I pulled 2nd place out of my ass

Here is the question:


Would you rather come in first, second or third during a race where you missed your goal and/or made dumb mistakes? 


OR


Would you rather hit your goals and come in last?


I came in second place (AG) after racing one of my worst races ever.


and I was PISSED.


Go ahead, tell me to be happy about coming in second. I don't care. I missed my goals by 10 minutes. 


You guys have been reading about my tri adventures since 2005. You know that I have always been a back of the packer.  I have never really dreamed of coming in first, second or third. That would always be *nice*, but it doesn't represent who I am or what I can do.


All a medal means is that faster people didn't show up to race that day.

And that's why I'M PISSED OFF. 

I realize that is not exactly true.

MY point is that ANYTHING can happen on race day. Getting 1st, 2nd or 3rd doesn't mean anything more than your day went better than someone else's.

Why should I be happy with a 2nd place when I missed my goal by 10 minutes? And that wasn't even my aggressive goal!

Here's the story:

This was my first sprint since 2008. I could have sworn that I did one in 2009 or 2010, but I can't find any results. 

I have never been so nervous before a race. I've been training with Ricci for 6 months now, and this was my first race with my new plan and focus. In the past, I've just done sprints for completion. I never really raced them.

Before the race, I watched the transition videos 4 times, taking different notes each time and practicing things. I read over the sprint strategy...too many times to count....and I got last minute advice from Coach.


The race was in the evening on a very hot day. I took all of that into account and planned my day out pretty well. 

Still, nothing calmed me down. I can't tell you how nervous I was. My Mike was standing on the beach and he kept giving me this sign to breathe. I knew I must have looked like I was going to be sick because that's how I felt.

I managed to pull off a PR; even though, I made a ton of mistakes. PR, yes. Hit my goal: No. 

What I really wanted to get out of this race was to just DO IT. Race a sprint and give me a point of reference for the rest of my season. 

Swim

I am really comfortable on the swim. But I went about it all wrong. We had a beach start. I was literally shaking as I stood there. When it was time for us to go, I took off like a bat out of hell. My form was all jacked up. My heart rate felt like it was through the roof. I kept up that pace until I got to the first buoy. It would take me awhile to recover. I had to slow down. I didn't want to ruin my bike and run because I swam too fast. I caught and passed most of the men in the previous wave. When I got out of the water, I was still a mess. 

I had to walk the hill back to transition.

Mistake:
I know this was entirely fueled my my nerves. I've had great ow swims this week. It would be better for me to focus on form and the speed will follow; instead of going out there like crazy. 

Bike

I was looking forward to this. I will try to keep this short. I hopped on the bike and was ready to go. I scouted out the route before hand and knew that we started on a hill. I took it easy. I let a few people pass me. Once we got to the top, it was all over. Drop the hammer? Not exactly. 

I was passing people like they were standing still, but I was holding back. After the swim, I was worried about going too hard and really suffering during the run. I made a goal that I wasn't going to let a woman pass me. When a guy passed, I would stay with him if I could. That's when I realized that I could climb hills better than I thought. I could catch these guys on the uphill. They would pass me on the downs. A couple of months before the race, I watched coach Troy's video on cresting a hill. I'd been practicing the technique. It worked. I got to the top, and I would end up being ahead until we were halfway down. 

Toward the end, a guy pulled along side of me and said "Don't let me beat you. You beat me on the hills, but we're heading down now. Don't let me beat you" And he took off. The race was on. hahahahaha! No kidding, we were flying. We pulled into transition together.

I can't say I was disappointed with my speed because it was a PR. I averaged about 19.5 mph. I was disappointed because I held back too much. I was concerned about being able to run. Turns out, I was right....given how dehydrated I was. 

Bike Mistake:

My plan was one bottle of infinit on the bike, get water at the aid station. I never saw an aid station. I finished the infinit and needed water. I had a small bottle of water in transition. I drank it down on the way out on the run. But, it wasn't enough. Next time, I will bring 2 bottles. 

Run

I drank the little bottle of water. I wasn't even at the half mile mark when my stomach started cramping. There HAS to be an aid station on the run. 

And there was....at the halfway mark. I really wish the RD had put an aid station at the 1 mile mark. Then we could have hit it twice. It's not the RD's fault that I messed up my nutrition. At the same time, it was hot out there. 

I really missed my goal on the run. I run 5ks at a 9:35 pace. My goal for the 3 miles was 10:00 pace. I finished with a 10:58 pace. (And yes, that is a tie with my previous sprint pr, but it was slower than I could go had I done a better job of....well, just EVERYTHING).

