Tucson Half Marathon

In one word Tucson half marathon was SWEET! I ran a 1:29 and got 6th female out of 761.
Brian and I woke up at 4 a.m. and drove to Oro Valley from our cheap hotel room that was scary! We drove to Ventana Medical Center where we parked our car and got on a bus to the start line. It was freezing. I wore running tights and two jackets. We got on the second bus and somehow ended up the first people to the start line. It was pitch dark when we got there and the bus dropped us off a mile away. We had to run to the start down a dark desert road. Then when we got there the port-a-potties were zip-tied shut! It was a nightmare. Then we waited an hour and a half in the freezing cold until 7 a.m. When the race started I was not in race mode at all... I sort of just started running! Before the race Brian told me to look at my watch at mile 1 and if I felt good, just keep up that pace. So thats what I did - only I never saw a mile 1 marker. When I got to mile 2 my watch said 12 minutes. My goal pace was 7:40s and I was running 6 minute miles! I felt awesome so I just kept running that pace. I was passing person after person for the first six miles, then my hamstrings started hurting and I had to slow it down. A 16 year old came up next to me and ran next to me for about 4 miles. I tried to hold her pace but ended up just hurting more so I stayed where I felt comfortable, at around 6:50s. A few more people passed me, but I was still running stronger and feeling stronger than I've ever felt during a race. The last three miles seemed all up hill and when I crossed the finish line under 1:30 I was so happy!
Overall it was a fun weekend. Brian ran a 1:20 and he was proud of my 1:29 which made me feel really good.