Oh yeah – love is in the air

The AirBnB BK Half Marathon is complete, done, finished.

It was hard – from the first mile to the last. Every step felt tortuous, I never warmed up, it rained, actually poured the first 2 miles and if it wasn’t for my friends running with me and my lovely spouse and friends cheering for me along the route, I’m not sure what I would have done.

So to them go all the props!

Missing from this picture is L. who whoohoo’d, every mile, checked in with each of us, made sure we drank water and gatorade, ate food, and also made sure the other runners around us were also okay!  She flirted with race officials and cops, as well as running ahead and getting the crowd to cheer for us. And most impressively she danced her way to the finish line. She made me laugh, dance for just a moment, and made me wonder, why I doubted myself. She reminded me how well I trained, how prepared I was, how more than anything I deserved to believe in myself. She was in a word, magnificant.

O, pictured in the middle is wonderful. She gave me room to feel all my feelings, she’s really good at honoring people and their journeys. Training with her always grounds me. She reminds me that morning grumpiness is always acceptable and that I am better than I think I am. And she got me to do sprints!

M, on the far left is my ace!  We met almost every week, sometimes twice a week to get in our training runs. We laughed, gossiped and complained about running while we ran. She ran the whole race with a smile on her face, the whole darn race. She was a few steps in front of me as we crossed the finished line and she did what she has always done, she turned back to make sure I was by her side.

If you don’t have one, I recommend getting your own cheering squad. My best friend, on the far left, has been to almost every race I’ve run. She flew to San Franscisco to cheer me on in my first marathon, 11 years ago! This time around she asked for the date and made sure she was there. She’s always there. She is family.

L, second from the right is sweet and kind and a brillant artist (she’ll hate that I said that, but she is) and has become a part of our inner circle. Whenever we plan something big or small we can’t imagine the event happening without her presence. She’s made that extremely difficult for us these days, since she’s not as close as she used to be.

BT, on the far right is a confidant, best friend, trusted advisor and very much part of our family. She is always looking out for me, for us. Her heart is big and I’m glad I’ve got a piece of it.

And that lovely lady, K, second from the left is EVERYTHING. She takes care of me, loves me, and in general doesn’t take me at all seriously. She was both my cheering squad and coach. She made sure I ate and slept well.  She made sure I didn’t miss my runs, and stretched. No matter how tired, cranky she might have been – she always asked how my run was and listened.

I’m sure I’ve embrassed them sufficiently. I love them and want everyone to know it!

My finisher’s medal belongs them.

Running While Fat

Running is hard.

Running while fat is an adventure in difficult.

Weeks 2 and 3 of my training were tough.  I was plagued with doubts.

I was reminded by both my partner and best friend that I ran several half marathons and a marathon weighing more than I weigh now.

It was good to be reminded of those accomplishments.

But really, I just want running to get easier, if only just a little.  Who am  I  kidding, I want it to get a lot easier.  I want it to be easy! I’ve been  putting  in the miles, yet each step felt like I was dragging a boulder  behind  me.

At the tail end of Week 3 I met my running buddy Michelle and together  we did our long run, 5 miles, together.  What a relief.  Some parts were  easier and some parts, like going up hills, were still hard.

For all of my previous races I’ve trained part of the time with friends, with  a community  of runners.  I’m coordinating my schedule to meet with  friends for at least one run a week.

Michelle and I managed to laugh  about the craziness of choosing such a long distance to train for to get back into running!

I’m working on my mental game as well.  There have been a few times where I’ve talked myself into walking when I should been, could have been running.

Week 4 is turning out okay.  I’ve logged in two runs and felt good about both.  I’ve still got a ways to go, but step by step I’ll get were I’m going.