I did it!!

Ran the half marathon. Very exciting. I was very happy to finish it without walking. I started the race off a bit too fast which ended up hurting my pace down the stretch, but you live and learn. Before my next race I will be investing in a GPS watch that will help me calculate my pace. Finished the race in 2h 15m. A little slower than a 10 minute mile pace. This has been my experience so far during my practice runs. My pace for 5 to 7 miles has been more in the 9:40 range, but I must really slow down those last few miles. No worries. A work in progress. Knee pain was minimal and was more stiff than painful. I am looking forward to resting my knee for a few weeks, getting new shoes and start training for my next half marathon on May 30. I am only hoping that my knee pain does not reoccur. That would really suck. Hopefully the rest and new shoes will do the trick and get rid of the pain and/or stiffness altogether. Still thinking of doing a sprint triathlon too. We'll see.

Getting Things Done

The bathroom came together quite nice. The mirror we chose was a little big, but we will get one soon to hang in there and the project is done. The sink and toilet are in perfect working order with no leaking at all. I really like the color and I can not tell you how much I enjoy looking up at the wall around the tub and seeing a clean, uncracked and unmoldy seam between the tub and wall. The ceiling fan is doing a great job of keeping the overall climate of the bathroom dry. Next up, a new color for the downstairs hallway leading up the stairs and into the upstairs hall. Before I do that I am going to tackle the stairs as well as the banisters and rises. Hopefully I can get that project done within the week.

I am up to 8 miles for my long run and my during the week runs are now 5 miles, 3 miles and 5 miles. 21 miles a week? You have go to be kidding me. My goal the weekend before the half marathon is to run the entire length of the bike path which is 10.6 miles. Another thing I have noticed lately is that my normal easy pace has increased. After doing the 8 miles last weekend I added up my time and I did it in just over 78 minutes. Last time I checked my time for a 3 mile run I was just a bit over a 9 minute mile pace. I am really happy with that considering speed is rarely my goal. My goal is distance and not stopping. So far, so good.