It sure feels good to be on the other side of both the Auction and the half marathon. The run went well - much better than last year at the same event, which was the first time I tried a half-marathon. The last 3 miles weren't torture, I didn't have to walk at all, and I have no blisters or sore marks from clothes rubbing, as I have had in the past. Buying new, appropriate clothing paid off, as did the training. I trimmed four or five minutes off of my time from previous halfs, but it felt like more somehow.
Because there were over 4,000 people running this race, I didn't even pass the Start line until a minute after the official start, so I think in the end, my pace was about 11.5 minutes per mile. This is slow - about 90% of the people there ran faster than that, and the finishing runners did about 5 minutes per mile. Heck, they could have run the race and then had a latte and gourmet breakfast, played a thoughtful game of chess and napped before I made it to the finish line. But the whole race, I told myself I was only running to run, not to beat anyone - not really to even beat my old time - and that my goal was to run strong. Phew! It's over, and it feels like I succeeded in what I set out to do.
It's also such a beautiful course. Really gorgeous, and mostly downhill: through Golden Gate park surrounded by redwoods and eucalyptus, past beautiful gardens, the Tea House, and even a field of bison (much to my surprise), and then about 2.5 miles along the Pacific Ocean, beyond the pump station and almost to the zoo, and another 2.5 miles back and finally up the only real hill of the course, which I pounded up and passed people on to have a strong finish. Last year, it rained the whole time. This year, it was so beautiful, I would have gone to the beach and still been warm. I tried to just enjoy my surroundings, and told myself that it was going like a walk through the park - only slightly faster and for a long time. Actually, with my pace, it is only slightly faster than a walk!
I made it to a very short BIC time at the cafe with Julia, then just hung out for the afternoon, resting a little on the couch with a sleepy S before going out to the pet store for everything from millet and vitamins for the bird, to a salt lick for Beatrice the rat and a toothbrush for Albion the dog.
Yummy dinner of Chinese food, more water (I've been drinking all day), and bedtime for the girls & me. I was too sleepy to stay up past 8, but once again, I got up only to blog. Now back to bed!
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