Today I completed my sixth half-marathon and fifth Armadillo Dash! It was a humid, rainy morning, and I was undertrained for the race. But I showed up, ran a decent 13.1, and earned a cool medal at the end.
My finishing time was 2:02:52, about ten minutes slower than last year’s race. I expected to feel disappointed about this, but thankfully, I’m not. I feel really happy about participating and not letting perfect be the enemy of good. Today is the first time in several years that it’s taken me more than two hours to complete a half, but you know what? That’s two hours I got to spend on my fitness, on my health, on my physical and emotional well-being. It’s two hours that were well-lived. I love a PR as much as the next runner, but it makes sense to me that some seasons of life are more conducive to PRs. Whether or not I’m setting PRs, running keeps me grounded and sane. And apparently, I’m so innately appreciative of running’s benefits that a non-PR race day is A-OK with me.
Today’s post title came from one of the race signs. It’s a good one, don’t you think? I’m keeping that in mind, both on the course and in my everyday life.
Run on, friends! And happy March!
My favorite sign was "Stop Walken!" (with a picture of Christopher Walken-that made it an instant winner in my book when Christopher is involved).
ReplyDeleteAh, that's fantastic! I missed that sign but love that you saw it.
DeleteMORE COWBELL! http://www.hulu.com/watch/536145
Congrats on a great race! Two hours well-lived - I like the sound of that. I will have to keep it in mind when I run my own half marathon next week!
ReplyDeletexo
Thanks, Chrissy! Now go out there and have a great race next week! I think every race completed is something special :-)
DeleteWoo hoo for another half marathon in the books and for having such a great attitude! I love the race medal.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Raquelita! I love the medal too--the designers for this year's Dash did a wonderful job with the medal and the tech t-shirt. I can show you the shirt in another post :-)
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