A Bit of the Irish in the Air

Sport the green on this the day of Patty!

Jaclyn and I, as well as several hundred folks with a bit of the Irish in their souls, motored over to Seabrook for Day 1 of the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon and Half Marathon. Today's agenda, one half marathon for the both of us. I ran the entire way with Jaclyn and she did a darn good job, turning in a time of 2:43:53. Because of work, her training has not been what she would have liked as of late, but in my book she did a darn good job. She was certainly a trooper and did not falter much on the second loop.

It was a nice leisurely run for me at Jaclyn's side. I'll be in good spirits for tomorrow when I attack the half marathon again. Speaking of good spirits, massive props go out to Jam Master Joe Carey. As promised, Joe was manning the BARC Water Stop just beyond the Start/Finish Line and he was styling and profiling in his St. Pattyesque Neon Green Fro. He even ran Jaclyn and I in, giving Jaclyn some additional motivation.

Keith Kelleher, your Man of Action, was also around the course, playing the role of photographer and supporter. All I am going to say is that when the situation calls for a Man of Action, you can count on Keith.

There were plenty of "friendly" runners in the house, including speed mistress Sarah (2:20:552), who was blazing around the course and Christy, who is mom to the Hurl Monster. Both of these fine ladies will be out on the course again tomorrow.

Gay, the Head Red Coach for Houston Fit was in the mix as was fellow Coach Abby. Abby ran with Gay the first half and then took no prisoners on the second loop. Robin and Tiffani from Koala were in demand, giving massages to runners before and after the run.

The course was not too bad; a little muddy here and there. I have to say that today's group, runners and walkers alike, were all very courteous on the trail. Everyone ran single file when necessary and nobody held anybody else up. An all-around great job. All four water stops were boisterous, and for totally non-political reasons, I have to give the nod to Joe Carey and the BARC bunch as the best water stop on the course. We'll see if they can keep that unofficial title tomorrow. The Seabrook Police Force did a great job with traffic and the other volunteers on the course were fantastic.

As far as tomorrow goes, I think I might have a 2:05 in me. We'll just have to see what the day brings.

Listening to: True Affection - The Blow