Napa Valley Marathon - 2010.

Melissa made a bet in October of last year (2009).  She said that she would register me for the 2010 Napa Valley Marathon and pay the registration fee if I would actually run the race. Her wager was that I would owe her the entrance fee come March 7th, 2010 when the start gun fired and I wasn't anywhere near the start line in Calistoga, California.  (She may have stipulated that I not only run the race but that I also train for it -- I don't recall the exact terms of the bet.)  Her willingness to enter into such a bet could stem from my having registered for the 2009 Napa Valley Marathon and not having run it; or, that I'm a notorious for "running from the couch" (which is a polite way of saying that I don't usually train).

In my defense, I didn't run the 2009 Napa Valley Marathon due to an illness.  Not just mildly sick -- I had lost my voice and part of my hearing.  The fact that I wouldn't have run the 2009 race simply due to the horrid weather Napa was experiencing in Spring of 2009 somehow counts against me in Melissa's book.  (Have I mentioned that I'm a fair weather runner?)

Well,...this year was a different story.  Not only did I get some actual training in prior to the race, but the weather was perfect come race day.  Blue sky; not too hot.  Melissa, Heidi, Lily, Teresa, Susan, Jim, and I got up early Sunday morning and started the 26.2 mile jaunt down the Silverado Trail from Calistoga to Napa with ~2,300 other people.  While Melissa and Lily ran faster than lightening (3:37:15 and 3:40:49, respectively), Heidi pushed me to achieve a personal best time of 4:51:50.

I now have one more shiny medal for my collection.