Tom King 2011

Tom King last year was my first ever half marathon.  I remember being so nervous and afraid of not being able to finish.  This year's race was my 8th half marathon.  I finished 5 minutes faster this year.

My goal in the race was just to finish faster than last year.  After setting a personal record in New Orleans less than a month ago, I knew it would be hard to do it again so soon, so I decided just to enjoy the run and beat last year's time. 

I feel like I've come so far since last year.  Last year I struggled, and by mile 10 I was sure I was never running again. This year I was calm and confident. I will probably never say running a half is easy...but it is definitely enjoyable.  I know I smiled ear to ear this race.  Why?  Because I can run.  Because I know I can finish. Because it encourages others.  Because even with the pain it's worth it.

So many of my friends ran this race and it was so good to see them before and during the race.  Two of my friends were even crazy enough to run the half and the 5k that was before it.  Pretty sure if the 5k was after the race no one would be running it.  

Mark at the finish! He had a hard run, but
I'm so proud of him for finishing strong!

The best water stop of the day was, of course the Fleet Feet/East Nasty stop at miles 1 and 12.  It is always so good to see smiling faces of people you know and hear them cheering for you!  

I think Tom King will be the one race I do every year...and hopefully, every year will be faster than the year before!