Tales of Running: Yeah, that's Progress!

I finished the last race before the marathon in 2 weeks and it was indeed another resounding success.  I ran the Applefest Half-Marathon last year and came in at 2:25:48.  I was proud of that and proud of all the running I had done thus far that season.  Last year, running was solely a distance game with the major question being "can I make it?"  I proved time and time again that I could.  I proved that despite the repeated desire to stop, I could indeed make it to the finish line, time and again.  I have a lot going for me when I set out to run a race and I can't deny that it helps me immensely to get to the finish line.   I also find it mildly amusing that I started off this season with a conversation about asking about times and this has turned into a season of running that is very much focused on times.

My timing for this race was 2:06:36, which was pretty damn epic in my book.  It was about 19 minutes off last year's running of the same race.  I was clearly prepared for it (even though I really wasn't, a bit more about that down below) and for this season, that's a total of 34 minutes shaved off my time since my first half marathon back in July.

No matter how you look at it, this run was an unequivocal win even though in my mind I was really hoping for a timing under 2:05.  But there were a few things that didn't go exactly as planned for me.  The week prior, I hadn't quite gotten in as much running as I wanted to.  This was in part because on Sunday, (September 29), I ran my 30K that I did great at, but Monday through Friday proved fairly busy and I only got in a short run and a few bicycle rides.

More importantly, my iPod died just before the start of the race.  It's been glitchy for the last few weeks since a few runs previously when my sweating produced an abundance of moisture that somehow go into my iPod and killed it on the run.  I tossed it in a container with uncooked rice to absorb the moisture for a day and then, charged it.  This worked, until it didn't.  Minutes before the race, I pressed play and then tried to pause it.  It didn't pause.  Then I tried to turn it off and it wouldn't turn back on.  I played with it frantically until I just accepted that it wasn't going to come back on.  From mile 4 to mile 6, I kept thinking I could hear something but wasn't sure what it was.  It was a low-grade background noise that I thought I might be imagining.  Finally, I decided to see if it was my iPod and it certainly was.  I fumbled with it briefly to get it on and got the tunes flowing.  Music with performance has always been important to me and though I was fine without the music, I was glad to have it as it helps me keep better pace.  It also gives me a kick in the ass on occasion too.

The other killer for this run was the hills.  Somehow, I had forgotten how hilly this race was.  In truth, it felt hillier than the 30K and even the Applecrest Half-Marathon I did at the beginning of September.  The hills were much more brutal than I somehow remembered and every time I turned a corner, I swear there was another hill.  I don't remember much of the road being flat--just hill after hill.  Despite the hills and the wonky iPod, I still completed the race with a new personal best.  This means that I think one of my new goals for next year will be to complete a half-marathon in under 2 hours.  I didn't think it would be possible, but then again, I didn't think any of this was possible 3 years ago.

This is it.  That last major run before the showdown with the Baystate Marathon on October 20th.  I've got a good amount of running for the next week and a half, several sessions planned with the skillful hands of Mindful Reiki and even a deep tissue massage by the also-skillful hands at Shanti Bodywork.  I feel ready for this.  I have no clue how I am going to do.  Barring the unexpected, I know I'll finish and that finish will merely be the start of something new (running numerous marathons next year).  I'm looking forward to it.

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