We went out to the bar and I got hit on by this wookie that I think is super hot, seriously he is fine (I see him all around). SO that felt really good but I knew I couldn't drink too much so we left and tried to get some dancing in, but the bouncers carried 3 loud obnoxious drunk ladies out of the bar and literally threw them through the door! So I was outta there, I did not want to get stepped on by these girls who were pretty large and pretty hammered. So we headed home, ate some hummus and crashed. It was 10:30 pm. I woke up to the alarm at 5:45, got on my running duds and jumped in the Toyota munching almonds and drinking coffee.
The ride up was pleasant. Once the sun came up, the colors of the deciduous trees were gorgeous. Perhaps up north did not get as much rain as us the previous day because in southern NH we barely had leaves left.
It was gusty when we arrived. I accidentally grabbed the wrong headphones, one earbud was a little rattly in my ear. I had Cypress Hill "I Ain't goin out like that" on repeat. It reminded me to keep it tempo and easy for the first third of the race (my dad and I devised a plan the day before so I organized the race in thirds).
I was pretty happy and not nervous. I was looking at the other runners. They were looking at me, probably because the dreads were poking out and bouncing around and it might be funny for some, who knows.
The leaves were blowing hard out of this tree in front of the hotel. I told Curtis that it was likely that by the time I finished the race there may not be one leaf left in that tree. They were coming off and flying off, they were not hitting the ground in that special way that only leaves can.
The lining up was pretty casual. I wasn't exactly sure where the actual start was but I noticed people in running clothes facing a general direction. So I got my photo snapped while I was lined up. Funny those two men looking at me. I think they are digging those candy skull bracelets I'm wearing on my right wrist. I mean for $ .99 you can get pure maltodextrin pills on an attractive trendy accessory. I was proud of myself for this. And a cute girl next to me loved them and as long as she thought I was dope, then all was right.
So I was munching on the pills and the same cute girl, who was standing with her especially cute boyfriend (who sadly wasn't running), asked me if I was wearing headphones. And since I was, and while this seemed obvious because of the white buds in my ears and the miles of cable across my chest and the simply fabulous pink ipod affixed to my upper arm THAT didn't really require a response except that perhaps for once I was feeling super polite and stoked that she dug my bracelets so I said that indeed, "Yes." I was wearing headphones.
And so the man who was in charge of getting this thing going started to say that he was just going to say "Ready, set, go!" and that at which point we are to start running up the street. And the same girl says to me, "Do you know if we're allowed to wear headphones because I'm going to wear them too and I just didn't know if you knew for sure...." so I glance over at her now feeling about 30% less polite than I did about 13 seconds earlier and and her boyfriend says to her, "You know, that's okay, just wear your headphones." So I take another bite of my malto pills and hear "Ready, set, go!"
And just like in the Lore of Running, I take three normal steps, next I take a regular running stride followed by one that is steady and easy and another and then I find myself immediately at an 8:10 pace and passing all kinds of people. I was on the outside of this pack that seemed to be about 15 folks wide. Then it narrowed down to 2 or three quickly and we were off. I breathed deeply through my nose, passed over the river and was quickly at the mile one marker with a time of 8:12. Right on target.
Next marker I found myself at was mile 5. HOLY SHIT! The first third of the race and then some was over and I needed to do what dad and I talked about, he wanted me to hit a 7:30 till mile 9. ummm...sorry dad.
I ran with a guy for a couple of miles. This was distracting. I got passed by men. Several times I got passed by guys who were wearing aftershave. NOT COOL! I am serious, do you really think you need to douse yourself with this crap because you may meet the girl of your dreams and you don't want to smell like you've been at the gym for 2 hours? I won't tell you that these guys didn't look good running in front of me, that's not the point, I actually gagged on their horribly over-manufactured poor excuse for pheromones which triggered only one single natural response in me and that was the desire to hurl directly on their Asics.
Let me say something about the course real quick so you can follow what happens next. It's shaped like a Dum-Dum. You know those meager yet oddly complexly flavored lolli's that have a stick that seems not to scale with the thing, well that is a simplified visual for the course.
