13.1, At a Good Angle
That’s me. Sunday morning, doing the famous lap around Lambeau Field between miles 12 and 13 in the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon. You can’t see it, but I can tell you I was smiling. Tired, but smiling.
Why? Let me give you 13.1 reasons why:
We got to spend precious time together with two of our children and their family/significant other.
That included being at our grandson Aaron’s school for an art show and concert.
Laughter over circumstances that my husband Darcy first wanted and then didn’t. It was about a restaurant he had been wanting to try. Don’t worry—he eventually laughed too.
A nice walk with Darcy Saturday morning on and near the campus of St. Norbert College. We even found the labyrinth we set out to see.
I took time to journal, a page here and a page there, throughout the weekend.
A couple of writing inspirations hit me as we drove on Friday, and I am happy with what I captured.
Safe travels throughout the weekend and a big thanks to Darcy for all of his driving. (And to my quads and hamstrings for not cramping on the way home Sunday after the run.)
Now, back to that 13.1. This is a distance I have run many times, but not since 2019. My training was going well, until March when my left knee started bothering me. I had been worried about my left hip, but ironically, that hasn’t bothered me at all. I had gotten up to ten miles in a couple of training runs before the knee pain started.
I took several weeks off from running, and kept walking. Lots of walking. I returned to running again about a month ago, starting out with just a few minutes and then working back up to an hour. I am so grateful I was able to get back to running and build my mileage at least some. (I had considered dropping down to the 5K at one point, but gave it time. And kept my expectations reasonable. The race details gave a 4-hour time limit for the half. That was reassuring to me, in case I needed to do lots of walking.)
So I went into this half marathon really excited to be out there, and also really curious about how it would go. My only goals were to enjoy the experience and finish. I was prepared to walk as much as needed and I set no specific time goal.
Once I was out there, caught up with hundreds of other runners, traversing through many friendly neighborhoods, I was fueled by gratitude. I kept my pace reasonable in the early morning heat and stayed hydrated at each water stop. A special thank you to my son Sam and his girlfriend Halle for the extra hydration between miles 10 and 11. I walked that mile to give myself a respite and regroup before heading to Lambeau.
It was a meaningful stretch, just as my exhausted and not well-trained legs had had about enough, to see Lambeau Field get closer, and then enter the tunnel that would take me out to the view above.
I crossed the finish line a few minutes later, greeted by Darcy, Sam and Halle, and soon joined by my stepson Arthur who had been volunteering at a water stop. My time was 2:43.49. I was thrilled with that, realizing early in the race that I would be able to come in under three hours, and then having enough left in the tank to come in under 2:45. (Yes. I remain a little bit competitive with myself.) That’s not a bad time for this nearly 59-year-old who had to scale back her training regimen.
At a good angle? The photographer who took this photo was sitting on the ground. Better him than me at that point. And a better angle to capture my tired runner’s body.
And that .1? The most important part of the race. It symbolizes one step at a time, one stride at a time. One day at a time. Life delivers in small increments. Every day. Every step.
