SF Half Marathon (8/03/08) - 3:18:02
SJ Half Marathon (10/05/08) - 3:25:45
I think I'm mildly depressed now and it's all my fault. Finishing a race like that always gives me a rush and a huge sense of accomplishment. But this time when I crossed the finish line, I couldn't help but feel a big let-down. The only thing that I proved to myself was how bad my time can be when I attempt to run a race out of shape and ill-prepared. Not to mention that my body is in a world of pain that I've never felt before now. I think it's time to retreat and let my wounds heal before I attempt another race. I've always thought of myself as a positive person, so I'm determined to start over with the basics and remember why I loved to push myself this hard. But for now, I'm feeling the full force of my own disappointment.
There are good races and bad races for every runner. Obviously this was a bad one for me, but I didn't want to let this one go without a review. So here are my highlights:
Highlights:
- I finally got one of my friends, Victor, to run a race with me. However, Victor has been a serious cross country runner since highschool, and he took off. Also, with the way the course is laid out (double-backs on itself), you can see people on their way back to the finish line. So I caught up with Victor when I was at mile 6, while it was his mile 11. As I saw him waving and cheering me on at that intersection, I wanted nothing more than to kick him in the ass for being so fast. Oops, I mean cheer him on all the way to the finish. Yeah, that's what I meant...
- The world-famous Kenyans ran this race! I had the pleasure of seeing them charging towards the finish while I was maybe on mile 5 or so. Gilbert Okari's finish time: 1:01:46.
- I also got to see the winning female from Japan whiz by me. Yuri Kano's finish time: 1:10:03.
- The race course was flat. That was a refreshing reprieve from all the hills in SF.
- There was a live rock band performing at every other mile.
- I saw these two women runners, dressed in silver sequins, stop at every stage and dance around like disco balls. Obviously, they had a blast.
Alright folks, that's my recap. FYI, my next race will probably be next year, but I haven't decided yet.
3 comments:
I heart you and remember you are your own worst critic.
Hey, at least you FINISHED the race. And did NOT get picked up by the rock and roll slow bus.
mwa! you are still taking such awesome care of your body signing up to compete in these things at all. YOu make the rest of us look like schlubs even while you're berating yourself for not training enough ... because you were doing other athletic endeavors like CLIMBING, hello, and of course olympic rib eating.
I am going to turn your own brilliant advice back atcha:
"The main thing to remember is that you are on a completely different path than everyone else. They just happen to be crossing your path at the same time, and breathing the same air...You still are who you are, and missing by [a few minutes] doesn't change that. if anything, it will highlight what you already know about yourself: the fact that you are a trooper and your focused determination. Because, missing [the time you were trying for] will only make you rise above it and succeed anyway. Sorta like a phoenix."
And my own advice: DUDE, YOU RAN THIRTEEN MILES! I know you are always pushing yourself to go faster and further, and I respect that--but don't forget to give yourself major props for being such a strong, healthy, well-tuned running machine! Ok, there are Kenyans out there that can whup your butt, but everybody has room for infinite improvement everywhere. And you whup lots of other butts in the whole running thing (I don't know very many people that could run 13 miles, even if you gave them all day--I couldn't), and also you have friends who love you to distraction, a hot girlfriend, and you pay your bills. I don't know anywhere where that doesn't count as being an enormous success. You are brilliant.
Hey! I was googling "race reports" for the SJ half marathon because I'm bored at work and I came across yours. Ur a female engineer from mountain view, so am I! well.. I work in mountain view and I'm actually software engineer. But anyways its nice to see that there are other female engineers who are novice runners just like me... lol.. feel free to hit me up anytime..
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