OH! Another thing about the run. It was hilly. I wasn't expecting that at all. I've run out at this reservoir quite a bit, but have never run that course. 

With a mile left, my calf started cramping. It was like little shots of lightning. At this point, I'm dreaming about water. I'm staring out at the reservoir filled with water, and I can't drink! OH the pain!

That's it. the finish is uphill through some sand, then a short sprint to the finish.

It really was a day of mixed emotions.

Now that I got that *first* race of the season done, I know what I need to fix. My transitions were fast. I was in and out, faster than I have in the past. I need to use more control and focus on form on the swim. I need to fuel better on the bike and not be afraid to "drop the hammer".  

Then, the run will be easier. I wouldn't say it was a sufferfest, but cramps hurt a little bit. 

After I finish, I sat down with My Mike and we had the BBQ. He was going on and on about my PR and how fast I went past on the bike and how great it was that I came out ahead of so many men in the previous wave. I listened to him, and I realized that he was right. I did well.

Then he says, "You need to race more." 
Me: "You sound like Ricci."
Mike: "He's right. What do these races cost? $100? You need to race more. I know you made mistakes but that's because you hadn't raced in awhile. If you get out there, you'll be in race mentality more often. So, what's next?"

SHERPA HAS SPOKEN.

Finish time: 1:31 and almost 4 minute PR. 2nd place F45-49, but there were only a few of us in the 45-49 AG. My placing doesn't matter as much as my time anyway. (**update** there were in fact 10 of us).

The end result is that I still have to learn how to race a sprint.

That's what this race was supposed to show me, and it did.

You can be sure, I will not make the same mistakes twice.

Next time, I will be ready. 

Next race: Less than a month.

It's a foregone conclusion

Last night, laying in bed, I was writing my PR blog post. 


Cocky?


Irresponsible?


Mmmm, yes.


Even more so because I spent the last 2 weeks sick and really unable to do anything more than 20-30 min of the easiest of running/jogging/walking/crawling.


But what else was I going to do on one of the sleepless nights?


Quick history: I'm only doing sprints this year. As Coach says, ONLY sprints. And yes, he reminds me often. 


What about a half marathon?

"What part of sprint do you NOT understand?"  I'm pretty sure that's a direct quote. 


Fine. I'm good with that. So, of course, when I ask "If I had to choose between a 5k and a 5 mile race, which should I choose?" I was expecting "5k. You're ONLY doing sprints." 


Imagine my surprise when he says, "Run the 5 miles. At some point, you have to see what you can do."


ha.ha. I'll tell you what I can do. I can plug along aimlessly, stopping a few minutes at water stations, talking to the volunteers and doing just about EVERYTHING but racing.


HEY, there's also a 10 mile race.


I could practically feel his eyeballs glaring at me through the computer screen. 


5 miles it is.


As much as I want to tell you about the morning of the race (a comedy of errors) and arriving at the race (too much excitement for my little heart), I will skip and get right to the race.


THE MASTER PLAN or should I say THE MASTER'S PLAN


The plan, warm up, bleh. fine. 


(When I signed up with Coach, I said, "whatever you tell me to do, I will do. I am handing over the reigns cuz this sleigh has gone off course." BUT, I never said I wouldn't complain along the way. Strength training after swimming, really?


But, I digress. 


warm up: YES I REALLY DID IT. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. YAY ME.


The race itself: 2 miles easy, then go for it like a 5k.


piece.o.cake.


For people WATCHING.


Hmmmm, methinks, he doesn't say anything about stopping at regular and sometimes random intervals to for f*cks sake. WHAT IS HE TRYING TO DO TO ME?


I don't really know what happened but the gun went off and everyone started running. Talk about yer spacing out.


la-dee-da.....I'm just trotting along, having a good time. Man, this race was PACKED. Normally, I try to get around people. but NO. I remembered THE MASTER'S PLAN.


At 1.5 miles into my little "easy" run, I start to think "Hey, all I have to do is maintain THIS pace for the rest of the race, and I have my PR.


STOP


NO


WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?


I cringe and look around "God? Is that you?"


NO. THIS IS COACH. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO EXPLAIN TO ME YOUR FINISH TIME AFTER PULLING OFF THAT LAST 5K PR?


Damn playa. Now you're all up in my face during a race?


FINE


Mile 2 hit, and I knew I was supposed to turn up the pace.  We passed a water station and my mouth starting drooling at everyone taking a little break, walking through the aid station. 


