We're back. We left Germany with a bit of snow on the ground and low expectations for race weather. In that regard, we weren't dissapointed. Prague was as beautiful as ever, even in the cold rain. At least we had the benefit of familiarity since we stayed at the same hotel that we stayed last May during the full marathon. It's not much on luxuries, no slippers or bathrobes, but it is clean, cheap and in a fabulous location in the Old Town.

The race began at noon, so we had plenty of time to wake up, find a good breakfast and make our way to the bag drop-off, start area. The weather was quite cold with a bit of wind, so deciding what we were going to wear was difficult (jacket/no jacket). Shelley convinced me to drop the jacket and she was right. Thankfully, it didn't rain. Prague was so much better that Paris. We got great Adidas Climalite training shirts as our comemorative shirt, unlike Paris that gave us some cheap white T-shirt. They were much better organized and they truly promoted that International spirit. They were helpful, supportive and readily spoke English. I think the French reluctantly "let" us run.

So, the race itself was great. I felt good most of the time. The wind picked up a lot and we delt with huge gusts that made things challenging. I am glad I dropped my jacket. I warmed up enough and I am afraid with the wind, it would have been even more difficult with any added resistance. The last 3 Ks were the most difficult. The wind was up again and I was really pushing hard and I just felt done. I knew that I was doing a good time and on track for my goal. When I crossed the finish line, I was so dissapointed to see the time, only to quickly realize that it was real time and not chip time. For those of you who may not be familiar with large races and timing, every runner is assigned a small computer chip that is either tied in your shoe laces or velcroed on your ankle. There are mats placed at the start, throughout the race, and at the finish that records your chip when you run over it. So, if you start at the back of the pack, the gun time, or real time is when the gun goes off and the first runners cross the mat at the start. The chip time is your individual time and begins when you cross the start mat. That is why you have 2 race times, real time and chip time. It only took me a bit more than a minute to cross the start line, but in racing, every second counts. Anyway, my stats....

Chip time: 1:37:47 (my goal was 1:38)!
2nd in my age group!
First American female (and there were a lot of Americans this weekend).

Breaking 1:40 (with documented proof) as a female will allow me a special line-up in other races to avoid the pack, which is very cool.

Now I face the delimma of "what next." I am quite sore today and gimping a bit with my knee. I really want to run, just a few miles to stretch out. Maybe I will just go the gym and lift. My next race will be the Hohenfels Box Run in June, which is another half-marathon, but truly the most difficult with the biggest hills you have ever seen. I have to defened my title. Last year I became the first American ever to win the race. Although this race is held on post, it is open to the Germans. It is very popular with the German running clubs and every year one of them has won. Last year, I took the lead, but it took me 7 miles to do it and the girl behind me stayed on my shirt tails the whole way in. Competition is good and I am sure she will return this year to challenge me again. I will need to start training hills in a few weeks.

On another note, Pete was slated for a tactical Brigade to take command next summer. Only 2% were selected in the tactical catagory. We will not know where he will command for another few months. However, they tell us that you are generally slated in one of your top 3 choices. That would be Vilseck, Ft. Bliss, or Ft Benning, with Ft Riley in 4th and 5th place. It gets quite complicated with the restructuring of the Army as location and types of units can change before he takes command. We hope to know before we pack household goods, in case we come back to Europe. If that were to happen, I would leave some things in storage here. There is no sense in shipping everything for 10 months. I will keep you posted.