Living Someone Else's List

 

You know how people have buckets lists and things they want to do before they die?  Yeah – well I accomplished something on someone else’s bucket list yesterday….

I completed a Half Marathon.

Wow – cool – wonderful – good for me!  

Except I never had any urge to do one before.  My friend talked me into it, said it’ll be fun, we can train together – blah, blah, blah – so on the last possible day to register, she finally talked me into it and I signed up, opened my wallet and started “training” in August.

Then, then she came out only once with me to “train”.  That’s ok, she had stuff going on, but I knew this already and how I was talked into a 13.1 mile race will forever boggle me – I’m a very strong willed person – 5k, sure any day – 21.1k or 13.1 miles – no F-ing way.

So, yesterday/Sunday at 5:30 am (yes AM) I was standing on a Detroit street in 34 degree (1 Celsius) ultimate bone shivering breath seeing weather, waiting for our 7:00 am start, nowhere near wearing enough clothes.  Husband dropped me at a nearby curb (streets were already closed) wished me luck and went back home to bed. 

I huddled with the masses quivering and dancing to the music, then as the delayed starts started (I was way in the back – aka with the slow qualifiers), I picked the street for an earlier qualifiers tossed clothing, found a new looking windbreaker and put it on.   

Yes, I picked the street pile of runners tossed clothing, yes – it was 34 degrees and I was wearing a long sleeve tech shirt with bright orange one over top – numb doesn’t even begin to explain my temperature.  And I will also confess after the race started I also shopped a “new” pair of gloves off the street to put on over mine, because my hands had no feeling.

Bang, the race starts and 27,000 of us set off for the border in 2 minutes cycles.  Quite a lovely “perk” as we were crossing the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Ontario, Canada was the sun rising over the water.  Being a non-competitive “runner” I stopped and took a few photos.   And on the way back to the US we ran through the tunnel, which was pleasantly not freezing at all.

Now, I did ok, I didn’t get crampy until mile 11, which after that point I moved very, very slow – but not as slow as others and I was never incapacitated.  And I finished respectably, the only time I could have shaved off is when I changed my insoles at mile nine and couldn’t get my damn soaking wet shoes back on my soaking wet feet.  I favor barefoot shoes and just put in a tad of “cush” when my feet started aching.  It was a wise move as my feet may be the only part of my body today that does not hurt.  The rest of me can barely function.

So there you have it – if completing a Half Marathon is on your bucket list and you never get to it, you can use my half marathon in its place.  You are welcome and no, there will not be any other half marathons in my life.  One is more than I ever planned on.