Half Marathon - Only Half Crazy!

So, there we were, standing there in the cold.  Waiting for the gun to go off and start the race of our lives.  It's hard to fathom all the time and effort that went into simply reaching this moment.  We're in the crowd, shoulder to shoulder with people.  BANG!  The gun goes off and the crowd surges forward spilling through the gate onto the course.

Yes, last weekend our Fitness Challenge #2 came to it's culmination and we ran a half marathon.  When I say we, I mean, me (Mr.Wow), Mr 1500, JD Roth and two of our readers completed the half marathon, and we were accompanied by Mrs Wow and another reader that completed the 10k.  All major accomplishments in their own right.

So, how did it go?

For me, I actually felt pretty good.  The 5 half marathoners started together as a group and slowly started to separate.  We were separated out pretty much by mile 4 and from there, I paired up with JD and we stayed together almost the entire way, until the very end.  The readers ended up passing us and as you can see here, Mr 1500 started to have some trouble with his IT band (no... not a nerdy group of musicians).

As I mentioned, I ran most of the way with JD.  There's always a special bond that runners have with each other through a long distance race.  There's just certain things that happen to your body that become acceptable in a race that wouldn't otherwise be acceptable anywhere else in civilized life.  Example one: shooting snot rockets on the entire way of the course.  YUMMY!!!!

But it was fun to talk about life for about two hours, until the hips and knees started hurting within 3 miles of the finish.  Then the conversation stopped and all effort turned to making it to the finish.

As I mentioned, I was feeling pretty good, so once we saw the finish line, JD continued to finish.  I don't think he was too comfortable as he kept mentioning the whole time that he should have done more preparation.  I doubled back to find the 1500 man to make sure he was doing alright.

I retraced the route for about 1/2 a mile, and found him.  Still trucking along in good spirits.  His legs seemed to hurt, but he knew he was almost about to accomplish something that he previously had never thought possible.  Just that thought seemed to carry him through.

I ran with him to the finish line and we crossed, at ~2:30.  I have to say, that's not bad for a first go at it.  I'm rather impressed.

And away we go!

And what did I learn?

These races always tend to lead to epiphanies no matter how many of them you do and this one was no different.

A couple things that I really wanted to emphasize:

1. This community is really awesome.  The readers that came to join us, were great folks.  I'm glad that I get to call them friends now, and I'm really glad that they joined us.  One reader we knew from Chautauqua, and the other couple had heard us on a podcast.  They wanted to come and meet us.  It was honestly more of an honor to meet them.  But it was funny, they said to me "We're new to this community, we've only been reading these blogs for like 6 months.  How do the folks that have been around for a while treat the new folks?"  I just kind of looked at them and responded, "I don't know.  You tell me, you've been hanging out with JD Roth and the 1500's all day, what do you think?"  They just kind of laughed... I think it's a true testament to how awesome and welcoming the folks in this community are.  I'm lucky to be a part of it.


2. Preparation really helps.  I've run my fair share of these races in the past.  Sometimes, I have to admit I haven't been as prepared as I should.  But this time I felt pretty well prepared, I had done several runs north of 8 miles and I had taken some time off.  I know I threw my back out, and I actually woke up a little on the stuffy side the morning of the race.  But, all the preparation carried me through.  It just proves that if you prepare, you can over come what ever is put in front of you.


3. I like Sour Beers.  I never really liked them before.  I'm not a fan of Kambucha, and they always have that funky vinegar taste to me.  But, Cascade Brewing makes some good sour beers.  And yes, Portland lived up to the hype of micro-brewery capital of the US.  All the running allowed us to indulge a little more than we should with very little guilt.  Soooo MUCH GOOD BEER!!!!!


4. I still hate Peeps.  They're gross, they're sticky disgusting messes.  I watched JD almost barf one up at mile 5 and then watched Mr 1500 choke one down in a beer during the after party.  It was a little hard to watch, and just confirmed my dislike of them.  This is quite something for me to say because I certainly am fond of my junk food and candy.

In Conclusion (oooh... that sounds more official!)

I've been a part of several people's first distance road race, and the sheer joy of the accomplishment on their face never seems to get old.  There's just something about pushing your body beyond the limit of comfort and persevering where you never thought possible that makes a person feel alive.

One last little thing, before I wax on too philosophical.

I was talking to a running buddy during one of the long training runs about how much I hate running with head phones and music.  I love just being out in the air, running enjoying the day and the sights and sounds.  How all of it just makes me feel alive.  But it's not all good, I mean how can running for 2 or more hours straight feel good?

The main part that you have to endure is your own mind.  At some point during your run, your mind starts telling you that you're an idiot and you need to stop doing what you're doing.  A large part of these endurance races is mental.  After you can run about 8 miles, you can run a full marathon physically.  It's the mental fortitude that's tough.  You need to push yourself one step after another through all the pain.

And after discussing it, we did have 2 hours after all, we came to the conclusion, you need some pain and discomfort in your life, otherwise you can't appreciate when life is good.  And you know, for us (all of us, yes you too!)... life is pretty damn good.  But remember next time you're in a little pain or feeling a little down, it's only to remind you to appreciate how good you actually have it.

Ok... Yeah... too much hippy dippy crapola....

I'm still a little sore from the race, but it sounds like Mr 1500 is caught up in the euphoria of finishing his first half and wants to attempt another.  You know what that means?

Physical Fitness Challenge Round 3!!!!

We'll have to figure out the details and logistics, but we'll keep you posted and let you know.  I can't imagine what this is going to entail... we went from losing some weight to running 13.1 miles, what could possibly come next??? Suggestions?

Who would've thought the side effects of starting a finance blog included so much damn exercise?!?!