Half Marathon

The day arrived.

Was I ready? Absolutely not. But, I wasn't stressed out either. I decided that I should enjoy this 1/2 Marathon and it truly made a difference. I left my watch at Lindsay's house and didn't obsess over how fast/slow our pace was. We walked parts of the hills and watched many other people struggle to maintain any sort of composure.

The hills are ridiculous. This course, to me, would be more of a PW--personal worst. I am fine with it. Today, I am sore, a little, but in no way like I should be. Going slow and not trying to conquer hills enabled this blissful state.

I am so thankful for Lindsay. Seriously, I have friends that are "run" runners. There is no way that I would have been able to accomplish a leisurely run with one of them. I trained. I did. I just didn't train that consistently. My heart wasn't completely in it.

Training, alone, proved to be a tad more difficult than I thought it to be. I missed running with my friends. I considered backing out of the event. I did. However, I knew how disappointed my friends would be. I talked them into this particular race. I needed to complete the task. There was no way I could back out and save face.

The race began and we were off. Immediately, we confronted the first hill and trudged up it. Midway we opted to walk. I know we were walking faster than some people were running. We were surrounded by other runners and people walking. I started to take in my surroundings. Gorgeous day. Taking photos took focus since I wanted a visual of the 1/2.

Overall, this was my worst showing in terms of the 1/2 Marathon. But, I felt, it could have been much worse. Elevation and lack of training could have made for an ugly day. I enjoyed people watching and b.s.ing with Lindsay. That girl is the BEST. She is supportive, encouraging and always positive. Never a negative thought.

People watching. What a trip! My favorite example would be of this woman that was running with her husband or boyfriend. Purely motivating him to keep going. She was counting while running and in front of her guy who was uncomfortable. He looked like he was dying from the physical exertion. Still, he had his visual in front of him. This woman had on a skirt that she scrunched up to expose her panties. Beige panties, at that. No joke. I couldn't believe what I saw and than I wanted to avert my eyes or run downhill. This could only happen on a hill, right? Everyone around us on the course had the same thought--are you kidding me? That is not the view I was hoping to see while running.

Or, the lady who had half of her jacket off but was stuck since her braided hair was wrapped through her hat. She struggled with the disrobe while trying to run. Yes, people watching at races can be entertaining. T

he last four miles of this race is boring. I remembered thinking that last year, too. We walked, some.

At that point, it was no longer about doing it within a certain time, it was about the joy of running with friends. As we neared the finish line I considered sprinting. I enjoy finishing that way. Lindsay really wasn't interested in that. She encouraged me to go. I wouldn't, though. We started the race together and we were going to finish that way. I resisted the urge to push ahead unlike some people I know (sound familiar, Shari?).

They handed us medals and a pint glass.

Successful day and a wonderful memory--check.

Personal worst--check.

Would I run it again--absolutely! Perhaps next year, I will conquer the hills.