NWM 2010 Half marathon report




Dimity (tallest) and Sarah (next tallest) in back and me in the middle of it all

 

I went into the training program with little expectations. I just wanted to cross the finish line in December, actually I just wanted to do an entire leg of the CIM relay in December and do it with a smile on my face.

The highlight of my weekend was actually to meet Dimity and Sarah who wrote RUN LIKE A MOTHER: and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity  for their presentation on Saturday morning then again in the afternoon for a little pre-race RLAM chit chat. Their voices resonate so loudly through the pages in the book and are just as witty and down to Earth as the essays in their book.

Race morning: Got up with Tracy and Teri and headed to the start line about 5 blocks away. It was warmer than I thought and by the time we got to Union Square the buzz and the energy was through the roof! We used the little-blue-rooms then headed to the line up. It went all the way around the block and we didn't even get close to where we were last year. We started so far back that it took 7 minutes before we could even move forward at a slow walk, almost 15 to reach the start line a few more before our feet moved in a motion that almost resembled a shuffle more than a walk. That was a really slow start but my whole view this year was to have fun.



me running w/ GG Bridge in the back ground



We kept an easy pace those first few miles to warm up then just took the hills easy and the downhill and flats at a harder pace. We sang and took some pictures along the route, we have high 5's and checked out everyone else's running gear. I took some GU chomps at mile 4 and mile 8. Mile 6 was the start of the first long hill and I just put my head down and put one foot in front of the other and cruised up the endless hill. I smiled to myself and repeated the mantra of the race: I run to be... and I filled in the blanks. I don't think i had one negative self talk moment for the whole race. After each hill was a huge smile and a little "wahoo!"  I started picking up the pace after the last long hill at about mile 8 and slowly push the pace. I did wonder where the heck the turn was into the park for the last two miles but all along I kept wondering what was so awful last year? The smile stayed plastered on my face even when the sprinkles came at mile 9 and continued to get a little more wet as we went along. It was still "sprinkles" until the end and it started to rain for real!



Me and Tracy at the end before it rained too hard!

Tracy and I played leapfrog along the whole race and we talked little but cheered each other and pushed each other along as we went. I pulled ahead that last half mile and pushed the envelope even farther... I crossed the line with a huge smile on my face and my arms in the air!!! Tracy was just behind me and so was Bernie. We got pictures with the firefighters decked out in Tuxedos handing out Tiffany & Co. necklaces instead of finishers medals. We stayed to the left so Teri could find us and walked through the finisher chutes and were corralled to the end. I felt like my throat and tummy were full of ice cubes and the rain got more and more heavy. I went off one direction to find Dimity and Sarah but found hot chocolate and hot soup instead, found the girls and headed for the long hike back to the car.  Even if it wasn't my fastest it was the most fun I've had running since the CIM last year. I'm looking for a fun race in December too!