Mood: Sunny
Drinking: Tea
13.1 miles?
Pffft. Piece of cake!
I ran my 13.1 on Sunday the 13th in Phoenix, AZ and had a fabulous time doing so, thanks to my running buddies Roy & Michael.
Since it was my first half marathon ever, as well as my first visit to the sprawling, sunbaked metropolis of Phoenix, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
All the unsolicited advice I received before the event went something like this: “Your goal should just be to finish. Don’t worry about how long it takes you.”
Which is all very reasonable. But I am an overachiever, so I set a time goal for myself.
I wanted to finish in under 3 hours. Quite realistic, I thought.
As it turns out, I was right. My official finish line time was 2:55:22.
And that’s even with the unscheduled run into McDonald’s for a bathroom break at mile 1.5. Hey — standing around for 2 hours waiting to start whilst drinking a bottle of water will put a girl in an emergency situation.
So in spite of the unexpected wait in said McDonald’s bathroom (I wasn’t the only girl on the course with the brilliant idea of peeing in a fast-food joint instead of standing in line at a porta-potty), in spite of the southwest sun and the warmer climate, I still met my time goal. So I’m rather pleased with myself.
Plus, a few last-minute donors cranked my fundraising total up to nearly $4,500 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which kicks ass.
All in all, it’s been lovely. I highly recommend both Team in Training and running a half marathon with good friends.
As a bonus, I got to take a little side trip into the Superstition Wilderness and wander around the beautiful desert. As you can see, Boy took the opportunity to photograph me, my shiny new Marathon Medal, and a friendly Saguaro Cactus while we were there.
And since I was lucky enough to have my cinepoem partner, Michelle, with me, we shot a new cinepoem out in the desert while we were at it. So that’s two new cinepoems in the can: Yellow, which was shot over Thanksgiving in the central valley of California, and our very first poem with cacti cameos, Strange. I’m not sure which one of those will hit the Internet first. You’ll have to stay tuned…
Meanwhile, I’m happy to be back in foggier climes, and so is LeeLoo, who is NOT a fan of the desert. Too many prickly things that get stuck in tender paws.
I’m going to sign off with a few shout outs to deserving parties:
* Roy & Michael, who are both more experienced runners than I, but stayed with me every step of the 13.1, just because they’re that awesome
* Chris & Shel, who drove there and back and toted camera equipment way out into the wilderness, and also made such lovely cheering signs to hold up for us along the race course. (Including a special “Run Lola Run” sign from my pal Eric.)
* Boy, who took a thousand photos and was staunchly supportive and makes everything better just by being there.
* Kathy, Lani, and Allegra, who sent me voice and text messages on race day that made me run that much faster.
* All my Team in Training coaches and pals who helped me learn how to run mile after mile after mile.
* All of you who donated to the cause and sent words of encouragement along the way.
You rock my socks right off. Thank you for everything!
-Lo, who starts running again on Monday.
LaDonnaWitmer 