Running Perspective

Running Perspective

Erin and I ran the ‘Hottest Half’ this weekend. I made some observations along the route—my first half marathon. Hopefully this will help us as we get into gear for RAGNAR!

1- Not enough people wear enough deodorant. It was painfully obvious when people were smelly (and I am talking POTENT!) before the mile 1 sign!

2- Sweaty and drippy—these are the people to avoid! No, these aren’t the folks who are dousing themselves with water. These are the folks who just look like they have. I don’t know which is worse—the port-o-potty or having the run close to those dripping onto you. Yuk.

3- Water is the key. It will be warm on our run, so we have to make sure we stay hydrated. We could all invest in those cool ‘fuel belts’ because they really make you look like you know what you are doing; or the new fandangled water bottles that mold to your hand and don’t slip out. Another reason to go shopping?

4- Gadgets make you look cool. I usually chose my ‘pace person’ by their gadgets and/or outfit. Erin is especially knowledgeable in this area, as she has most of the gadgets. (Ask her about the ‘gutter’—it is sure to get some laughs!) And, she has all coordinating outfits.

5- Friends make it bearable. I had a rough, real rough, first half. There was such a comfort on the back stretch when Erin pulled up beside me to guide me the last part of the race. I truly couldn’t have done it without her support. THANK YOU! It gets me excited to have a van full of cheerleaders to get us through the rough patches.

6- Don’t worry about the competition. I kept looking around at others thinking: why are they passing me? I learned to get over myself real quickly and just focus on the task at hand: finishing the commitment I had made. It’s OK if granny zooms past you; she’s probably been doing this since they invented marathons. Just do what you can do!

7- The Olympics are over; we have 4 more years before we have to see people who can run circles around us on TV. Let’s be proud of our accomplishments in finishing together—and then we can go buy ourselves something ‘metal’ to reward ourselves!

Well, those are my observations so far. I look forward to running with y’all! And, I promise to wear copious amounts of deodorant-ha!