Beeds Lake Half Marathon

On the training schedule for yesterday was a 12 mile run.  Last week I was talking to someone and they said they were going to run the 1/2 marathon at Beeds Lake in Hampton.  I ran that race last year and really enjoyed it, so I decided to sign up for it as it would be good for my training.  I also recruited a few of my fellow Team Love Shack members to join.

The course this year was different than last year.  They loaded us on a bus and hauled us over to the start of the race at a nearby town.  From there we ran on the new bike trail that was covered in crushed gravel.  I was not happy about that at first, but the trail was actually really nice to run on.  From there we turned on to the blacktop where we did a loop and ended up back at the lake for the finish line.

It was a little different than most races because it seemed like most of the race I was running by myself.  I seem to run a lot better when I am surrounded by people.  My time was not the best, but I was treating it as a training run and I got through it, so it was a success.  As I got close to the finish line I kept thinking to myself that in October, that finish line would be my halfway point.  It is somewhat scary when I think of it, but I am looking forward to the challenge and running in honor of Matthew and other cancer patients and survivors.

Team Love Shack represented the race well.  We had 5 1/2 team members race (1 member is still a half because he is still in Love Shack initiation and he only ran the 10K, but he did place 2nd, so maybe should be 3/4).  We even had one teammate who finished his first 1/2 marathon ever and he had very minimal training.  It is always fun to go to these events as a team knowing that when you cross the finish line you have people there cheering you on.

As I always mention, keep up the thoughts and prayers.  Thanks for the support.  Thanks also to everyone who has donated to the cause.  There is still time to help out.  Contact me or visit my fundraising page for more details.  Any donation of any amount is appreciated and goes to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and their efforts to treat and cure.