Ales Rarus

It was the best of races. It was the worst of races.

On September 28, I ran a PR in the Great Race, finishing in 50:49. That's more than 3 minutes faster than last year's 53:56. The only way I could have been happier is if I'd broken 50 minutes.

The Chamber Classic half marathon was a different matter entirely. I'd hoped to run the Ikea HM, but the blessed event of my son's birth prevented that. I figured the Chamber Classic would be an adequate replacement race. My next HM opportunity won't be until late March. Training has been going well, as have races. I'd hoped to break 2 hours and felt ready and able to do so.

I was wrong. I did terribly. The race started out fine and through 8 miles I was on pace for a 2:00:39 finish. Something happened during the 9th mile, though. I hit a wall…hard. I completely ran out of energy and my legs felt like lead weights. I jogged occasional and forced myself to run through the finish, but I had to do a lot of walking. I finished in a dismal 2:14:30. Hopefully I'll be able to set a PR and break 25 minutes at the Race for Pace 5K tomorrow.

Funky Dung