You go down the stick, you go around the small dum-dum and you come back up the stick, pretty simple.
Well, just as I got to the dum-dum, I saw the lead guy coming out of the dum-dum and heading back home down the stick to the finish. Then there was this handsome kid about twenty seconds behind him, that's the second place runner! I thought to myself, and I got all giddy and hollered, Pour it on! Pour it on! and he ended up winning, btw. :)
So around the loop I went and there was a sign that said half-way mark. Holy crap. I seriously could have crawled into someone's car right then and there. There was something super mental for me about hitting that loop, and having been informed of the fact that I was going to have to forge my way back up that SAME exact route for almost 7 more miles(?)!
About the time I completed that thought, I had also completed the turn and now heading in a Northerly direction, the windy Northerly direction (no seriously, I mean it) BOOM! There was the wind!!! You know, that wind that I saw at the start but thought no more about? The wind was to my back for the first half and I didn't even register it. It flew by and I could tell because mile one was perfect and up to mile five was effortless and now this... It immediately felt like I was pushing Levi in a jogger.
I stayed intent on focusing on my stride and on my posture but I knew that the mental shit was already in full swing because of that person's mini van and the cushioned captain's chair and climate control and the overall comfortable ride/performance it promised and probably guaranteed, even if it were just a Ford.
Mile 9, the one I had big plans for? the one that dad said, if you have anything left, this is the time to use it up. Right now. It's mile 9. So my mind went somewhere else. I imagined faces of people who I thought maybe would inspire me or would be proud or would smile spontaneously or maybe would nod in that like knowingly kind of way. And then I thought of that wookie and how sexy he is. And then I thought about hell and how maybe I would like to sometime slice off my quads and seer them in the firey pits till the juices run clear.
And then, when I saw that dude run by me on the tar with the bare feet, I turned around and me and this guy I just passed laughed together and then I said to the barefoot dude "You, my dear, are an animal". And so we all laughed for a second while the barefooted dude whizzed by like a a hungry gazelle in his prime, yeah, hahaha. Byeeeeee. Now where was I?
Oh yeah, hell.
Okay so I realized that I had a half eaten GU in my right hand since like mile 7 and that I had been tugging it like it was a single ounce of a fine scotch. My mouth was sticky and the malto pills were melting against my skin so I thought it was cool that I was absorbing some calories through my skin and that made me laugh.
And then there he is! oh my god! Where you been! There is that woman's husband again. I've seen him about every mile, since the thing began, dutifully cheering her on like a faithful friend offering sips of this and that and a variety of clif bloks, whatever she needed, especially a brief applause and some words of super genuine encouragement.
Except for the treats, I began to rely on him. I started to look for him and would pull an ear bud out so I could re-up on his good vibes. He was handsome, too. She didn't beat me even though she looked so evenly paced and so dialed in. I ran directly on her right heel from 9 through mile 11.5 and then I never saw her again.
Then I wanted my inhaler. This happened to me last fall too with the seasonal change, not sure what it is about that. But then that didn't end up being too serious. The quads though...there I was back to my visualization.
Why are half marathons 13.1 miles? Why does this seem longer than other longer runs I've done? Is this really 13 miles? Is there someone I can talk to about the methods they use for determining distance? Where's the manager? Do you know who's in charge here?
Okay, Soulfly. I am struggling here.
Another male runner passes he says something and it seemed nice but I can't hear very well but but I detect a pleasant tone and for a moment I imagine he was supportive. I'm over the bridge around the corner. Okay, Trey, OMG I have Phish tickets! I turn and see people. I see an arm go up and I hear "Here comes # 315 from Lee, NH Sarah Eaton, this is Sarah Eaton 38 years old from Lee, nh .....WAIT, TELL ME THAT DUDE DID NOT JUST ANNOUNCE MY AGE?????
And like that, I was done.
Number 122 overall. Finished 4th out of 20 in my division.
Sarah Eaton ran 13.1 miles PACE 8.23 SOTD Around the World (Daft Punk)-->Push on
Till The Day (Trey Anastasio)
I am planning on running a 5k this saturday in Exeter. We shall see.
No comments:
Post a Comment