The Next Good Thing: 13.1 Miles

I ran the D.C. Half-Marathon yesterday and it was awesome! To run downtown amongst historic buildings and crowds lining the streets was truly inspiring! I had a goal and while I really hoped to meet it I had some doubt because my training for this race hadn't gone exactly as I planned. My darn back! But I put in what I could and while I knew I could do the distance I didn't know if I could keep the pace.

Friday night I carbed up with pizza. (It worked for me last year. Who's to break tradition?) We thought we'd save a little time and money by picking up Costco pizzas to cook in the room. Unfortunately while the website mentioned stovetop we didn't realize that didn't mean oven too. Jason got creative and cooked the pizza on the stovetop to make the crust crispy and then microwaved the top. It worked pretty good.

The next morning I met up with my friend Kathryn to catch the Metro together. Once again the Metro was packed. We were squished in pretty tight that I almost felt claustrophobic. My back was against the doors and I couldn't move much less turn my head unless I wanted to kiss the guys back in from to of me. But seeing all these runners together at 6:30 am was so invigorating that I pushed all thoughts of being squashed aside.

While everyone was lined up pretty deep behind port a potty's Kathryn and I found real bathrooms with hardly a line. Score! After taking care of business we set out to find our corrals. Kathryn is faster than me so we parted ways. I was in the 18th corral so I didn't start the race until 28 minutes in. Then I took off and didn't look back. I purposely left my GPS watch back because I didn't want to psych myself out but then I had no idea my pace. I pushed myself for fear I'd miss my goal and be disappointed. The problem with a 13.1 mile race is if you go out too fast you might lose your endurance in the end.

The weather was nice. I was a little worried when the forecast called for 60's. I'd been training all winter in hats, gloves and layers. Now I would be racing in shorts and a t-shirt. There was a nip in the air to start off with but then the sun came out mid-race making it a little too warm which made those hydration stations sought after! Jason and the kids were supposed to meet me at the 5 mile mark but I didn't see them. Turns out I was going faster than expected.

While running is physical a lot is mental too. Once the negative thoughts started to creep in I'd quickly push back and replace them with, "I'm feeling good, going strong." and then focus on my music and the people lining the streets with their high 5's, signs of encouragement and cheers. That was enough to keep me going. Great parallel to life too. I need to cheer more instead of being quick to point out faults.

At mile 11 I was ready for it to end. I wanted to slow down but I knew the end would come quicker the faster I went. At the 12 mile mark I sped up. I was going to give it all I got. The cruel thing about this race is the hill you come to right before the finish line.

Totally unfair but you dig in knowing the end is in sight. I cried as I crossed the finish Line. I gave it my all and I was spent. But it was all worth it when I found out I beat my goal by 2 minutes. My goal was 2:10 and I got 2:07:56. That was also 11 minutes faster than last year.