Racing in the Rain

I have been training for a half marathon with my friend Cristine for the past 8 weeks. This is basically the shortest possible time you can reasonably expect to train for running 20K and still have a good chance at successfully finishing. It's not that I like to live on the edge or anything, I just don't really like running more than 3 miles or so as a general rule. It's boring is the main issue, that and the fact that runs over 45 minutes basically don't fit into the hectic kids-work-life schedule these days. But Cristine talked me into it, and she said we had "plenty of time" (i.e. the minimum 8 wks) so off we went.

Ages ago (more than a decade, anyway) I ran a full marathon in Vancouver, also with a bunch of good friends. I loved the training runs, even the long ones, waking up at the crack of dawn on weekend mornings to run some ungodly number of miles in the fog and drizzle while chatting along with friends, and then going out afterwards for a delicious brunch and a Caesar (like a bloody mary made with Clamato juice- don't knock it til you've tried it...they are amazing when you need to replenish your salt!). But when the marathon itself arrived, oh GOD. It was not fun for me. I don't know if I didn't pace myself or what happened... I did finish, but the last 10K or so was pure agony. That pretty much had cured me of long distance running for, well, over a decade.

Cristine, Molly and Aiden at Flatbread in Portsmouth- carbing up before race day!

But as anyone who does any endurance sport will tell you, completing the event is more a mental challenge than a physical one. Knowing I did once run 40 kilometers meant that I was pretty sure I could do half that, even a decade and two babies later. The surprise was that it was really fun this time. EVEN in the freezing, downpouring rain and wind that we ended up with on race day. The Smuttynose Half Marathon is on the seacoast, blessedly flat with many miles running along Hampton Beach, and though the conditions were less than ideal and our cheering squad (Andy, Mike, Molly, Aiden and Haley) had to return to New London (driving, chilly rain is not the best for one-to-five-year-olds with runny noses), I'm pretty sure we smiled the whole race. It was a pleasure. We chugged along at our training pace, stopped 4 times to pee (yes, really... too much gatorade) and told each other life stories from the distant and not-so-distant past as we watched surfers in the waves and ogled at huge houses we could never afford. When we finished, we shivered through a free Smuttynose beer until our fingers were barely nimble enough to change into dry clothes, and headed home feeling sore but happy. I may even try another one some day, maybe even before another decade passes. :)