FOCUS


Do you mind? I GOT THIS. 


All of a sudden something happened.


I started running faster.


No.seriously.


I start to approach a slight incline. An incline that historically, I have walked.


It's about as steep as a driveway.


No.seriously. 


My pace is going to slow.


It's ok. It's a little hill.


I want to PR.


I need to save energy.


It's ok. slow down. Pick it up on the downhill.


Let me say something here. I've run this race more times than I can count for the past X number of years, the course has remained the same. This year, with the addition of the 10 mile race, the course changed.


I like the new course ALOT more.


Unfortunately, the last mile.....the entire mile....is on another slight incline.....wouldn't call it a hill.


I would, however, call it a pain in the arse when I'm supposed to be running my fastest mile yet.


And I did.


I was giving it everything I had. I had sweat running down my face. My arms were pumping. My little legs were going just as fast as they could.


I was so focused on running and making sure I held that pace that I didn't even realize that I was heading toward the finish.


I hadn't paid any attention to my time during the race. I looked only at pace, and well, I'm not really THAT good at math.


I had no idea what my finish was going to be.


OMG. When I saw the clock, I just wanted to run faster, but I couldn't. 


When I crossed the finish line, I started crying.


Yea. 


Me.


The Beast of Pain....according to a certain someone who shall remain nameless


I thought I'd pull off a minute PR.  But I managed a 5-6 minute PR over 5 miles. I still haven't looked at the official results.


I don't have delusions of grandeur.


I know I will NEVER be the fastest AG runner.


I don't care because triathlon is a 3 sport competition, and I'm a really good swimmer and cyclist. 


BUT, when you're able to run a race that you've never been good at...and come in with the best time you've ever had.....it can be a little emotional.


I'm celebrating and taking my PR out for a night on the town. 


Then, it's back to cussing during workouts again. 

You're gonna like how it feels.

There are races.


And there are RACES.


This morning, I got up for the last race in the Run Denver Series. The Run Denver Series consists of 5 5ks (or you can choose the half marathon for the last race).


We've dealt with wicked weather for this race series. We've had snow and ice and +35mph winds and sub freezing weather. 


And at each race, I've managed to pull a PR out of my butt. Sometimes completely unexpected.


But TODAY was different. A month ago, (after my last 5k), Coach Mike said "You've proven you know how to PR. Now, let's go for a new goal."


He throws out (of maybe it was more of throwing up) a goal.


I was like all DAMN FOOL where you get those numbers from.


Of course, I didn't say that to him. I'm not stupid. I didn't exactly want the next week to consist of holding plank for 5 minutes.


But, no way, nuh uh, I could hit that goal. So, I posted it to my computer monitor. Everyday, I looked at it. And everyday, I started thinking "Maybe coach isn't crazy. Maybe."


Then I started strategizing....thinking "OK, to hit that goal, I need to run the first mile at x, the second at x-10, the third at x-10+puke.


It could happen.


Race morning


I decided to leave a little earlier than normal. It was a different venue. I didn't know where I was going AND there's also a half marathon. I expected that meant there would be a whole lot more people.


When I arrived, the first lot I passed was full. the second lot was full. I get to the third lot (which was right next to start). I had nowhere else to go, so I turned into the lot.


Right in the front row, there is a parking spot....just sitting there....right in front of the start.


Today is going to be a good day.


I drink my SUPER FAST BEVERAGE. it's a secret recipe, so if I tell you, I'd.....you know.


I hop across the street. I pick up my race shirt and notice that it's white with GREEN. The green matches my socks.


Today is going to be a good day.


Then I head over to get my medal for completing 3 of the 5 races.  It is one of the coolest medals I've ever seen.


Today is going to be a good day.


I drop my stuff off at the car.  I realize that I need to find a porta potty pretty fast. That was a long drive to the race.  then, I see the lines. Lines that go all the way to Kansas.


Then I remembered the park across the street. They have bathrooms. they're probably packed. But, if nothing else, I can go behind a tree.


I jog over to the park. The bathrooms are completely empty. EMPTY.


Today is going to be a good day.


I jog back up to the start.


I meet one of the coolest women at the start. She is just like me and Sam. We spend the time laughing about completely stupid stuff. 


Today is going to be a good day.


This race was going to be interesting. Temperature was expected to rise quickly and the wind was expected to start dying down. We're running along a Dam, so it's flat but completely exposed. I look out over the Dam, and I can see a flag in the distance blowing around like crazy. 


