Another Half Marathon--Almost

So today I set out to run another half marathon. I ran my first in NC about 5 weeks ago. It took me about 140 mins or a 10.77 min mile. What can I say? It was my first ever attempt.

I plotted out a 13 mile course along Big Tujunga Canyon Road--a beautiful stretch of two lane road on just the other side of the mountain range from which I live (pictures to come). It is breathtakingly beautiful, but it really is in the middle of nowhere. I figured I may have to run the last mile in the dark--which with crazy drivers, very narrow roads and the minor threat of mountain lions--made me a little nervous.

After an hour of running, I hadn't hit the 6.5 mark to turn around, and I wasn't really sure how far I still had to go to reach my target. Realizing I didn't really want to run in the pitch black along this very narrow stretch of highway, I figured I'd just turn around. So I did.

When I got back, I drove out to where I had turned around. Dang! I was so close. I ran 5.9 miles--just .6 short of my target. No biggie. As it was I did arrive just as the sky turned black. I'll do it again later.

But the good news is my time did increase. I averaged 9.83 mins/mile for a total of 116 mins exactly.

And although tired upon completion, I didn't bonk, and if the sun was still out, I'm sure I could've run another 5-6 miles!