This past weekend we went to Rehoboth Beach Delaware to run a Half Marathon. I was about to cross of state #28. Only 22 to go!  Phil joined us for the weekend. 

We flew into Philadelphia on Thursday night. It was a very clear and pretty night to fly in to Philly. It was about a 2 hour drive to Rehoboth Beach, DE from the airport.  

The next day we picked up our bibs and walked around the board walk of Rehoboth Beach.

Next we headed to Assateague Island National Seashore, just across the border in Maryland. They have wild horses which are very cool. 

The sunset on the drive back to Rehoboth Beach was amazing. 

We were up bright and early for the race. It started by the board walk and we ran around some nice house in town before we ran a mile on the board walk next to the ocean. It made for some great views.

The race was very flat and kind of nice. The weather started out perfect at 57 degrees but after a couple miles it started to rain and at times it was raining hard. My feet were a mess at the end because they were soaked. 

There were a couple out and back sections which I usually don't like but it wasn't so bad. Part of the race ran on a trail in the park which was a bit muddy since it wasn't paved but it also had tree cover which helped with the heavy rain. At the 9.5 mile turnaround they had a bunch of state flags up, I assume for the states represented at the race. It wasn't a huge race, maybe 2500 total for the half and full.  

Even though I'm still battling knee problems, it went pretty good for me. Eric stayed with me until around mile 10. I still ran a little leading up to mile 10 but walked the last 5K. My feet were toast and my quads were angry. The only thing that has improved this year for me is my walking speed. In the past, my walking pace was around 17-18 minute miles. It was slow. Now, even after going 10 miles, I was able to maintain a 16 minute per mile pace. My total time was 3:23:32, almost 20 minutes faster than April's race in Kansas City. :)

Overall, I'm happy with the race. I wish I could get back down to 3 hours but I need to do a lot more training and a lot more running. Here is to 2023!

We joined Danielle's family and DJ for the Kiwanis Holiday Lights in Mankato. We went to the lights parade first and then saw Santa flip the switch to light the park. We almost didn't make it as we were rear ended on the off ramp. We are ok but our car not so much. :(  

This morning we ran the Chanhassen Turkey Trot 5K. It was a hilly course with a huge up hill at the end of mile 1. These was freezing fog this morning too so it was a little slick in spots. Overall it was my best 5K this year coming in under 45 minutes. We got donuts at the end but no medal.

After the race we went down to Danielle’s house in New Ulm for thanksgiving dinner. I made the usual, green bean casserole. The kids were extra animated today.