Off to Dallas for a Half Marathon

This weekend, we are traveling to Dallas to run in the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon. Although it will be my third half, it will be David, Mindi and Jonathan's first! Mindi and Jonathan have put in a lot of miles and dutifully stuck with their training plan to get to this point. David has been running, but his training has not been guided by a plan. He's in great shape, though, so I am sure that he will do well.

Six weeks from Sunday's race, I will be running in the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I cannot believe the marathon is only 6 weeks away. It seems like I just started running yesterday, and now the journey to 26.2 miles is getting shorter and shorter. Coupled with the fact that I will be changing jobs and moving during all this, I believe an adventure awaits. However, I will complete the race, even if I have to crawl over the finish line.

This weekend should be a lot of fun. We'll be with friends, and we will get to eat some good food in the big city. That's one of the best things about all of this running - I get to eat what I want and I don't feel the least bit guilty.

The race has pace teams, so I am going to try to run with the 2:00 pace team to see if I can finish the race in under two hours. My best time so far is 2:01:54, so I am hoping for a good day so that I can cut two minutes of my PR. Although David has never done a half marathon, I fully expect that he will rise to the occasion and kick my butt in this distance, too. That's the price I pay for being married to an athlete. No matter what happens, I am looking forward to participating in a big race (4,000 people have signed up for the half) and seeing what it is like to run around White Rock Lake, which is (obviously) part of the White Rock Marathon course. Here's the course map:

I am taking along a camera, so I will post the photos from the race once we get back into town. I am also taking the movie "Spirit of the Marathon" to give us some inspiration before the race. Keep us in your thoughts on Sunday morning while you are sitting in front of the TV drinking your coffee -- we envy you!