I survived my first half marathon! Actually, I did more than survive it. I rocked the Ft. Lauderdale 13.1 Wooo-hoo!
I ran at a happy, comfortable pace the whole time, enjoyed the feeling of the sea breeze on my face--oh and speaking of my face, I also made very goofy faces for the cameras (since I take terrible race pictures anyway, I figured I'd rather look happy and awful than miserable and awful, as I have in all my other races).
I'll post the race pics as soon as they are up, but be prepared for some very hammy smiles and a few sucked-in-cheeks mock-model moues.
Oh, and the time. I ran it in 2:02:02. I think that's a good time, especially because it was my first half, and I was going for fun more than speed. I won't lie: because I've had a few long runs that were below a 9 minute mile, I was hoping not to crack the 2s at all. But as soon as I crossed that finish line, I didn't care so much about the time. All I could think was, "I did it!" Because, I did it!
To me, a fun run is more important right now than speed, which I have the rest of my life to work on. (You should see some of the senior citizens who flew past me at the half marathon! They left me in their Bengay-scented dust.) Considering how Type A I've been at all my previous runs, I think my new mellow mentality is a really big accomplishment. Having a good time was actually a tougher obstacle for me than acheiving a good time, if that makes any sense.
Stay tuned for my wacky race pictures!
Wow, I'm impressed! You were a born runner tortured by years of mediocre step aerobics. Now you are free to be!! Gotta ask, what makes a run fun as opposed to not so much?
ReplyDeleteI think that's a fantastic time! woohoo!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! This is so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I think that's an amazing time!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the congrats! Mercedes, I'd say a good run is one that feels as good as dancing. You get into a groove and you don't want to stop.
ReplyDelete