Anniversaries and Monumental Half Marathons This training cycle was a bit of a mess due to asthma woes. To a certain extent, it is getting better. My breathing problems are largely related to pollen allergies, so once it gets cold, running improves. That said, it was 60 degrees out the day of the expo, and we did our shakeout running outside in shorts! I had modest expectations for The race. Mostly I wanted to finish and not feel terrible. Preferably in less than 2 hours. Race morning, we were up way early, and did all of the usual prep. Due to the whole "first Saturday in November" race date, this race is usually immediately before daylight savings starts. It was bizarre to start with it light out! Luckily it was a little cooler than Friday. The start was also moved and because I may have registered for this drunk on New Years Eve last year, I didn't have a corral so just started in the back. My first two miles were in the high 9's. After that I felt good, and my competitive nature kicked in. I also ditched my gloves. The crowd support was really good this year in the early part of the race too! It crazy how much better I know Indy now compared to last year. Most the course felt familiar. My hip felt the best it has in weeks. Taking it easy on the training helped with that too. Mile 3 to 5 went really fast cause the mile 4 marker was missing. I was sort of in the zone, so it was a nice surprise to be down 5 when I thought it should be 4. At about mile 7, I decided I could pick it up. I started cranking out slightly lower than 9 min pace. Around 9, the course is pretty much all in the sun, and I was wearing all black. I couldn't figure out how to remove my top layer without screwing everything all up, so it stayed on. Running back into the city was beautiful, even though the to end of the course was a little different due to construction. I was so happy to finish sub-2 and had enough to kick at the end. This was my 2nd fastest half ever (1:57:51 official) and I'm completely satisfied with that. I was immediately cold at the finish and desperately needed more water. I found Bryon easily, and we went home and napped and enjoyed 2nd anniversary pizza. I was sore for the day after, but this was a great race, and I'm excited for more cold weather running! P.S. half marathon = so much stuff