I ran the best 1/2 marathon of my life on Sunday. Set a P.R. (personal record) of a 1:48:07 -- almost a minute faster than my previous P.R. This after being out at the bar until 1 a.m. the night before rocking out to local band, Leader of Men. I wasn't drinking. Nope. I made that mistake once (and you only need to do that once to realize that running a race with a hangover and last nights booze sloshing through your gut is not something you ever want to do again).

I owe my last minute burst of energy to new running friend, Diane O'Brien who gave me the motivation I needed to kick in the last two miles. I was fading and losing ground in mile 11 (11 to 12 is always one of the hardest for me in a 1/2 marathon) and I came up beside Diane (who was doing the whole marathon) and she said "You're looking good, Heather. Now finish strong. Finish strong."

Ah...now there's mantra I can embrace. I wished her luck on the 2nd half of her full marathon and took off, all the while thinking "finish strong...finish strong...finish strong."

I was rewarded with a P.R.

Unfortunately, I wasn't rewarded with an award. See, I'd turned 35 just nine days before the race and am now in a new age group and, when it comes to running -- Erie women get better with age. I'd have had 1st place in my old age group (30-34) -- in the new one (35-39), I had to settle for 6th.

Making matters worse is that fact that this race took a toll on this old bod. I had promised the kids an afternoon at the zoo after the race. It was all I could do to drag myself around the zoo grounds. I came home and napped -- me, the bundle of endless energy, napped! I still feel kind sore and achy.

Ah... It's hell getting old.

You can see all the marathon results at www.runhigh.com. Click on 2006 races, scroll down to the Erie Marathon (9/10/06).