This and That; Tit & Tat

You may have heard about it; I ran a race yesterday. You might even say--though I wasn't the first to coin the phrase--that I rocked 13.1 miles yesterday. Ladies and Germs, that's a whole half. And it only took me two hours, eight minutes, and forty-four seconds to finish. I once told roommate Michael that the worst part about running your second half marathon was that you had to do better than the first one! Which, I guess means, that if you drop 13-ish minutes off your first time (that's one whole minute per mile) you've accomplished that goal. That's nearly a 10% increase in efficiency folks...I'll take that any day.

There were quite a few improvements, overall, in my performance. My feet still hurt a bit after mile 8, but road conditions by-and-large were vastly better than San Francisco so it didn't cripple me. Plus Injini socks and a different set of Five-Finger shoes with slightly thicker soles. I appreciate significantly less foot agony.

Absolutely zero hydration issues--I went into the event pretty well prepped and imbibed at each of the water stations (except for the first one). I did take the strategy of walking briefly while I got my water--have you ever tried to drink out of a paper cup while running? Difficult, unless you're the sort who likes spillage. I actually avoided sports drinks for the race (more or less). I sucked down a gatorade prime 15 minutes before the race, and drank down a Gatorade G2 an hour or so afterwards, but otherwise it was all water.

I used a Clif Energy Gel at mile 6, and I felt it kick in around mile 7.5-8. I had intended to use a second one around mile 9-10, but I was still riding the high, and skipped it. It was a decision I regretted--I could've used that kick at miles 11 & 12. I hit a wall about mile 10.5, but I soldiered through it.

Best part of all, perhaps? As I was on the home stretch after mile marker 12, I said to myself, "Self, I can't imagine running a whole marathon and this only being the halfway point, but self, I could see myself running another one of these things." In San Francisco, I felt like death over-easy on that last mile and could barely bring myself to cross the finish line. When I crossed the finish line this time, I wasn't totally spent. I certainly didn't feel like running another 13 miles, but I didn't feel like collapsing. You can see it in the pictures: in San Francisco my 12 mile picture is one evil grimace of determination. In San Jose, I'm actually smiling!

After that wonderful, wonderful finish line, we (being Chris Focht and I) wandered around a bit, listening to Big Head Todd & the Monsters and eating oranges (Chris may or may not have enjoyed the free beer offered to age eligible runners) before heading home. We may or may not have stopped off for a Starbucks coffee before leaving. The walk back to the car was less fun--my feet definitely were tender at that point (the adrenaline and pain-killing endorphins having worn off). I was a little stiff after the drive home, but otherwise I haven't really felt the muscle soreness. My left foot hurts a bit, but that's not uncommon for me after a long run. It goes away after a day or so.

I really enjoyed this race a lot more than the last one. I'm sure the second one is always easier than the first--you know what to expect. In addition, this was much better organized than the Kaiser run in SF. There were live bands about every mile, which was cool for the first half of the race before the novelty wore off. You were really only in earshot of each band for about one song-ish, so it wasn't really much to take in and enjoy. They also had cheerleading groups all along the course cheering everyone on. I have to say I found that really encouraging. I like giving high 5's as encouragement, sort of my thing. It was good to run down a line of high 5's. Silly, maybe. Like running 13 miles isn't.

Plus they gave us a medal at the end of this one. You best believe I wore that at work today.

I guess this means I'm going to have to do another race. I'll worry about that at a time that's not this week. Probably.

I haven't worked on my book for awhile. I'll start again tomorrow night. Without the pressing need to train for the half, the schedule should be a little bit easier to slide back into. Also, no more interruptions planned for awhile.

I decided to postpone finishing The Savage Detectives. It's well written, but it's an excruciatingly slow read for me and I need to be reading more, and faster pace. So I picked up The Drowning Pool by Ross MacDonald. More up my alley, anyways.

So, in an unusual turn of events, this blog post is a double-day coverage. We had a bit of Monday, a bit of Tuesday. I worked on the book a little tonight. A very little. But i'm starting somewhere. I'll be back.

Things I Did Today-ish:

• Had a staring contest with a Praying Mantis
• Declared war on Desmond, the mouse who has invaded my store
• Framed my Completion Certificate & Medal of the Half (with my bib & timing chip)
• Wrote a few small words on the novel
• Happy Birthday Stephanie! I ate a piece of pie on your behalf today.
  

Music of the Day:

• Count Basie (Exposure)

New Recreational Reading for the Time Being:

• The Drowning Pool by Ross MacDonald

Weekend Haul from Half Price Books (the only bookstore in Fremont):

• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
• Trouble is My Business by Raymond Chandler
• Count Basie (Exposure)
• Castle Season 3 (ok, that was actually from Target)

Real Life Everyday Quote from the Life of Nate Which May or May Not Prove He Lives in an Odd Fantasy World:

• "His name is Desmond and he is our enemy. He will rue the day he invaded my store! RUE!"