HP Blast!

We were out of the country last year during the Hyde Park Blast and the year before that we were moving into our new place. I can't offer an comparison to how this event rolled in the past but this year, it was larger than life.

The race itself was packed with over 2100 runners and walkers. The water stops were well-placed just after the 1- and 3-mile splits. There were plenty of dogs. The route's aesthetics were stunning. And Jen and I started, ran, and finished strong! We beat our Wednesday night test run by a full 8 minutes - the fastest improvement we've ever had on a course. Running the route before the race took a little suspense out of the race but we were able to pace ourselves better and mentally prepare for the hills (there was quite the abundance of these).

Immediately following the finish line, we grabbed our complimentary biodegradable and reusable sport water bottles (very nice!) and caught the attention of a few friends that also ran the race. A little stretching led to the best part of the race - the after-race food! Some delicious Bavarian pretzels, mimosas, toast, eggs, and ice cold Moerlein draft later, we witnessed the incredibly speedy Elite racers cross the finish line. These men and women are fast...they ran roughly 4:15 miles. Wow!

Great race, all around. Looking forward to chopping double digits of my time next year. :)