Friday, November 12, 2010

2 halves = a whole, right?

Well, I'll just start off by saying that math has never been a strength of mine but I'm going to say that I ran a marathon this year on the premise that two halves equals a whole.

Six weeks after the Buena Vista 1/2 marathon, the pink ladies struck again in Loveland at the Heart Center of the Rockies 1/2 marathon/10K. This course was not as brutal as the last one, that is for sure. The evidence of that was not found in my time but rather in my ability to actually walk the day after.

Becoming a runner has been sort of fun...mostly because while running, I get to hang out with girlfriends and while we run and chat, somehow I start to forget that I am doing something kind of hard!

We had a few newcomers to our "hot pink mamas" group. From left to right in the picture above we have: Ginny, Wendy, Joy, Amy, Tirsa, Jennifer, and Nichole.

Only Jennifer, myself, and Nichole opted for the half marathon this time around while the others did the 10K. That is why Jenn, Nichole, and I get these lovely "Finishers" medals that we are kissing.

Having already proven to myself that I could run a whole half marathon (whole half...that's funny), I decided to take this 1/2 easier. I barely trained for it (that was mostly scheduling difficulties...not my actual plan) and I decided to be more of a team player and hang out with my friends. When one needed a potty break, I actually stopped, waited in line and blew about 10 minutes of time! I never would have done that the first time around! I also walked with Jenn when she needed to. It wasn't until mile 11 that I decided to fly solo and finish as strong as I could. So, my time was 12 minutes longer on this run than the last one. I'm o.k. with that though. It has been about the adventure for me, not the time.



Amy actually first inspired me to run a half marathon when she ran the BV one last year after recently taken up running. At the time I was VERY LARGE with child and could not attempt it with her. After shrinking a bit, and after being invited to start running with Nichole, I began my runner's journey, only this time, Amy was the one with child. But with her baby being only 4.5 months old, Amy ran this 10K. We decided to take a picture together as proof that we were actually at the same race!

After it was over, some of us went out to lunch. And after running 13.1 miles, all I can say is: "Um, Jenn, get your own burger! I earned this one!"

2 comments:

Brad Hart said...

AWESOME job, Tirsa! You and a few of my other friends (who have also picked up running as of late) have inspired me to do the same. I've actually dropped 25 lbs and plan on running a marathon at some point next year (probably around Sept./Oct.).

Keep it up! Oh, and check out this cool story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbXgQqbOoU

Haley L said...

Way to go, Tirsa! I'm ready to do another half now that's it's been almost a year. Funny how addicting it can be. :)