2009 Papillion, NE Half Marathon

I ran my 2nd half marathon in as many weeks this morning, over in Papillion. This was the 2nd annual running of the race, which helped to support the local food pantry and the Special Olympics. I didn't exactly know how well I'd do in this run, since I just raced 2 weeks ago, and I signed up for this race at the very last minute.

In the beginning, I started out racing since I felt good and wanted a new PR, but then experienced some knee and hip pain early on so decided to slow down a bit, since this was new. But, that pain went away by about mile 5 or so, and I decided to race it afterall.  By about mile 10, I quickly did some math and realized I could try for a new Personal Record so I really began to push it hard, a lot harder than I've ever pushed. In the end, I came in with another sub 2 hour time, at 1:59:45, but missed a personal record by 16 seconds from my race 2 weeks ago.  Bummer.

I still had a blast though, it was such a great run, and am pleased with my time. I was really sore this afternoon, and my left knee was really in a lot of pain. I iced it, and have been taking Ibuprofen to ease the pain. I don't think I've torn anything, but probably just pushed it a little to hard. (edit, I believe it's an ITB issue).

It's kind of surreal though, I can't stop eating. I've eaten enough food today for 2 normal days I think, I just can't seem to satisfy my hunger. Will definitely have to watch my food intake over the next few days. I've now got 4 weeks until my next race in Denver in mid June. I plan to rest up for a few days, then get back at it and start training hard. The elevation in Denver will be a real challenge.

A post-race picture with the shirt.  I was a little disappointed that we got a medallion, instead of a medal with a ribbon.  The 10k participants got the ribbon, with a 3-d sculpted medal, and the half-marathoners got this medallion in a plastic case.  Um, can I have a cool medal with a ribbon instead?