Dear Lovely Hares,
I am in awe of all of you. Your form, your pace, your finishing time – tremendous. I lay at your feet inspired by your greatness. (Please don't step on me.) I do realize that only began training (seriously) four months ago. I do realize that I have improved by leaps and bounds in the past two months. I do realize my limitations and also my strengths. But I feel it only fair that I should disclose this one thing:
I. RUN. SO. SLOW.
I read about your average pace of somewhere in the eight minute range and I think, “WOW.” My next thought is then “I want to be like them.” My third thought is: “I will probably run this HALF marathon in nearly the same time as you hares ran a FULL marathon! Holy crap!” And then I give myself a break and remember that my hard, outer shell weighs more than it used to…even if the weight is (slowly) going
down. I also remember that my back end…yeah, my back end sort of works like an anchor at this point. I also remind myself that I’m running ever so much farther than I ever have. That the self proclaimed hater of “running” is actually running. For miles at a time! And really, the bright side of all of this is that even after next Sunday has come and gone, there can only be room for improvement.
However, please note that, until further notice, I reserve the right to steal someone else’s number at the finish line and give their finishing time instead.
Love,
Your Friend, Tortoise.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Slow and Steady Doesn't Always Win
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7 comments:
Cute post. :)
I can only speak from experience and my experience has been this: my first "races" were also incredibly slow (they still are, just not as slow as they were) and my times were not great. This gave me incredible opportunities to improve. My full marathon has improved by 45 minutes, half marathon by almost an hour and great improvements have also been seen in the shorter distances. With a slow time, you have no where to go but up! :)
Good luck at your upcoming half! I'll be thinking good thoughts for you and hoping for a happy and injury-free finish. Smile as you cross the finish line and know that you've accomplished something that many people wish they could do but never will or can't do.
You are so funny! It doesn't matter if you finish 1st or 11,645th, it is going to feel so amazing when you cross that finish line. No matter what your time, it is going to be a great accomplishment! I'm so excited for you to experience a half marathon! I can't wait to hear about it. Good luck!
I have stalked your blog for a while, so I knew your wittiness would be a great addition to our blog! The best part of running is that it is truly individual. Your first race will be a PR (personal record) no matter what. You will cross the finish line knowing how hard you worked to get there. There is no better feeling than that. I can't wait to hear about it!! As with Cherl, my times have also improved over the years. My marathon this time was over an hour faster than my first marathon. Please let us know if you have any more questions. We are all so thrilled to be sharing this with you.
Ang- PLEASE join us!!
I love your post! I ran my first half marathon (SLC) with an injured akilies tendon and I was SLOW (2:14:55). I was so grateful to finish. My next half marathon was Bryce Canyon. It has a 12% down hill at mile 2. I looked at my Garmin and saw 5:30 miles. I was completely out of control. My time was awesome (for me) 1:56:57. I never thought I would run a half faster than that. My husband and I ran Top of Utah half together and lo and behold, I ran it in 1:54:32. So far, each race has been a little faster. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the Rose Bowl Half in December!
Nothing beats finishing your first half marathon. I was a sobbing mess at the finish line. It was so emotional for me. It literally changed my life. I can't wait for you to experience it!
Cherl & Ang: Thank you for the encouragement! I'm so excited for the accomplishment of it all...and remembering that this is my STARTING point...not the end!
m&m: you are so sweet to call it "wit". When we all know I'm just a sarcastic little punk! :) Actually, joking about my short comings, etc makes me not worry about it as much.
team hanni: yeah...I'm never sharing my times with you. :) hahaha. Seriously, though...I actually get a little choked up just thinking about crossing the finish line. I equate it (sort of) to pregnancy. You think you're going to be prego FOREVER and it's A LOT of hard work. But the end result? Pretty FANTASTIC! :)
Good luck on your half. There is nothing like finishing. You won't need a car dealer on speed dial. You'll have your own high.
foxy
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