Patrick Henry Half Marathon

I was in Big Bass Country: Ashland, Virginia to run my 11th state half marathon:

The Patrick Henry Half Marathon

Big Bass Country!

We drove down late, Friday night. I had about 3hours of sleep. Woke up at 5:42AM, made myself the hotel room coffee ... YUK! I hate, hate hate powdered milk!

This is as close to camping as it gets for me!

I got dressed, grabbed the raisin bagel and Kleen Kanteen full of 1/2 Gatorade - 1/2water, I brought from home and was off with my Side Kick! We left Mini-man sleeping in the hotel room. I have to admit, I was envious of the great snore he had going on! But the race started at 7AM, and there was no time to waste. In fact, it was still dark when we got to the race tents to pick-up my bib.

Race Started in front of entrance to Randolph Macon College

The race meandered through the pretty downtown streets of Ashland, Virginia. it was rainy and a bit windy, but I'd take that over a hazy, hot and humid, any day. The race took us west of town and on country roads, lined with corn stalks. I kept praying all the beautiful fields of corn were not Monsanto Genetically Modified Corn stalks. As the runners pushed on, we ran through lazy cows grazing on beautiful farmland. For me, this is a treat 'cause, by me, streets look more like this, by me:

Dinner in Hoboken, NJ Friday night

Yeah, the only cow, okay beef, I mean - you know what I mean - is seen here is in the kitchen, restaurant or local grocer's ...

The biggest challenge in the race was at the end of mile 11. The elevation rose about 120feet. I felt pretty strong, but my tummy did not. It brought my running to a halt. I got a little sick, had a moment, took a deep breath and pushed on. If I didn't meet up with my Crohn's  issues, I bet I could have broken 1:40! Instead, I finished 1:40:59 and took 2nd in my age group, missing out on 1st by seconds!

Overall, I'm very proud of this Patrick Henry half marathon results. I ran a pretty steady pace. I held back a little in the beginning - I was definitely afraid to re-injure my perpetually recovering hammy and piriformis muscles. Also, my tummy was a tad off at the start of the race, and I didn't want it to totally turn on me - as it did in the end ...no pun intended!

Virginia = State #11!

Looking to running another at the end of September around my Medical Nutrition quizzes and exams!

TRAIN SMART TODAY!