Maple Grove Half

I had the great fun of racing the first ever Maple Grove Half Marathon today. Erek and Laura Swenson signed up first and then myself, Sean Pease and Wes Aldinger. It was a blast running with so many friends again. Everyone did fantastic! The weather was perfect 60's with a light wind. The course was unexpectedly hilly but we all had biked it in preperation for the race. 656 people finished. Mr Wes Aldinger got the number three for his race number and in his first half he took 3rd in his age group to take home a medal. What a work horse. Erek and Sean finished super close together 85th and 87th overall. Laura raced her first race in quite some time and did great finishing 325 in the female division.
I personally had a good race. I was fortunate enough to run with a great guy. We enjoyed a similar pace and chatted through the edtire race. His name was Ben and I was thankful for him because I worked through side cramps through half the race. I learned an important lesson on something I preach all the time. Never change anything on race day. I chose to run with a sports drink that I only had bike trained with. Not good for running. My conversation with Ben kept my mind off the discomfort and crossed the line with nothing left at the finish. Along the entire race I could hear someone not far behind us. I expected that person to pass me in the final stretch because I had nothing left to push at the finish. After I got across the finish I turned around too see my good friend Wes! In his first race he finishes right on my tail. So in the 30 something category he took 3rd and I took second. That is in part due to the first and second 30 something finishers took 2nd and third overall in the race and so are not eligible for the age group medals. 11th overall at 1:29:25.

As fun as the race was Janet and Bijou waiting for me at the finish. Playing with Bijou and cheering everyone else in was a fantastic delight.
Next race June 1 Buffalo MN. Wes and I are doing the sprint tri!