Race & Trip Update- Finally

Hello All:
Well I have finally gotten around to updating my Blog. After getting back from California we had taken a bad surge of power and we had some major problems to deal with. Lots of outlets, switches and appliances were out. We are finally almost back up. Still waiting for 2 boards for the 2 dish washers that got fried.

Anyways on to the trip........

First of all......To all of you that helped me raise money towards my goal with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation- Thank You!!! I surpassed my goal of $2500.00!!! I met some great people out there. There were 500 of us running for the Crohn's Colitis "Team Challenge". Collectivly we raised over 2 million dollars. The night before the race we had a pasta dinner party with everybody. If was very informative and motivating. This is a wonderful organization with a great vision seeking a cure.

We had a great time during the week leading up to the race. It was Victoria, Jon and Myself staying at a families house in Santa Rosa while they stayed at our place in St. Thomas. It worked out really nice. We hit about 3 or 4 wineries a day. We took it pretty easy and rested the Saturday before the race.

Jon and I woke up on race day around 4:30 am. We had to drive from Santa Rosa down to the Sonoma Square which was about a 30 minute drive. From there we boarded a bus that took us up to the start line in Napa right by the Cuvasion and Domain Carneros wineries. It was COLD! I think it was in the 40's and never got out of the 50's. After we got started it was fine........ There was one hill in the first mile which wasn't much of anything even though the race description called it "butt burner hill". After training down here in St. Thomas hills take on a different meaning. After that the terrain was almost totally flat with just small rolling hills. And also after training in the heat down here I had so much more energy in the cool weather. My plan was to try and keep my pace right around 9:00 minutes per mile. I was feeling so good that I just went with what felt right which was a little faster. So here were my mile split times.

1- 8:16
2- 8:23
3- 7:59
4- 8:08
5- 8:30
6- 8:08
7- 8:13
8- 8:02
9- 8:23
10- 8:05
11- 8:20
12- 8:23
13- 8:12

I wasn't real consistent. I think when I ran right around an 8 min mile I would tell myself that I should slow a bit so I wouldn't burn out by the end. I think that might be why my splits were a bit up and down.

The course was beautiful. It was pretty overcast with clouds and fog. The course ran through all the back roads and through all the vineyards. Water stations were set up about every other mile. Great crowd support also. They really kept me motivated and moving fast. The finish was right down Broadway street in the the town of Sonoma ending at the town square. As you crossed the finish line they were announcing your name and where you were from.... Tons of people lined the streets. It was really great.

Ok, so here's how I did. Like I said above, I was shooting for right around a 9:00 min. per mile average pace which would have given me a time of about 1 hour and 58 minutes. I finished in 1 hour 48 minutes and 46 seconds which was an 8:18 min. per mile pace. I was 226th out of 2500 runners and 20th in my age group. (40-44). Not bad for my first Half Marathon. Jon also did great . He finished in 2 hours 17 min. Unbelievable considering he hadn't been training quite as hard as others.......

So we got are finishing medals and then are souvenir wine glasses. It was then wine tasting in the square for a couple of hours and then off to Taco Bell to replenish all those calories that we burned.......Ha

So now I guess I'm looking for a full (26.2 mile) marathon to do for next year..... why? I'm not sure. If I figure it out I'll let you know......