Whooo hoooo! It’s so hard to believe that the Half Marathon has come and gone! (Well not entirely hard to believe because I have sore muscles that are reminding me of my adventure this morning! BUT its a good sore!)
It was fantastic. I really did enjoy my first half marathon. It was overcast and slightly rainy weather. The race started at 7AM and I finished just before 10AM. Kinda funny to me that I spent nearly 3 hours running this morning! My goals for the race were to run the whole distance without stopping to walk and to finish in 3 hours. I had just made it! I kept a steady, comfortable pace throughout. I also had great friends encouraging me before the race and I had Diana, Felipe, Jillian and Emily’s Dad cheering me on during the race! I am SO incredibly thankful for them and the host of wonderful people in my life!
I felt pretty good throughout most of the race. Mile one went by real quick for me. That was an encouraging start! When I passed the 3 mile mark I was like, this is cake- I just did a 5K, all I need to work through now is two 5 milers. I was constantly breaking down the course in my head to be encouraged in each section. You know, “one down, 12 to go,” “whoo hooo, just are over the halfway mark!” and “hey-yo, we are in the double-digit mile markers!” The furthest I have trained to is 10 miles. I was still feeling pretty good and strong through that point, however, come mile 11 and 12 I was feeling it! Each of those miles seemed to go on forever! I so was kicking in the inspirational/motivational songs at that point! (Glees’s “Keep Holding On” and Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” – Laugh all you want, it kept me going!)
And to be honest, mile 13 I thought I was going delusional! Well at least in hindsight! The last stretch I saw my friend Jillian but couldn’t piece together that it was her! My friend and running partner, Emily ran with me at this point and as she was cheering me on she said I just kept saying, “wow, I feel like I am going to die,” “no really, I am about to die,” and “I am dying right now.” I remember just wanting to stop but pushed myself through to the end and I am so glad I did! Once I crossed the finish line I got that funny sensation of being on a people mover! I guess after running for 3 hours your body gets use to it and it just kept moving…. that was weird! Then, my legs turned to jello!
I had all these great thoughts throughout my race too. I was thinking about how much I really enjoy the running community. I was all ready for my race and had my little energy packs but accidently left it in my gym bag! When I saw Diana at around mile 5 and yelled to her if she could bring one to me down the way a wonderful lady of the course gave me hers! They were so kind! I had a couple of small talks with folks as we ran too! One lady came up beside me and told me that I had “beautiful curly hair.” I have to admit it made me chuckle! Most people around me also seem to smile throughout the race, I loved that too! In additional to all that, there were all these reminders to relax along the way- you know, to not tense up your shoulders and whatnot. Those reminders were such a gift- ain’t that like us to forget some of those simple things and not enjoy the journey! I also thought about how life really is sooo much like a marathon yet we tend to approach it more often than not as a sprint. The distance take endurance, time, commitment, purpose, focus, intention, encouragement, right thinking, and training. Also, I have really grown to love running, just like my friend Amber said I might! As I ran, I took note of all the different people out there running with me. All different backgrounds and ages! It was thrilling. I made a personal commitment to myself to be that 85 year old (if I live that long on this earth!) who is out there running, taking care of the health and body that has been given to her.
I must say that this was an incredible, fun experience! I wouldn’t trade it for nothing!
No comments:
Post a Comment