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Bellingham Bay Half Marathon

Last weekend I ran the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon.  
This was my 3rd time running the half in Bellingham and by far the best.  

This race is a small, very well organized and beautiful marathon and half marathon.  If you live in the area and haven't done it, put it on your calendar for 2013.  

The past 2 years, the weather was more fall-like than this year.  Last year the winds were high and I had to hold onto my hat (literally) for the last 5kms.  

This year, the weather was PERFECT for running.  Sunny, no wind and about 15C.

200m to go and feeling great


Note Tim on the right side of the photo behind the fence (black shirt with red sleeves).


Keep your eye on him.

And now...


And now...Perfect execution of the PHOTO BOMB.
  I suppose when you have travelled to as many races as we have, you need to think of creative ways to entertain yourself.  
I was completely oblivious to any of this during the run.





My attempt to sprint to the finish and beat the woman just ahead of me in this photo was successful.  Pretty sure she has a few age groups on me but I didn't care.  



Post race treats and photo with 1/2 my cheering squad

I set my Garmin pace partner to keep me on track for 5:40/km.  The first km is downhill so I figured it would be fast but I was shocked when I arrived at 11kms and was still well below the pace.  Part of me said 'you will regret this later' but the other part says just keep it below 5:40 and you will finish under 2 hours.  By 15kms you can see the pace falls off a bit and again at 18kms & 19kms.  These sections have a couple of good hills in them and I was happy to still be running while others started walking.  With a 1/2km to go, there is a steep downhill followed by a slight incline up to the finish line.

This is the last running event of 2012 that I am currently signed up for.  Couldn't ask for a better way to finish my 2012 running race season.

Happy Training!

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Location: Bellingham, WA, USA

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