THIS IS ME TRYING TO BE COOL WITH MY TIME AND IT IS WORKING REALLY WELL

I'm back.  But will get better.  Promise.

Michael came home around 12:45am from work last night.  I was really hoping he would come to the half this morning, but was also totally understanding if he were to say no when I asked him at 5.45am if he wanted to get up with me.  And he did!!  Oh man, that made my day.
I haven't run a race since the BMO Half in 2013 which I didn't do well at because I'd run Boston three weeks earlier and wasn't recovered.  I routinely run in the 1:40 to 1:45 range for halfs so it took a LOT for me to accept that with a three year hiatus, a hilly course, and without having a (recent) multi year base of running two marathons a year under my belt I likely should be happy to come away with a 1:50.
Hard pill to swallow looking at some of my stats.  I was in the top 4% of my age category at the BMO Half in 2011, and in the top 3% of my gender overall.
I'm not a slouch when I'm training.
So today was fucking cold.  Like, wear a throw away shirt at the start line cold.  Like, the ground was frozen and I was wearing minimalist shoes and my feet were starting to freeze waiting for the race to start cold.
We met up with our friend, N, who roped us into this goddamn mess in the first place beforehand.  She hadn't run a race in about seven years, so was facing an even bigger hiatus than me.
I was glad to get going just to generate some body heat, and amazingly actually kept my "throw away" shirt on until the 5k mark which I've never done before.  I wasn't feeling too great because it was so cold and because I was mentally freaking out, so I tried not to look at my watch every 30 seconds to avoid worrying about my pace.  I even thought about turning it off.
Eventually it did start to warm up.  I tried to take in the surroundings of Fort Langley which are, admittedly, beautiful.  The mountains in the background, the fog hovering over the farmland.  The cows and sheep and horses.  And the HILLS.  It's not a course that will kill you, but having done close to 20 halfs I will definitely say it's not a course to take lightly.  It is NOT flat and my splits speak to that.

WINNING!  They nailed it: both placed. 

As mental as I am about running, I am surprised at how zen I was today.  I only looked at my watch when it alerted me after every mile to let me know what my pace was, and even then I tried not to care.  I didn't not try, but I didn't try too hard either.  Normally I start to get a bit bagged around 18k, but the "wall" wasn't that significant this time around which is interesting because I haven't actually logged more than 12 miles in about a year, having only gone up to that distance in my (under) training for this event.
I wanted a 1:50 and came in just shy of that.  Michael and N were already finished and both of them took 3rd in their respective age categories because they are awesome.  I was so pleased for them.  N had just hoped for a 1:50 like me, but came in five minutes faster.  And Michael hasn't been training much due to his BS work schedule, plus he was running on very little sleep so for him to place speaks volumes.  Funnily it was me that suggested we go down "just to check" if anyone placed and, after gabbing too much, we realized that N placed but missed the announcement.  Michael was able to get called up to the podium, but the photo was taken to rather recreate posterity.
Went for brunch with a gaggle of people afterwards and the rest of the day was a bit of a write off, but it was a good re-introduction to running, and I know what I need to do to get a time that won't embarrass me for my next half in a couple of months.
It's good to be back.  I have a lot of work to do, but I am really looking forward to doing it.  I forgot what a rewarding, competitive, inspirational sport running is.
But also I am going to bed now.