Tips for Nailing a Half Marathon (Herothon 2013 Race Report)

1. Don't do it alone. A month before the race, get a few of your closest friends together and talk them into running "just for fun." Then tell anyone who knows you're racing that you were peer pressured into it, and that you don't have any high expectations. Hey, we're not runners. We're triathletes.

2. Make some good excuses in case you don't nail it. We're "training through it." This isn't our "A" race. That's Ironman Texas in May. Hey, did I mention that I'm training for an Ironman? Yeah, we crushed 80 miles on the bike yesterday. This is just a training run for us. No big deal. We do this every Sunday. Because we're training for an Ironman.

3. Dress to impress. Choose a race that welcomes costumes, like the Herothon. Nobody will take you seriously if you're wearing a silly costume. Additionally, it might get you a segment on the news (Fox and the Spanish channel), or a chance at being a Monster drink model.

4. Choose a race that's guaranteed to have good running weather. What, it's January and unseasonably warm and humid? Well, I guess we'll try to do our best anyway. Good thing we decided to wear Captain America swimsuits instead of tights or a musclebound Halloween costume.

5. Run with a faster friend and hold on. Hmm, that was supposed to be the plan. But they dropped me at the start line. So...maybe amend this one to "try to catch your faster friends." Or, you can find another superhero to chase. Supergirl was an awesome rabbit for me.

What a day! All 5 Iron Whiners got a new half marathon PR today. Here's why everyone is awesome:

• Orissa ran the Endurathon yesterday, a hilly half marathon, and got a PR there. She bested it by 5 minutes today. Outrageous!
• Shelly is coming off an injury that set her training back for months. She took 15 minutes off her open half marathon time today. Amazing!
• Aixa matched her super fast half marathon time today after her longest bike ride ever yesterday - 75+ miles and then straight to hospital rounds until 8:30 pm. Rick-diculous!
• Linda and I both had an awesome training ride yesterday and then PRed at the Herothon today. I ran 10 minutes faster than I've ever run at a half marathon before. Yahoo!
• And although he's not an official Iron Whiner, Allen "Super Chi" Alvarez crushed it today while carrying a sword and shield and sporting the headband as always. Awesome!

What a way to start the 2013 racing season. Way to go, girls! I couldn't be prouder to be an Iron Whiner! And as always, a huge thank you to our team photographer, Robert; our Coachie, Dawn Elder, who continuously shows us that "anything is possible;" and all our friends (Brian, Jamie, and Lexa, to name a few!) who were out there cheering and supporting us today!