2:32:13

My first half marathon was amazing! I could not have asked for a more beautiful location! The course was great. The italians said it was a mostly flat course, if by mostly flat they mean 14 kms of steady downhill running then I guess it was mostly flat. Downhill running is really hard on your quads and knees if you have not trained with a lot of hills. I hill trained for three days. Needless to say I was sore the next day. It took about 4 or 5 km to really get into a groove, which is pretty typical for me. The next 11 km were amazing - I ran strong and steady. I stopped to take photos as we were running a route high on the cliff tops above the adriatic winding down towards the ocean. Around 16 km a strong wind came up and blew something (water? a bug?) into my ear. It felt like I had water in my ear and it was quite uncomfortable. It made me dizzy and feeling sick for the next 4 km. I could only run a few minutes at a time and then had to stop and walk to stop the spinning. Around 20 km I was taking my last walk break - so exhausted - I did not think I could run 1.1km without stopping. I thought I would walk for 300 or 400 meters and end the race running. At that moment I felt someone touch my right elbow. I looked up at a tall, Italian angel, a man about 45 or 50 years old, "No, no bella" he said to me and pulled me into a run. I ran the last 1.1 km strong and by his side. We crossed the finish line together. If it was not for him I would not have finished so well. Of course I needed a photo with him afterwards. My marathon angel.