13.25 Miles Of Fun!

Ok everyone who reads this Blog already knows I ran my first Half Marathon. It was fun, and a great overall experience. I ran fast. Then slow. Then slower. I ran my first 2 miles in 14:14 which is WAY faster than I have ever run 2 miles. I hit the 3 mile mark at a little over 22 minutes. At almost every mile marker there were volunteers which was awesome. They were almost all in great spirits and I had a good time joking with them. It was almost fun trying to get them to laugh as a way to entertain myself and make their time more interesting too! I kept thinking I would be so happy to see mile 10 since that would mean 3.25 more to go which is easy, right? Not so much! Hill after hill after rolling hill…. These were NOT huge hills at all, but they were frequent and wear you down over time. I was a little suprised and just tried to adapt. Another fun aspect of the run was trying to engage other runners. I thought it would bother me when people passed me, but it didn’t at all. Many did pass me 😉

By around mile 5 or 6 I was in 10th place. In the last half of the race I was passed 11 times. Of the 11 I would say I engaged 7 of them. Some highlights were the 2-3 runners who not only engaged me, but also seemed to hold back just to chat! I loved it! They were all older than me and were all kicking ass. I congratulated every single one of them for the fact that they were killing it and I admired them!

It was a unique form of respect. One born out of pain, strain, effort, and a mutual goal we were all struggling toward. One specific runner was a SLUG and in the same vein as my friend John Mossman (also a SLUG) chatted with me, ran with me and told me “Don’t disappoint me!” I know how that must sound to a non-runner. But let me tell you that this is NOT the first time I have heard this while running. As I said I feel like it’s a show of respect. They hold off a little to chat and hang out while we are running and thus they expect something in return, that you continue till the end, you will not give up, we will both see each other in the end. 🙂

I almost cried, and was choked up when I came to the finish line and saw Sarah and Katelyn cheering me on. I felt so much joy from seeing them and their smiles.

It was the start of a VERY long day. When I went to bed that evening, I was dead tired. I crammed more into that one day than I have in a very long time!

Next up a FULL marathon! Lewis and Clark on Oct 3rd. I know how 13 feels and I am pretty sure it’ll feel the same into the next 4 or 5 miles…. Everything after that is going to be a new kind of fun! The goal? < 4 hours! I ran 13.25 in 1:45:25.8 so I am hoping I can hit 3:30:00 But I'm trying to be realistic and say 3:59:59.9 🙂 I'm going to make friends with a new kind of running fun called "The Wall". I am planning on side stepping "The Wall" since I'd really rather not have my body start restricting energy from my legs to power my brain! I think I can avoid the wall by fuel management. Guess I'll find out soon enough! 🙂

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2 Responses to 13.25 Miles Of Fun!

  1. Brent says:

    You are amazing for the fact that you not only have a vision for yourself.. but you’re actively pursuing it. I truly admire your dedication to this and really look forward to seeing your progress as time moves on!

  2. Sister-In-Law says:

    I really like this blog entry. It shows a lot of dedication, spirit, fun, and all the good qualities of running. Keep up the good work. 🙂

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