My first half-marathon
May. 31st, 2008 07:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_lotus13Technically, 21 km is called a half marathon. I do not know if I will ever do a full one. 42 km is a bit much.
Anyway, I got there bright and early at about 7:45 p.m. The weather was nice, overcast, but a bit warm. Right before we started, they asked us not to wear headsets. A lot of people wore their Ipods, but since I use an actual headset, I ended up handing mine over to a radio Dj I know, who put it in his van for the duration of my walk.
The actual walk was good. I went at a steady clip, staying in the middle of the pack for most of the way. There were people there to cheer us on, give us water and make sure that we were going the right way, which is what I was really worried about.
At one point, it started to rain on us, which was quite nice. I just kept right on marching at a steady clip. At one point, the runners started, and so there was more fanfare and cheering. One family was cheering their relative on with airhorns and bells, and managed to add a lot of festivity to the track.
I laughed really hard because one of them tried to encourage their relative by yelling, "There's a sale on at Winners."
(This is probably only funny to you if you know my mother.)
Anyway, I ended up coming in with a time of about 3 hours and 5 minutes to walk 21 km. I actually walked past the finish line as I saw our sports reporter, Woody, who had his big camera out, ready to take pictures of us as we crossed the finish line. To try to prevent him from taking my picture, I gave him the finger and ended up walking by the line. He took a picture of me giving him the finger anyway.
As soon as I crossed the finish line, my chip (a computer bracelet that goes around the ankle to keep track of time) was yanked off my leg before I even noticed it was gone. Someone put a medal around my neck, and I was given a water and congratulated, which was nice.
Then I sat with my fellow walkers and discussed the race while eating some fruit. My editor said that her husband had shown up to the finish line with flowers for her, to which I replied, "That's really sweet, but at this point, I think I would have really liked a big bag of chips."
Fortunately, everyone thought that was quite funny.
I also won a draw and ended up getting a three month pass to the gym. I intend to take full advantage of their yoga classes.
It also turns out that I won a silver medal, as I placed second in my age category. (I don't really think there were many people in my age category, but it's still cool) I haven't seen it yet, because I had gone home by that time. My editor accepted it for me, and it's at the office.
****
My legs are sore, and I have three blisters on my feet. I've spent the rest of the day reading and watching movies. Tomorrow I'll be doing my chores. All in all, I had a fantastic time, and I'd definitely do it again.
Anyway, I got there bright and early at about 7:45 p.m. The weather was nice, overcast, but a bit warm. Right before we started, they asked us not to wear headsets. A lot of people wore their Ipods, but since I use an actual headset, I ended up handing mine over to a radio Dj I know, who put it in his van for the duration of my walk.
The actual walk was good. I went at a steady clip, staying in the middle of the pack for most of the way. There were people there to cheer us on, give us water and make sure that we were going the right way, which is what I was really worried about.
At one point, it started to rain on us, which was quite nice. I just kept right on marching at a steady clip. At one point, the runners started, and so there was more fanfare and cheering. One family was cheering their relative on with airhorns and bells, and managed to add a lot of festivity to the track.
I laughed really hard because one of them tried to encourage their relative by yelling, "There's a sale on at Winners."
(This is probably only funny to you if you know my mother.)
Anyway, I ended up coming in with a time of about 3 hours and 5 minutes to walk 21 km. I actually walked past the finish line as I saw our sports reporter, Woody, who had his big camera out, ready to take pictures of us as we crossed the finish line. To try to prevent him from taking my picture, I gave him the finger and ended up walking by the line. He took a picture of me giving him the finger anyway.
As soon as I crossed the finish line, my chip (a computer bracelet that goes around the ankle to keep track of time) was yanked off my leg before I even noticed it was gone. Someone put a medal around my neck, and I was given a water and congratulated, which was nice.
Then I sat with my fellow walkers and discussed the race while eating some fruit. My editor said that her husband had shown up to the finish line with flowers for her, to which I replied, "That's really sweet, but at this point, I think I would have really liked a big bag of chips."
Fortunately, everyone thought that was quite funny.
I also won a draw and ended up getting a three month pass to the gym. I intend to take full advantage of their yoga classes.
It also turns out that I won a silver medal, as I placed second in my age category. (I don't really think there were many people in my age category, but it's still cool) I haven't seen it yet, because I had gone home by that time. My editor accepted it for me, and it's at the office.
****
My legs are sore, and I have three blisters on my feet. I've spent the rest of the day reading and watching movies. Tomorrow I'll be doing my chores. All in all, I had a fantastic time, and I'd definitely do it again.
