The Great Race

Back in March my friend Kristen and I spoke about the half marathon she and her now fiance had completed the previous fall. What the hell? If Kristen can do this, I sure as hell can! So the week of Easter I pledged to run the Philadelphia Distance Run in September. And a week after Easter around April 10, I took to the pavement after many moons had passed since I'd last donned my New Balance shoes and ran along Kelly Drive. All through the spring and summer I perseveared. On Septemeber 17 I hauled my ass down to the art museum for this race that I thought would never get here. I'd been up since 5 am that morning, warming up with a short run and yoga. Thank heavens I did that because my body hates early morning runs with a passion. I wound up running the first 6-7 miles and then pooped out some. Overall my pace was 13 minutes and some change. I finished the race in 3 hours and 3 minutes. I was never so happy to see that finish line and I just took off when I saw it. Here are some photos from the event. Also, photos of my friend Liz who finished exactly one hour (to the second) before me. And Becca's mom - the Wallingford running machine.