While in Portugal, I became a more devoted runner, so I decided to train for the Lisbon half marathon. It is a beautiful race set along the waterfront of Lisbon. The race begins across the bay from Lisbon and runners cross the historic 25th of April Bridge on the one day of the year when it is closed to traffic. Runners then continue down to the Praça do Comércio in central Lisbon before ending in the historic area of Belém just outside of the city. Hillary also did a shorter version of the race with a few embassy friends, so she also got to run across the bridge.
Before the race, I was determined to finish in under two hours, so that I would beat the time of a friend from the previous year. On race day, I felt great and my legs felt strong, and I finished in 1:47, averaging just over eight minutes per mile, a full minute faster per mile than my goal.
The South African embassy had organized a post-race party for the diplomatic community, so we were able to soak up the sun after the race and chat with colleagues while enjoying South African sausage and wine. Not a bad day.
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