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mlewis73
Water Boy
Joined: 23 Nov 2003
Posts: 89
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 Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 8:42 am Post subject: Yeehaw!! |
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Ran my first half marathon this morning! Have been laid off with knee surgery/tendinitis from early September till last week when the doc cleared me to start running again. Didn't know if I'd finish, so I guess I had something to prove. 1:44 on an easy run--and this is just the seventh time I've run since knee surgery 4 months ago.
I'm liking this.
Enough 'bout me, tho'. Here's what I really wanted to say, because it really did surprise me. This is the first time I have ever run in an organized event, and I didn't know what to expect.
I woke up today and just decided to do the run. Showed up at the museum where the run started, took the key out of the ignition and sat there wondering what I was getting myself into. Got nervous after thinking about being left in the dust and put the key back in the ignition to come back home. Just at that instant, I saw a big 'ol fella wearing a race number. THAT made up my mind to at least give it a shot.
My preconception was that other runners were all over-competitive (insert favorite slang descriptor here). These folks were the most amazing people I've ever met. There were 2 or 3 guys running who had done a marathon in each of the 50 states. Old guys, young kids, everyone.
Folks were friendly, and could really put a fellow at ease. Several were nursing injuries, including one lady who had Achilles tendon surgery in October.
Met up with a young lady who'd run marathons and halves in the past and she was a great help to me. Stayed with her the whole race and she finished in the awards for her age group.
Point is: this event really put me at ease, and I'm going to have to keep doing these half marathons.
Cool....  |
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Micah Ward
Olympic Medalist
Joined: 08 May 2000
Posts: 2152
Location: Hot&humid, GA
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| Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 10:11 am Post subject: |
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Welcome to the world of road racing! The beauty of this sport is that you can be as hyper competitive as you want or as laid back as you want. Or any where in between that feels comfortable. That is a good time for a first half marathon. 
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mlewis73
Water Boy
Joined: 23 Nov 2003
Posts: 89
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| Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Micah Ward wrote: | | Welcome to the world of road racing! The beauty of this sport is that you can be as hyper competitive as you want or as laid back as you want. Or any where in between that feels comfortable. That is a good time for a first half marathon. |
Thanks! Yeah, that time's not too shabby considering my recent lack of running. Easy run. It really was kind of fun to just go run with the crowd with no expectations or PR to beat. 
I was only 10 minutes out of the awards for my age group, so suspect that it will be possible to get that 1 hr 34 minutes with some training. That's less than a minute faster per mile, and I was with some 9:30 minute milers the first 1.5 miles and ran a pace where I could comfortably talk the rest of the run.
Big difference between this and high school track/bicycle racing. I like it! |
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Paul
Olympic Medalist
Joined: 28 Apr 2002
Posts: 1610
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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I really applaud your time, especially considering the lack of running you've been able to do since surgery. Sub 8 min miles for a Half is excellent.
Micah is exactly right about Road Racing. Even the highly competitive people are friendly. Plus it works as a motivator during the winter months to get you out on the roads.
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Paul
"Gaunt is Beautiful" Cassidy's T-shirt |
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mlewis73
Water Boy
Joined: 23 Nov 2003
Posts: 89
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| Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2004 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Paul wrote: | I really applaud your time, especially considering the lack of running you've been able to do since surgery. Sub 8 min miles for a Half is excellent.
Micah is exactly right about Road Racing. Even the highly competitive people are friendly. Plus it works as a motivator during the winter months to get you out on the roads. |
Wow. Is that sub 8 minutes/mile? Egads--we musta been going a bit faster than I thought--the first mile was at a 9+ minute pace. |
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