Half Marathon: Torrential Success (2:38:36/12:06 Pace)

I rocked it today at my first Half Marathon! It was magic. The conditions at the race were abysmal (47 degrees, heavy rain and wind – out of 10,000 signed up for the race, only 60% showed) but I found the source of my power out there in the elements.

From the minute I crossed the start line I was zoned in and focused. It was as if I were the coxswain, perched slightly above myself, watching the pacing and making directional adjustments as needed. How’s my breathing? How’s my posture? How’s my stride? Can we go faster? Then let’s go faster... Good girl. Do not stop. It’s worse when you stop. Are you really that cold? I didn’t think so. (It was so cold I literally wore a white plastic garbage bag over me for ¾ of the race!) You know what you are doing. Get into the motion. Enjoy the music… Do not stop. Keep your eyes down and look at those glistening puddles shining up at you from tar worlds below. Pretty, no? This is your Park. I said, do not stop. Go!

I was compassionate, smart and determined, and then when it got tough, I was unrelenting. In the end, I beat my targeted time by over 4 minutes (targeted 2:43:00/12:27 pace) and finished strong.

I’ve been waiting nearly 6 months to be able to tell you I understand why people love to run. Today’s the day. My moment’s right now; because I have become one of them. I loved running that race today. I love to run... and I don't ever want to stop. There's so much ahead to learn and see and do. And here I am, at a total loss for words to describe why. It’s just not what I expected. It’s better. And I sort of understand now why nobody has been able to explain it to me. It’s kind of unexplainable.

I do want to say a few thank yous. I had a big group of supporters who saw me through the race today. First the friends who braved the elements even though I told them not to! Sarah H. met me at 7:30 AM in the pouring rain and freezing cold to send me off, and then waited along the finish line to watch me cross. Jolynn and Rob stood on East 86th Street, and Jill on West 86th Street, to cheer me on, and then also met me at the finish. And finally, Amy and Alex came to watch me finish; and all seven of us went out for brunch afterwards to the official post-race hangout... Le Pain Quotidien.

Thanks to Jaime for her nutrition advice that has taught me a new way to fuel – both in training and on race day. She's turning my thinking up side down. I owe my 4+ minute gain to Jaime because I ran today on literally 2 hours of sleep, with a head cold; but my energy was never higher! Radical.

Then there were all the calls and texts and IMs and emails before and after… from my other friends, my colleagues, members of my intenSati Creativity Workshop, all excited for me and believing in me. Even my mother, who never remembers anything at all ever about my life, called in the afternoon to see how it had gone.

If I weren’t so tired right now, I might actually be embarrassed by all the attention! But I am ridiculously tired. I went to try to write this at 3pm today and ended up falling asleep for two hours snuggled into the warmth of my laptop! Right now, I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m going to sign off for now, content about the race, and excited to have found an elusive seat at the table...

Photo Credit: Rob Jaekel "Michelle running in a plastic trash bag, at East 86th Street, at approximately mile 8."