I don't have time to think about the wind, and the race starts! BOOM CHUGGA, I'm off and running.


For the first time ever, I decided to actually USE MY GARMIN. I set my paces for each mile. 


Of course, I take off really fast and garmin SCREAMS


SLOW DOWN


But, I feel so good! I think to myself.


SLOW DOWN


Really? Will slowing down really help me that much in the end.


At that point, garmin got pissed off and yelled:


TRUST YOUR COACH


Fine, but for the record. I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS.


We hit the first mile marker, and I pick up my pace about 10 seconds per mile. As I hit the turnaround, I start thinking that this is starting to hurt.


I have to pick up the pace again at mile 2.


That's going to hurt. I can't handle the pain. 


No seriously. I CANNOT HANDLE THE PAIN. HOW can I go faster?


I start closing in on mile 2. 

That's when Enrique showed up to run with me. 


It's my time.
It's my life.
I can do what I like.


(but most importantly)


I LIKE HOW IT FEELS.
Give me more more more.
What y'all consider the best, I consider mediocore.


And who's going to argue with Enrique or Pitbull?


Not.me.


The wind is not bad but it is a headwind, and I'm supposed to be running faster.


And now, I'm right on pace. RIGHT ON PACE. I can't slow down.


I keep singing over and over. 


I LIKE HOW IT FEELS.


Did I mention this was an out and back course? That's all fine and dandy.


Except that it's wide open.


That means from 1.5 miles away, I can see the finish. 


from 1.5 miles away.


why does it look so far? 


I LIKE HOW IT FEELS


I finally look at my garmin. I have .25 miles left. I start running. Just running as hard as I can. A quarter of a mile is far.


It's really far.


I keep staring at a street light off in the distance. 


I know that I'm right on the edge of hitting my goal. But I don't care anymore. I'm going as hard as I can.


I swear to you....if I have to hold this pace for ONE MORE SECOND.....


I cross the finish line. 


My hands are shaking. 


I have to walk. Clock time showed that I missed my goal by a few seconds. But I don't know my chip time.


I grab some water. I need to walk. My heart rate is coming down. All I want to do is sit. I start walking to the car. I wanted to run into the woman that I talked to at the beginning of the race, but I couldn't find her. 


I still don't know my official results.


I don't know if I hit my goal. 


I know I PR'd, and it was a big one (30 seconds or so)


I know that I had nothing left to give. There was some part of me that came up from the depths that just wasn't going to give up today. 


5ks are short and painful. If you race them, REALLY painful. 


More than ever, I think I LIKE HOW IT FEELS.

That's what you think? Really?

For Turbo: I got my ass kicked. Period. 


********************************
Alot has happened over the past 4 months. I won't recap it all for you, but here's the important part. I gots ma-self a coach.


Yessirreeee. I finally pulled the trigger. Why did I do it? Actually, a number of reasons but number 1 was that I pretty much suck, and I haven't been getting any less sucky.


Now that, THAT is out of the way, I'll tell you a little story.


********************************


I was setting up my race schedule for 2012. Coach and I have now been working together since the first week in December. It's actually working. Shocking, right? Pass the control over to the expert and amazing things happen.


I'm already off on a tangent. 


We decide that since I am really going to focus on sprints this year that I'm going to do a number of them. A number as in 5 triathlons and numerous running races ranging from 5k-5 miles. 


That's a lot for me. My kids are older. Both are driving. I have more time now to dedicate to ME.


Damn tangents.


My first tri of the year will be June 1st. It's a Friday night, should be a lot of fun. I've never done this race, but it gets really good reviews. AND they do a happy hour of sorts post-race. 


I sez to coach: Let's make this my test race. I haven't done a sprint in years. I need to practice everything! I need to practice fast transitions. I need to learn how to go fast. I need to learn everything. Please, I'm a sponge. Teach me the ways, O wise One.


THEN


Something happened


I mention the race to my smart ass BFF.


A few minutes later, she sends me a picture of HER REGISTRATION FOR THE SAME RACE, SAME AGE GROUP.


bitch.


Let the trash talking begin.


Not by me, heck no. I'm not the fastest chicka on the course. No way.


BFF starts going on and on and on about how she is going to totally kick my ass.


And on the run, that is true.  I'll give her that.


Here's her reasoning:
1.) I'll beat her on the swim. (Tru dat homie)
2.) We're even on the bike (Really?)
3.) I'll make up the difference on the run. (Ummm ok)


Now, I like flying under the radar. 


