Hartford Half Marathon

With memories of a 30 degree day in Disney a few years back, Lorraine and I both ran, and completed, the Hartford Half Marathon this morning. Yes my friends, it was darn cold out there prior to the start!
Our goals were simple. For Lorraine, it was a sub-2hr finish, and sub1:40 for me. When all was said and done, we were both very satisfied and held new PR's.
I wasn't sure how much the cold was going to affect my lungs as I hadn't had a opportunity to test them out this year. I was definitely breathing tightly for the first couple miles, but opened up through mile 10. At that point though, I tightened up again and was a bit in pain breathing-wise. I nearly stopped and took a couple hits of the inhaler, but was able to keep it in check by slowing down. At least I thought I was slowing down, but apparently the last couple mile splits were faster than the previous 4-5 miles... At the finish, as I heard my name announced by the MC, I looked up at the clock to see 1:38:xx, sweet victory. :-)
Lorraine struggled toward the end as well and it didn't look like it was going to be her day, but as she contemplated stopping to walk for a stretch...the 2hr pace group slowly passed by. With an "Aw, crap" she took the invite from the pace leader to join in. Rejuvenated by the groups energy, she pressed on to complete under 2hrs @ 1:58:25. A mental and physical victory that she will surely tell the tale about for years to come.
With the new PR and Hartford past me, the focus is now turned to Disney and the full Marathon. Will it be another PR? I had a good run in Hartford last year which culminated in a 3:45, and nothing is guaranteed where a marathon is involved.....stay tuned and we'll find out!