Meia Maratona de Lisboa (Portugal)

The race started on the other side of their version of the Golden Gate Bridge.  The Ponte de Abril 25 (Bridge of April 25) is an exact replica of the Golden Gate.  Jeff and I ran the Golden Gate in San Fransciso at the very end of my first marathon training schedule.  It was fun to run the Portugese version.  It was also flat to downhill and then all downhill to get to the water front on the city side.  From there, the last 9 miles were out and back and out and back again on the coastline.  I don't know any runner who likes an out and back race course, but at least this one was pretty and breezy.

The Stats:
Jeff:  1:49:15
Emily:  2:42:05  Slightly better than Malta when I was sick, but still nothing to blog about :)

The coolest part about this race was my outfit :)  Actually, I have decided to wear a uniform for as many races as I can this year.  My pink "Will Run for Wine" hat will be with me everytime.  In warm weather, like today, I wear my pink "West Coast Road Runners" shirt, accompanied by my iPod with pink earbuds and my new pink Garmin watch!  Jeff and I both got them at the Expo yesterday (last year's women's winner, whom I saw at the kiosk where I bought mine, also wears the pink version!).  It seems to be a good investment for our 2013 obsession.  It did not make me run any faster, but I didn't have to do math along the way, which is always taxing for me.

So, in fact, this was NOT the Rock n Roll Lisbon Half Marathon but the Meia Maratona de Lisboa (Half Marathon of Lisbon).  I didn't realize this until I ran the San Diego Rock n Roll later in the year and insisted with the organizers that I had in fact already run a Rock n Roll this year.  Wrong.  They were only advertising for the RnR which apparently takes the same course as seen in this great photo!



Jeff, as always, walks back up the finish to cheer me on - you gotta love that in a guy!  Of course since he finishes an HOUR before me, he does have plenty of time to relax, get a massage, re-hydrate, read the paper, etc....When he saw me, he pointed to the balloon banners arching over the race course ahead and told me to 'sprint to the finish'.  Well,,,you can't fool me, at least not too many times in a row!  After Eindhoven, I am hip to this, plus, it was an out and back and I knew full well that the finish was around the corner, and there was no chance of any sprinting from me on this day.

So, it seems that Portugal is a country to return to.  Now that Jeff has yet another new job, I am hoping for free tickets for me based on his miles and many more European races in our future!