And I'll listen to her trash talk.  (Mike and Jman and Googs have even volunteered to help me work on my own trash talking).


But here's what I'm thinking: I WILL BEAT HER. Here's MY reasoning:


1.) She can't touch my swim. I'll have at least 10 minutes. YES, 10 MINUTES on her.
2.) The bike. The bike. The bike. Awww heck. Do you KNOW how much time I've been spending on the bike? She thinks we're even. I sincerely doubt that. I think I can extend my lead on her on the bike. Coach has me doing more bike work than I have ever done in the winter.
3.) The run. Yea, she can beat me pretty easily. But can she make up say 15 or even 20 minutes on the run? Come on. She's fast, but she ain't THAT fast. 


I won't even mention that I've recently PR'd on the 5k....THREE TIMES in 2 months.


Nor will I mention that I'm posting my fastest bike speeds EVER.


Nor will I mention that I'm doing Master's swim meets and my swims are at the fastest they've ever been.


Nor will I mention that BFF doesn't have much history in the *training* department. ie: she tends to allow her natural ability to carry her through a race. Don't get me wrong, her natural running ability is pretty incredible.


I don't expect to place.


I don't expect to even be top 10. 


But this will certainly be an example of nature versus nurture.


Hard work versus natural ability. 


And, I am pretty confident that I'm going to get my own bright shiny new PR in the sprint distance.


All I can say, LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

Not going down without a fight

We are closing in on a month before TTTTD (The Turkey Trot Throw Down).


At dinner, Googs announced that he will now start training for this EPIC EVENT.


I cringe at the thought. I'm pretty much toast if he trains.


That's when he turned to me and asked, "What are you going to do if I beat you again."


I gave him that confused dog look and responded: I'll just train harder for next year. 


He says: But I would have beat you twice. What if I beat you by MORE this year.


I said: You might win. You might beat me by a large margin. But, you might not. I believe that I CAN win. And that little sliver of hope is why I'm not going to give up. That little sliver of hope is why no matter how many times you beat me, I'm going to keep training harder and keep coming back.


Googs chews on this for a minute. 


Then I continued: Besides, one of these days you're going to come back from college all fat and stuff.


That's what I'm really waiting for.

Act your age

My birthday is right around the corner. Next race season, I age up. 


Back when I was in my 20's and even 30's, I thought being in my 40's would feel ancient. That might have been because of the people that I knew who were in their 40's...well, they looked ancient, acted ancient and moved like they were already planning their path to the grave. 


I had no idea what to expect. I'd spent my entire life mostly eating right, indulging in my favorite gelato or cheesecake on those special occasions. I'd been active since high school doing everything from swimming, cycling, running, hiking, strength training, yoga, karate....I'm sure I'm leaving things out. 


The point is that I've always been doing those things, and I was really afraid of the day that I couldn't do them. 


I didn't want to be in my 40's and only see the sunrise from the glow of a tv screen.


But that's what I knew....that's who was around me when I was younger. 


Even now as I am looking at 44, I see other parents complaining about their bad joints or how hard it is to go up and down the stairs at the school. 


I want to yell at them: WAKE UP PEOPLE! 


I have friends who are 25 years older than me finishing Ironman. I have a friend 35 years older than me doing triathlons. There are woman 20 years older than me who leave me in the DUST at masters swim. I've been passed on the mountain by men and women who look like they are as old as the mountain. I know people in their 60's that move better than people half their age. 


They are the age groupers that I admire. They are who I plan on being. They are the people that I wished had been around me when I was younger. I didn't have any women athlete role models. Think about this, in the US, the 1992 high school graduating class, was roughly the first generation of girls that grew up under Title IX. That was 2 years before my Googs was born. 


Some of my friends are just starting an exercise program, some have been doing it a long time, but the important thing is that we are all redefining what it means to Act Your Age.


To all those people who complain about getting older or being tired or having bad joints, this one's for you.

The changing of the guard, not forever, just a little while

7 weeks ago, I had written off my race.


5 weeks ago, I started giving thought to next year's goals.


4 weeks ago, I started walking and running again.


3 weeks ago, I thought maybe I could walk 4 or 5 miles of the race then cut the course and quit. At least I would have started it.


2 weeks ago, I ran 8 miles and thought maybe I could run 8 miles then walk the rest.


1 week ago, I ran 8 miles and thought maybe I could run 13.1 miles really slowly....


Then, I thought "Why bother at all?"


