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September 23, 2019 at 11:17 AM
(Related: Just Say Hi)
A couple of weeks ago, I ran a half marathon and managed to cross the finish line in one piece. That was pretty much my goal — finish the race in one piece and hopefully in less than 24 hours.
I managed to do both.
The run was no easy task, especially for someone that considers himself a non-runner. But I did train for the race and although I didn’t do as well as I did in my practice runs, I didn’t do badly.
I’m looking to do at least one more 13 mile race and then on to hopefully a full marathon.
Progress continues!
As a boxer, running (or roadwork) has always been a part of my regular training. But running 13 miles is much different than hitting a heavy bag a few times. Both good, just different.
I have almost no memory of the race. I was caught up with the music in my headset, my hydration, and the people around me. As long as I could keep up with them, everything would just take care of itself. In fact, it seemed to me that the 2 hours or so just flew by.
The two things I remember during the race is slapping a cup of water out of a volunteer’s hand (I always wanted to do that!) and slowing my pace to a walk while speaking with a couple that had been running together. This was as we hit our twelfth mile.
In fact, I said hello as we found ourselves suddenly walking. I checked to see if they felt alright and the woman responded with, “What are we doing on a perfectly good Sunday morning? Shouldn’t we all be on a balcony somewhere sipping coffee over a newspaper?” I responded with, “No doubt. We are very stupid people.” As we chuckled, I said, “How about we race for this last mile and finish strong?”
We high fived and we did!
How many times do you not take a much needed breather in the final lap of your race to finish strong? To reassess, regroup, reboot, strategize, inhale, and take that mountain!
