The Hills are Alive With the Sound of...

Runners. Thousands of them. There were occasional cheers, clapping, shouts, bells and yells from bystanders, but mostly it was the sound of thousands of rubber soles gently and rhythmically drumming the pavement that was deafening and no competition for my ipod. It struck me several times throughout the race as oddly beautiful. We were all there for different reasons, but all had something in common. Two things, actually- running and a "goal", whatever that might be. You could argue that we were all glutton for punishment for running a notoriously hilly course, but regardless, we were all there because we were trying to achieve something. That's when I realized that running is a labor of love and that I could say that I really was enjoying myself. The view wasn't so bad either.

Ironically, it was those same foot-drumming-partners-in-running that ended up causing me the most frustration. It's normal to start a race as a swarm of people, each starting strong and vigorous, with a sense of excitement in the air. I expected that...for the first couple miles. But it never really seemed to loosen up. Much of my time and energy were spent dodging and dancing around other runners (especially on the hills), trying to find a path and some space to find a comfortable cadence that I could maintain. I'm not sure that ever happened. So while I was much more prepared mentally and physically this time around for the distance, I had not anticipated that major distraction. But, at the end of the day, it's not about what happened around me...it's about what happened within me. I didn't get discouraged, I didn't let the monstrous hill intimidate me, I didn't doubt that I could finish and I didn't give up. I trained hard, stayed positive and ran to the best of my ability, and in my mind, that makes me victorious. I've said it many times over...the journey is the reward; the medal is just the reminder.

My stats:
gun time: 2:05:56
chip time: 2:03:04
official pace: 9:24
gps calculation (factoring in additional .35 mile covered due to weaving): 9:09 pace with an adjusted finish time of 1:59:52