I'm not a medal-bagger. I've run a lot of half marathons (closing in on a gazillion of them).


They hurt whether or not you are trained. Do I really want to run or walk 13.1 miles just to do it? 


I.don't.think.so.


Two days before the race I considered a few things:
1.) This was going to be my last half marathon for some time. I don't know how long, but I'm taking a vacation from anything longer than a 10k.
2.) This is my birthday race.
3.) Could I even finish? Isn't that a little bit overconfident? I hadn't even run more than 8 miles since July.


TWO DAYS before the race, and I didn't know if I was going to do it.


Then, I went to packet pick up. In the packet, there were two bumper stickers: one for the half and one for the full marathon. they read: I ROCKED 13.1/26.2 miles. 


I immediately thought to myself: NEWBIES.


Where did the excitement go? The half marathon used to be my favorite race. 


The day before the race, it snowed, alot. Not wanting to miss running in the first really cold snowy day, I went out. 


It was THIS race years ago that was done on 10/21 when a snowstorm hit. the conditions were almost identical to what I was running in. But that year, I ran the marathon. 


Many of you know this story, many of you REMEMBER my race report. I didn't train for the marathon. I ran 14 miles once, called it training and figured my fitness would carry me through.


Fitness and Mr. Tea meeting me at every mile from 18 on to give me warm, hats and mittens. 


Sort of weird isn't it? 


Almost identical conditions, yet back then, there was no doubt I was going to do the race. 


Once again, I turned to Mr. Tea: What do I do?


Mr Tea: I'm not giving anymore race advice. You can do a half marathon in your sleep, walking backwards & juggling baboons. You do whatever you want.


I hate that answer.








What's the harm? Just go do the race. You feel like you need to prove something don't you? Like you need to prove that you're not just going to wimp out, huh? 


Look, you're perfectly healthy now. I know you haven't run long. I know the 8 miles was a run/walk. I KNOW you didn't taper or anything, but....but


couldn't you just try it?


With that, I decided to do the race.


That's when the most remarkable thing happened.


I met someone doing her first half marathon. 


We ended up running it together.


I've never run a race with someone before.


Right from the start, her nerves/energy started to pour over to me. I remembered what it was like standing at the start of my first half marathon. At my first half, I was so nervous that i didn't eat breakfast (which I paid for later).


Fast foward....years later.....


We started running, and she took off like a bolt of lightning. I almost stopped in the middle of the street, with sheer shock.


Then, I saw her stop and put her hands on her hips. I ran up to her, and she said, "That was dumb."


I said: It's not dumb. I bet you got a sweet race picture.


From then on, we ran.


We had a plan:
Run to the aid stations. Walk through the aid stations.


When we can't make it to the aid stations, we'll run 3 songs and walk a minute.


When we can't do that, we'll walk one song, walk a minute.


When we can't do that, we'll walk the uphills and run the downhills.


But no matter what, we are going to finish this race.


And our evil little plan worked. 


We only walked aid stations until mile 8. At mile 8, there was supposed to be an aid station. She wanted to stop. I wanted to stop. I needed some water. We were still running. That's when I saw the aid station around mile 8.25. We decided to run to it.


At the aid station, we decided to walk for awhile: one song. We hit a turnaround marker at 8.5 and decided to run. Running was getting harder now. I think it was even harder for me than her. This was the furthest I'd run in awhile, but I was not going to stop.


Just then, I saw mile marker 9. We both wanted to take a break. I said, "We can make it to mile 9. When we get there, let's take as much of a break as we need."


Mile 9 has never seemed so far away. 


She said, "Why does this hurt so much more today?"


I said, "Because you are running really fast. You told me you wanted to beat 3:30. We're going to DESTROY 3:30. I bet we even beat 3:00.


After mile 9, it all became a blur. We talked less, ran more than you would have thought. 


But finally, we were down to Walk the uphills, run the downhills. 


As we closed in on the bridge, i told her to turn off her ipod. She said, "Why?"


I told her: You have to hear this. We are about a  half a mile from the finish, but you can already hear the crowd screaming for us. 


She instantly got tears in her eyes: a half a mile. I'm going to run it as hard as I can.


"Alright let's do it."


As we were running, passing people left and right, I realized that this was going to be my last half for some time, but it was her first. In so many ways that day, it was like the changing of the guard. 


I looked over at her as we were running. I could see the tears streaming down her face.


13.1 miles earlier, we were total strangers. 




Now, I couldn't hold back my own tears, for her




for me




for the changing of the guard.