Word Perv

Without a doubt, running has become an integral part of my life. Once I began training for the Marine Corps Marathon in mid-2007, my love affair with running was reignited and it has not faultered since.

On Saturday I ran the National Half Marathon in Washington, DC and did something amazing: I set a personal record. When I ran the MCM I hit the halfway mark (13.1 miles) at 2:06:22 (2 hours, 6 minutes, and 22 seconds for those unfamiliar with reading race times). When I singed up for the National Half, I set a goal of completing it in under 2 hours.

I trained for this race mostly on my own. My first running partner and I stopped running together due to some scheduling conflicts; and I managed to squeeze in only one training run with a coworker the week prior to the race. But mostly I was on my own, which makes it difficult for me to increase my pace when there’s no one there to push me.

Race morning was cold, in the low 40s. At the start line I couldn’t find either of the two people who I knew were also running the race, so I knew I would have to find a stranger to pace with in order to keep myself on track.

The gun went off and the crowd surged forward. I picked a lean guy in front of me and stuck with him for the first 1.5 miles. Then I realized he was pacing at around an 8-minute mile and I wasn’t sure I could maintain that for the whole race so I had to find someone else.

That someone else turned out to be a kind woman who was beeping as I ran along beside her. She held in her hand, an audible pace-keeper that beeped and kept her on pace. I asked what she was running at and she said it was a sub-9 minute mile and I asked if she minded if I paced with her. She said she didn’t mind at all and away we went. We stayed together for over half the race. Around mile 7 I reached into my pocket to get my GU energy gel and struggled with the zipper (my fingers were a bit numb and uncoordinated from the cold). Slowing to a quick walk I got it out, but she had pressed on. For the next 4 miles I kept her in my sights as I stayed about 20 yards behind her. Around mile 11 I stopped watching her and focused on my own pace, pushing myself a little, ignoring the blisters I could feel on my toes. (I knew this race would be the last my wonderful shoes would see. They have been used and abused, but it was too close to the race to switch to a new pair.)

Turning the last corner I surged forward, increasing speed and crossing the finish line with my arms in the air. I knew I had met my goal and I was quite sure I had beaten by at least a couple of minutes.

When I went online to get my official race time I was astounded. I had completed the half-marathon, a 13.1 mile race, in 1:52:10, nearly 8 minutes under my goal of running a 2-hour race. Even more amazing was the fact that I maintained a 8.34-minute mile pace throughout the entire race. For someone who paces comfortably at a 10-minute mile, this is incredibly fast. I even came in 94th out of 396 for my division, which isn’t too shabby.

So not only did I complete this race under my goal, but I set a new PR for myself. It feels great, these legs feel great. I am a runner. Through and through.