I stubbornly thought growing older wouldn't bother me, and in a lot of ways it hasn't. But in a lot of other ways it has. I don't like seeing those new gray hairs popping up. The lines on my face that are here for the long haul aren't much fun either. And don't get me started on being called "Ma'am" and wondering why kids that look 12 are allowed to drive. When I start using the phrase "Back in my day" I'll know it's time to throw in the towel. But until then, I run.
I'm in training for Fall events however it's nice to throw in some races to change things up a bit. My latest race was a smaller half marathon. It was a kick off to a summer festival that also included a 10K, a 5K, a kids mud run, and live music. I was a little envious of the kids mud run, I wish I could have participated in that! But, apparently, you had to be a kid to participate, not just act like one.
The atmosphere of the race reminded me a little bit about the races I've run in Ireland. Just a couple hundred people gathering in a park or on a residential street to run a race on roads that are still open to car traffic. I was worried that with only 186 people running the half, I would end up feeling stranded not having people near me. Fortunately, that was not the case, there was always a person to set my sights on or a group of people chatting away to each other about this-and-that. The race was well supported by volunteers, too, with water stops every two miles. Plus I had my fun new toy to let me know my pace and count down the miles.
Yep! I finally caved and bought a GPS watch! I had some Amazon gift cards that were enough to cover the cost which definitely helped in my decision to get one. Not being one to research what I buy, it was nice to enlist the help of a knowledgeable friend when deciding. Only problem with the GPS watch...
I know my pace with certainty.
!!!
There's no mental math, which I appreciate, however, I only estimated when doing mental math. Because of this my estimations were typically higher than actual. This lead to being pleasantly surprised when the actual results came out. GPS watch knows for a fact what I ran my last mile in. And on a run such as this half marathon, that's not such an encouraging fact to know.
The day was hot. And sunny. And hot. And I wore black. So I was extra hot. In my defense, it was a black tank. But still. I was hot. The course itself was pretty nice. A lot of open sun which added to how hot I felt...(Have I mentioned the heat?)...which affected how I ran. GPS was nice enough to point out that with each mile I slowed. I probably started a bit fast for my ability at that distance, but regardless, I was slow. This would not be a PR event for me.
Midway through the race, I made a decision: Start taking off clothes. If you know me, you know what a huge decision this is. And you can probably guess that it took me all of those first 6.5 miles to work up the courage to do so. There was a moment in the race where I thought I would be okay running in my black tank. The route turned left to follow a trail. Delicious shade waited for me as I rounded the corner. Sweet relief beckoned me onward. A smile broke through my chapped, thirsty lips. Finally! A cool, pleasant trail! Then another mile went buy and the trees seemingly ran away, leaving me to bake in the sun. I thought once more about my white stomach. My countless issues with self image. The fact that there were other runners who could see me. Then I thought about the heat. I imagined the black tank absorbing that heat and holding it close to my core. And I took it off. You know what happened then? I expected the people around me to shriek in terror and dive into the tall grass. Maybe a couple of them would just drop to the ground right then and there. None of that happened. One girl did puke, but I think that had little to do with me. No, what happened was my body cooled. Just slightly. My pace continued to slow, but that brief reprieve helped me throughout the second half of the race.
Until the last half mile.
12.6 miles and I was done. I wanted water. I wanted to be done. Birds of prey were circling. "I'm not dead yet," I called up to them. The finish line was somewhere ahead. I kept thinking, as I looked at my watch, 5 minutes. You can run for 5 more minutes. Then there was the turn toward the home stretch...and it was packed with cars. Apparently, the one road they closed for the race was now open again and filled with those people leaving the race and those coming for the music festival. Seriously? I just wanted to be done.
In the end, I crossed the line at 2:20:16. Not my best, but not my worst either. Not too a horrible way to close out my last race as a 33-year old.
Since then I have turned the big 3-4. It's odd to say I'm 34 when I still feel 19. 34 greets me with new challenges. I have a teenager now, with my daughter turning 13 three weeks before my birthday. She has one more year before high school. Eek!
I'm registered for at least one marathon. I haven't bit the bullet on the other two yet, but soon. I was just waiting to see how that training schedule pans out.
And I have this new challenge...
That's right, folks. It's an exercise ball. An awesome birthday gift that comes with an exercise video too. It's a good total body workout that is fun and keeps me laughing. It's amazing how much this works on my stabilizers. I'm excited for the variety in my cross training and the new twist of fun this offers. And, with some commitment, I'm hoping for some more toned abs as well.
Hello 34! Cheers to the adventures yet to come!
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