My first half marathon

My dad, brother and I at the Cook Forest 2012 Half Marathon

      Last weekend I ran my first half marathon!  I wanted to get a taste for competing again before the marathon, so I signed up for the 2012 Cook Forest Half.  My dad and younger brother also ran.   A half marathon is 13.1 miles.  I did not really know what to expect because I had never raced anything more than 10k.  When you run a 5k or even 10k, you can expect to be tired after mile one.  In a half marathon, if you are tired after a mile you are in trouble!  I had done countless training runs of 18 or more miles to prepare, but I wasn't really ready for the pain of racing again.

    The exciting news is I won the race!  I was first place for females and tenth place overall in a feild of around 500 runners.  My brother Ben won the entire race and my dad won his age group.  Not a bad day for the Hoffman/Balouris family.  For winning I got a nice clay pot (in the picture) and a two night stay in a cabin at Cook Forest.  You can see the results and more pictures if you click on the link below:

http://www.cookforest.com/marathon/

    I had forgotten how incredibly painful racing can be and my body hurt for days after the race.  My stragegy was to start out easy and finish strong.  Unfortunately, as soon as the starter's gun went off I abandoned by strategy and started fast.  By mile 10 I wanted to kick myself.  I bet I could have run faster if I would have stuck to the plan. I learned my lesson and if I run like that in the marathon I will be in serious trouble.

    With a race under my belt, I am feeling more confident.  I am on my way to running over 60 miles this week.  I better get to bed, I have an 18 miler in the morning!