Lara and I went out to the O.C. this past weekend for two occasions.  The first was for Lara to do the Huntington Beach/ Surf City Marathon.  She worked all winter at her running (along with wedding planning, puppy training, and her job-which is real work!).  Her performance showed a bit of fatigue from doing life things and her ability to persevere.  It was a good day for her, 3:49, and she will enjoy a little bit of a break now.

The second reason was for pre-wedding festivities, west coast style.  Her parents had an open house, NOT an engagement party, and we got to hang out with many of her family and friends out in SoCal.  This was a very quick four hours of socializing that came the night before the race.  It was a good distraction and made the trip to SoCal more purposeful.

Onto the subject line:

I also ran on Sunday, but only ran the half marathon.  It is barely February, and I raced a half marathon, and it went dam well! On Saturday, along with standing around at an open house, I also turned an easy 30 minute run into a 53 minute running tour of Irvine.  Yes, once again, I got lost during a run (not a race, at least).  I won’t say it made me significantly tired, but I would not call a hilly 50+ min run ideal the day before a fast half marathon.

A year ago,  I was nursing a badly tweaked hamstring and continuing to try to push through a problem that was not getting resolved.  Now a year removed, and with little solid training, yet, I pushed through 5:32 pace (5:31 and 5:29 in the final miles!).  This morning, my legs are not too tired or sore, and I am, of course, more excited to put my head down and really get into the training for 2009.  Seventy-two minutes is not a fantastic half marathon time, but once again, it is February 1st.

later,

billy