Asbury Park Half Marathon

So, after the horrific events in Boston, the Jersey Shore Running Club asked that all participants wear blue and yellow (BAA colors) for support. They even had hair ribbons for the ladies and pins for the men, which I felt was a nice touch. I wore my BC shirt and kept getting cheers from the sparse group of supporters who were probably freezing, because it wasn't exactly warm. Brad and I toed the line, and I wish they had a better soundsystem, for most people kept talking through the moment of silence and the National Anthem. Then we were off. I felt pretty good, and in fact was rather shocked when I got to mile 8 that I was already at mile 8. That was the "turn around" area, as the half followed a new course this year due to the devastation of Sandy. So Special Olympics, Restore the Shore, and Support for Boston. Pretty intense year. We ended up running the route that we've been training on ALL marathon training long--through Allenhurst, Deal, and Long Branch. Relatively flat, with a few scenic ocean spots. I'm pretty sure we had negative splits, as after the 8 we definitely kicked it up a notch. We ended up finishing at 1:57:38, which is good considering this is supposed to be a decline from marathon training, and we were coming off some super long runs (20 miler, anyone?). Nabbed me 28 in my division (which is now +30. Eek!)

I know how I am, and I need to be careful. I get ideas in my head, and then I go crazy trying to achieve them, oftentimes bringing unnecessary stress upon myself (and those nearby). And that BQ is tempting... But, I'd pretty much have to run 8 minute miles over the course of 26.2 miles. And I've yet to run 8 minute miles for the course of 13.1 (Did break 40 in the Manasquan Turkey Trot back in the day!) So maybe I'll aim for a below 1:45 half first. Who knows?

I have all these crazy ideas for myself and my life, and I am not always the best at sorting out the sane from the mildly insane to the "What are you, crazy???" I think I get the latter the most.

But hey, why not?