A Child and Five Years Later.

Oh, to be young and sprightly again!

About an hour ago, I got home from the 20 mile race and googled my previous time. I ran this race about five years ago, and haven't done it since then. In my mind, I was thinking that I was pretty close to running the same that I did five years ago. Ha. It seems that I am, sadly, mistaken. Five years ago, I ran this race about eight minutes faster. Ummm...."HELLO, KATE!!" That's a lot faster!

Don't you worry, I do have my excuses. Here's a "CONDENSED" list of my excuses, in no particular order:

1. I have a child. A sweet, beautiful, happy, healthy little boy. : )
2. A man (a fellow runner) yelled at me about a mile and a half into the race because I was wearing "EARPHONES." He was rude. I was rattled.
3. Just in case I wasn't aware of the rule, a woman ( a fellow runner) then yelled at me...because I was wearing "EARPHONES". She was also rude. I was rattled, again.
4. My necklace got caught in the blasted earphones, which I put around my neck so that I didn't offend anyone else. I had to stop. Rip the necklace from the earphones and then carry on.
5. Josh has all this "grunge" music on the Ipod. I can't stand it, so I stopped AGAIN to change the playlist.
6. My shoes are old, I bought them in May. That's a lot of miles...way too many miles, in fact, for a pair of running shoes.
7. My feet, especially my nails are now throbbing.
8. I didn't look up my previous time, so I just gave myself a three hour time limit. (Hey, it worked..)
9. I got up at four, which is my new wake up time these days.
10. And, well...I'm a little bit older, more mature, and so on...

Actually, despite my whining, I am very happy with the race. My legs feel good. I really felt strong the second half the race and I did what I set out to do; which was to run 20 miles in less than three hours. How could I possibly be disappointed with the eight minute time differential? This was a fantastic way to prepare for the marathon, it's so important to practice focusing on running a long distance before race day. I prefer the chunking method myself. I like to break the course up in quarters. I seriously doubt my marathon time will be eight minutes slower this year, so I'm really not concerned. I was right on target, for my marathon pace. No worries. : )

As for the blasted Ipod, there was a "RULE" that EARPHONES! were not allowed today. And, in my defense, it's a well known fact that this rule exists FOR EVERY RACE. So that, in the event of a bike or a car mowing you over; a lawsuit is not involved. Like I would sue someone for MY negligence. After I was chastised by my fellow runners, I thought to myself; I should have said, "Peace be with you." That's what I would have been saying at that point in time if I was at home.

Today's run was really wonderful, honestly. Ignore the moaning and groaning. I am always filled with a sense of gratitude for my health and for having the opportunity to share this experience with such dear friends.

And, now, please give yourself a pat on the back for reading this novel of a blog entry! I hope you weren't bored with all this rambling about running. Michael B stories will resume shortly!