So last Saturday was the half marathon that I’ve been training about 2 1/2 months for. The inaugural Run for the Lakes in Brainerd, MN. I hadn’t done any distance running since high school and other than some rec league basketball I was woefully out of shape. For some reason eating crap and never exercising didn’t keep me sharp. I completed my training and was a little nervous but overall felt ready to go.
All week leading up to the race I was checking the weather and the forecast got worse every day. We drove up to Brainerd Friday night with our friends Matt and Michelle, and it was a rain/snow combo platter most of the way. Not a good start. Woke up the next morning to find that it snowed all night and was still snowing with about 20 mph winds. Still not good. I have to admit I thought about not going through with it for about 4 seconds but realized I didn’t want my work to go to waste.
Get to the starting line with Matt’s sister Erika, who was also running, and it was actually kind of scenic. The race started and for the first 8 or 9 miles the elements were pretty manageable. We were back in the woods and the tree cover cut down on the wind considerably. I had some ice in my beard and visibility was limited, but I was hanging in there. Until somewhere around mile 11 when we started to get into town. The tree cover disappeared and the wind was right in our face. I thought once I got to mile 11 or 12 I’d sense the finish and pick up the pace, but it was the exact opposite. My face and legs were both basically numb and my pace really slowed down. I recall seeing Melissa cheering me on at mile 12 and I managed to utter “I’m hurtin’” as I lumbered by.
I crossed the finish line 2 hrs and 17 minutes after the start. I was hoping for 2 hours, but I’ll go ahead and blame it on the conditions. Overall, I was pretty happy. It’s kind of hard to run 13 miles. The first night I ran on the treadmill I did 6 MINUTES and I almost passed out.
Huge thanks to Erika, Ty (and the kids) for putting us up for the weekend. Really good time with everyone. Now it’s back to the couch for me.
P.S.-We’re still figuring out how to add pictures/links to pictures on a post, so if you’re interested, go to our flickr pictures and look under “Weekend in Brainerd”.
May 1, 2008 at 9:07 p
Are you sure you entered the right race? That looks like it could have been a biathlon, though I didn’t see any skis or guns (you’d be awesome with a gun, btw).
9 years ago, sitting in the Pickle, I would have never imagined you’d come this far.
Congrats on the 1/2 marathon, quite the feat.
May 1, 2008 at 10:03 p
Congrats Zach, that is quite an accomplishment. The ice in the beard is pretty burly. Hard to believe those conditions existed on the 26th of April.
So any plans to run a full?
May 1, 2008 at 8:35 p
The ice beard was fine. I’m known for my ruggedness, so it wasn’t a problem. And no chance on trying a full. I might do another half at some point.
May 2, 2008 at 12:52 p
Very impressive Zach! Loved the pictures. If you guys end up coming out in October you should grow your hair out. There is a place called “The Hairport” right by our house…
Love it.
May 2, 2008 at 6:21 p
Seriously the ice beard was awesome. Even more awesome was that plate of french toast and bacon I devoured after the race. Cheering makes me hungry.