I really did not want to do this race. REALLY did not want to. What I looked forward to most was the distraction of a weekend race…as well as In-n-Out.
I was really just going through the motions of the race weekend. It was nice to see all of my friends again, who wanted to lend an ear even when I wasn’t up for sharing any details. I eventually opened up, and strangely enough I did feel a little better.
I felt pretty numb during the race. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about slogging through 13.1 miles. I was very demotivated. I did set one personal goal for myself for this race: to shake loose my last clot. Turns out, running a half marathon will certainly do that (for me).
There were the usual suspects during this race…the endless neighborhood bars of Normal Heights, lots of spectators, spectacular weather, the running juggler.
I’m just sad that I wasn’t able to enjoy it as much as I could’ve. I had planned on donning a ‘Running for Two’ shirt for this race, but I guess I will have to hold off on that until next time. At some point, the guys from Team in Training were giving high fives and telling me that I could do it. It was helpful to hear, especially at a time when I didn’t feel like I could do anything right. It hit a nerve with me and I began crying, something that I had never done at a race (from joy or despair). I tried to shrug it off and slog it out to the finish line.
My medal and finish were bittersweet. I didn’t feel particularly celebratory, but a race finish is a finish.
There was also a valiant effort to cheer me up with ramen, which kind of helped. It was a nice post-race dinner.
Amara in Training 