for us and gave me a big high five. This seemed to give me a resurgance but then the wind after the turn hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt like I was barely even moving. We did finally turn out of the wind but it was blowing practically sideways.

We finally hit mile 8 where some of my favorite cheerleaders were. The Calumet Striders... I loved the boost of energy they gave but as you can see from the photo they snapped I was not feeling it.

By mile 9.5 is when the wind was really just getting the best of me and I decided ok just finish. Until about mile 11 it is a blurr. The last two miles felt worse than the previous 11. Every step and move was felt. Then I made the final turn and I saw the clock I knew I could do under 2 hours which is really what I wanted....

1:59
10 out of 42 in age group
270 out of 616

It really is just about finishing and I did. 5 half marathons this year and could not be more proud of all my efforts.