Rocking Out

Sunday was the Rock n Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Denver. I hadn't originally planned to run it (SO EXPENSIVE!), but a friend couldn't run at the last minute so I did the not-strictly-legal thing and ran it for her.

I layered up and headed downtown super early via bus. Always an adventure on public transit...I love it.

I rocked my silver sparkle skirt because it's the one that called to me. Does anyone else do that? When it comes to race day, I wear what jumps out at me. Call it bizarre ritual, call it superstition, but if an article of clothing speaks to me on race day, I wear it. I was thinking about wearing a blue tank top instead, but the pink one spoke louder.

Anyway, I wore the skirt because I love the skirt. I love it for many reasons, but one of the biggies is that it creates an instant bond with anyone else wearing the same skirt. I met Mary at the Slacker Half in June and we've run 3 halves together (more or less) since.

Mary is a fantastic running buddy - she tolerates my "fun facts" well, understands when I need to put both earbuds in (so I can't hear my own wheezing), and pushes me just a wee bit faster than I really want to go...but in the best possible way.

Mary stuck with me until about mile 10, after which she took off...bless her heart, she tried so hard to keep me in her sights but my legs just couldn't keep up.

Around mile 11, I saw the only other familiar face I saw that day...even though apparently half my class was volunteering. Lara was cheering me on and caught a couple of "wee I'm an airplane!" gems:

Reeeeooowwwwww

My goal for this race was just to break 2 hours. I wasn't getting my hopes up since I really didn't train for it, but the weather was perfect (45 degrees and sunnyish), so I wasn't talking myself out of it.

Most half marathons I spend the time counting down the miles. This time I went into it thinking "ok, we're running for 2 hours, give or take. Just run." and didn't think about the miles at all until the last 2-3.

I guess it worked. :0)

My official time was 1:57:00 - so yeah, under 2 hours. :0) The course was about a quarter mile long (several other runners agreed with me on this), so I think my time was closer to about 1:55:00...but that's not the official time, so I'm sticking with the 1:57 until I see something smaller on the official results. Let's hope the weather in December for the Fa La La is as perfect as Sunday's was.

I even got (and needed!) a space blanket at the end of the run...that totally makes me a legit runner now, right? (Well, that and using the porta potties before running...that was another first for me. Usually I avoid them like the plague...YUCK.)

Oh, and one last first:

A truly horrific race picture. Most of my pictures are of average ickness. This one is pretty epic though. I look like an old lady trying to bust through invisible cellophane. So hot.