Day 2 of my recovery

If you have followed my twitter and facebook updates you already have noted that I achieved my goal of running my first half marathon. Given that it was my first race at this distance, I could not be more thrilled with my performance.

Sunday morning was rather chilly, cloudy and in the upper 50's. The race began (at 7:45AM) with Chris, Brad and my self running about the first 4 miles in a pack. The fact that we were very chatty and animated during that time helped put my mind at ease. I kind of forgot that I was embarking on a 13.1 mile journey! My pacing was fantastic despite it being my first half marathon race. In the first 5 miles, I was between 8:20 and 8:30 pace. In the remaining miles, I dropped to a pace between 8:00 and 8:15. With every mile split I was pleasantly surprised each time I looked at my watch! I even managed to hit near 8:05 for miles 12 and 13.

When all was said and done:

• I crossed the finish line with a time of 1 hour, 48 minutes and 42 seconds, an overall pace of 8 minutes 18 seconds per mile. This was enough to earn me my Silver Medal Goal. I placed 323 out of 1838 half marathon finishers and 37 out of 110 in my age group (Male 25-29).
• Chris ran nearly the entire half marathon with me (12 miles) before breaking away and finishing ahead of me. This was after he ran about 8 or 9 miles before the race. He had to get in about 23 miles of training for his first marathon scheduled for October.
• Brad crossed the line with a time near 2 hours and 7 minutes... this was only after running through some significant pain in the last 5 miles. He believes he somehow sprained his foot. The medics were quick to elevate and ice his foot shortly after his finish. He's back home in New Hampshire reporting a swollen and sore foot... but hopes to return to training once swelling drops down.
• And of course... Kiel, the runner in our group with prior marathon experience ran the full marathon and crossed the line in a time of 3 hours and 24 minutes.
  

Two days later I can report that I am sore EVERYWHERE on my body... not just legs, but arms, back, abs and hips. It is all muscle soreness as far as I can tell. The type that will eventually go away allowing me to (hopefully soon) run some more.

There you have it. I have summited my Mount Rainier.
Cheers to that!