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This morning it was once more time for the annual
March Madness Half Marathon in
Cary. This race is basically the start of the running season in Chicagoland.
And we could not have asked for better weather. After a really cold and long
winter, and a short snapback to really cold temperatures this week, it
started to warm up a little yesterday with expectations of more of the same
today. So while it was still cold at the start at around 37 degrees, most
runners opted for shorts and by the finish temperatures were in the high 40s.
Coupled with clear blue skies and no wind, it was a really nice morning for
a run.
So how did it go? Well, I had pretty low expectations. Training has been
difficult with too much snow, rain and plain cold weather. So like most of my
running friends, motivation ran pretty low of late. I was really only trying
to set a modest pace, and to hope to hang on to it and run steadily. That
worked: I didn’t walk a single water stop, and while my legs were getting
really tired and sore I carried through to the end. Final time was
1:36:08.57 per my stop watch. That’s a tad faster than
last year,
a lot slower than
2007,
just a tad slower than
2006,
and quite a bit faster than
2005.
Next stop: my second Boston Marathon in five weeks and given the
underwhelming training this winter, it will be a challenge.
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