Sunday, November 8, 2009

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

Steven ran his second 1/2 marathon of his running career this weekend.

Vincenzo and I rode all over the course cheering, trying not to crash while texting friends updates and taking pictures.

This photo is blurry because Steven went out so fast. It has nothing to do with the photographer's ability to capture action shots. Not at all.

Between yelling "GOOOOO Steven" and telling people "Thank you!" for all the compliments Vincenzo was receiving, there was scenery to enjoy. Vincenzo's best compliment of the day came from some 16-year-old boys whose exact words were "Whoaaaa dude, that's a tight bike, like totally tripping!" This in turn made me feel VERY OLD and cool all at the same time. Odd.

He finally slowed a bit so I could get a good shot. He would tell you he fell wayyyyy off pace. Not quite true. Toward the end when a few people were passing I thought of yelling "Nice job Steven, now go with that girl!" but thought better of this, as there have been times in my races where I'm sure he thought better of yelling such nice encouragement.

Final time was 1:40:01. About 20 seconds shy of his PR. Not bad for having been injured recently. Steven's twin brother had originally planned to race too, but after not running much (and having a new baby) thought better of it and came to cheer instead.

I had a great long run this morning. The air was cold and I climbed way up in the Santa Barbara hills. I got lost and found my way again. A run where I get lost is an awesome run. I finished wanting to go farther.

A run that finishes with a latte taller than Cedric is close to perfect.

Some wandering around by the coast and an encounter with a large pelican topped off a great weekend.