Runaway Pumpkin

Well, I didn’t die during the half marathon.  It was touch-and-go there for a while but I pulled through.  I’m a little disappointed in my performance but glad that it’s over.  I had hoped to finish in 2:10:00 but came in at 2:21:13.  Some of the delay was that it was really humid and I was very thirsty during the entire race.  Consequently, I had to stop at every aid station and drink 2 or 3 cups of water, which added time.  I also started out too fast and ran out of juice sooner than I had planned.  It was the result of adrenaline and nerves.  (And a nimble running buddy.)  I also shouldn’t have had Mexican food and popcorn for dinner.  My stomach was bloated like a balloon. 

The other problem was that every mile was marked with a big sign.  It psyched me out to be slowly ticking down the distance.  I prefer to only check in every few miles so I feel like I’m actually making progress.  By the time I hit the 10 mile sign, I felt like there was no way I could finish.  I had a hard time mentally overcoming the idea of still having 3 miles left and feeling miserable.  I suffered for those last miles and really slowed down.  But, I finished and I didn’t pee my pants so I count that as a success.

I spent Sunday thinking I should run another half marathon because I know I can do better.  I even found a race in January I was going to register for.  Thankfully, Michael talked some sense into me and I’m no longer itching to do another race.  It also helped that I could barely walk by Sunday night.  It was a blatant reminder that running that far is a terrible idea.  I’ll stick with 10k’s for now.

Here we are leaving for the race.  I look like I have tons of energy.

And here I am finishing the race.  I look like my energy has gone elsewhere.

Feeling better after a couple bottles of water:

 

I was very happy to have the people I love waiting at the finish line.  My parents were also there but I don’t have any pictures of them.  It was great to come around the corner to the finish line and see them cheering me on.

 

I’m glad I did it but I don’t want to do it again.