Heart Breaker Half Marathon
Third Time's a charm
By Paraganek
And here it comes again, Heart Breaker half marathon, one of my favorite annual challengers.
2 years ago I had to refuse the challenge at the very last moment because of a stress fracture from doing "Too Much Too Soon".
Year later I felt strong and confident and went for it full speed. Had a blast (full story here Heart Breaker 2012 ).
The race course was an easy one, mostly smooth paved downtown roads.
This year they have moved it out to the countryside and made it more challenging for a skin-to-ground runner. One more reason to go.
Saturday 8 AM, race day
Painting feet is one of my pre-race rituals. Today's paint job = rainbow shoes. At least my idea of it
Morning is cold, overcast, with light drizzle and quite wet. I was expecting sun, that's what the weatherman was claiming last night. But I take it, it is winter time after all and running barefoot in 2 feet of snow somewhere else on Earth would be probably less fun.
Big crowd of runners. Nobody around is barefoot and I don't see any Five Fingers among half marathon people. Only Jen and David running 5k and 10k are in Soft Star moccasins. My choice of footwear attracts attention. In a good way, people are curious.
I know most of the course is going to be chip and seal roads with some sections of gravel. Five Fingers strapped to my arms give me a good feeling of some added security.
I finish my slushy Chia seeds cocktail and feel ready to roll. To read more, visit: http://paraganek.blogspot.com/2013/02/heart-breaker-half-marathon.html
