2009 Riley's Rumble

"Better cancel the water stops!," a course marshall yells as he hangs his head out of the window of his car. We're about 2 minutes into Riley's Rumble Half Marathon, the heavens have opened up, and it's pouring, much to Ken's dismay (he hates rain). To make light of the situation, he's cracking jokes, saying "I've never been in a wet t-shirt contest before." A guy running next to us quickly follows with "Yeah, a fully supported wet t-shirt contest." We giggle, and continue past Mile 1. Riley's Rumble is now well underway.

Ken and I run together for ~5 miles, playing cat and mouse on Riley's hills. I pass him on the uphills, and he soars past me on the downhills. We joke about trading my cardiovascular system for his long legs. As I pass him on another uphill, I respond with "No deal!" and we keep on going.

This year's race goes considerably better than last year. In addition to being MUCH better prepared for a half marathon in general this year, I'm careful to stop at all of the water stops and stay hydrated (mistake #1 last year) and I try to temper myself during the first half of the race (mistake #2 last year) so I have something left for the 3 mile uphill climb at the end. I keep more-or-less a steady pace for the entire race, and despite the hills, I flirt with the possibility of a PR during the whole race.

I wave to Mark, Ken and Gayatri as we pass each other on the turnarounds. I didn't hesitate for a second to stop at Don Libes' ice-pop station at mile 8, and I manage to make my "I'm-not-running-another-hill cherry" flavored ice pop last for almost a mile. The scenery is beautiful, and I take full advantage of checking it out on the last 5 miles, mainly to keep my mind off of the tightness developing in my legs.

After the dreaded 3-mile uphill climb, I near the finish line, and see Mark cheering me on. He had a great race and finished with an awesome 1:55. For me, the clock is in sight - it says 2:03:26 - wow! Way better than I expected, and an "official" half-marathon PR! I finish, and am greeted by George, Sarah, my penguin and a big beach towel, which is must appreciated since I'm still drenched. We hang around and watch Ken finish. He also had a great race, conquering Riley's hills (in the rain!) in a 2:10. Great running everyone! :)

Here's a shot of the glorious downhill in mile 2, and the quad-killing uphill in mile 12:

Photo courtesy of Ken Trombatore at MCRRC photos.

It wouldn't be Riley's if there weren't shots like that! :)