Josh and Kathy run the Country Music Half-Marathon

We did it! On the morning of April 26th, with more than 21,000 other people, Josh and I ran 13.1 miles. We had been training with some seriousness for the last 12 weeks. We bought a double jogging stroller and subjected the children to some of our runs. We ran 5-10 miles during the week, and each weekend we completed a long run that increased in length every week. I ran the whole race for a time of about 2 hours and 34 minutes. Josh ran, sprinted and walked for a slightly slower time. Josh is a much faster runner than I am but suffered from severe pain in his knees which affected his stamina. In other words, I beat him! It was a very fun and empowering experience that left me hungry for more races. Maybe the Great Race in Pittsburgh in September?

The experience of the race itself was a very positive experience for both of us. The weather was perfect---a light drizzle in the morning that burned off by 9:00 AM. There were hundreds of spectators and at least a dozen live bands to cheer us along the way. There were even people who tailgated on the sidelines with champagne and strawberries!

Our post-race experience was a bit of a let down. Though the race had seemed very organized up to the end, we waited over an hour for a shuttle to take us back to the starting line. By this time our race adrenalin had worn off and we were starting to hurt from the race. On the whole, though, it was a great day, and quite an accomplishment.

I'll post pictures of us running the race when we get them. In the meantime you can get a good sense of the race here: http://www.cmmarathon.com/elite/galleries/cmm/2008/index.html