cool running

we ran on labor day.

and despite labor day generally happening during "summer," labor day in seattle doesn't necessarily feel like "summer."

let's face it, entire summers in seattle often don't feel like summer. they often feel like late winter, or mid-fall, or any day in northern canada.

anyway, we ran on labor day, the girl, the missus and i. we had to gear up a bit, because pre-race temperatures were in the low 50s. and by "gear up" i mean, "stand around in our running shorts, shivering."

that's not entirely accurate. i did have on a long-sleeve tech shirt. and i ran around the parking lot to stay warm. the missus and the girl did most of the shivering.

technically, the labor day half marathon is in redmond, wa., home of microsoft and a couple other things, i'm sure. let's see, there's...um...redmond ridge winery! and the famous black raven brewing company. (full disclosure: i've never heard of either of these establishments, and if you have, you're thirstier than i.)

the girls were running the 4-mile event, which was notable in that neither of them had ever run four miles consecutively. they were game, nevertheless, and i'm pleased to report that both set a PR for this distance! which, really, they couldn't help but do, even if they had staggered across the finish line the next day.

they had fun! they had respectable times! and about the time they finished, the clouds parted and the sun broke through, as if in celebration of their achievements! glorious.

meanwhile, i was still running, and no longer cold. i was, in fact, overly warm. i remember thinking, "it's hot now," even though it was probably all of 68 degrees.

all the while, the girls were filling their swag bags with a plethora of nutritious gels and bars and drinks and having a big ol' time. laughing, listening to music, enjoying the not-so-hot sunshine. la ti da.

meanwhile, i was still running. i had a goal in mind, and the only way to achieve it was to continue this way until the finish line, at which point i would stop running for a while.

i glanced at my watch at about mile 7 and thought, "you're running too slow. if you're going to make that goal time, you'll have to run faster than this." so, miles 7 through 13.1 i ran faster.

the people i had been following, i began to overtake and pass. this is difficult, i have learned, because late in a half marathon you've already expended a bunch of energy, and the runners ahead of you are often better runners than you. plus, they're usually quite competitive and don't feel like being passed.

i appreciate this fact, and felt a little bad for the people i was passing. i felt like i should apologize for passing them so late, since they undoubtedly trained hard and had run a good race thus far. then i remembered this was a race, and passed them anyway. next time, given the chance, they'll pass me. i won't be upset.

(who am i kidding? yes, i will.)

confession: i've been kicking around the idea of running a marathon. just kind of daydreaming about what kind of time committment and physical torment would be required. and, rounding into the last half mile of the second half marathon in a row i thought with great sincerity, "thank god it's not 26.2." i'm not ready for a marathon. yet.

a couple hundred yards before the finish line, there was one more runner ahead of me i thought i could pass. i caught her on the turn into the parking lot, on her outside shoulder, and was a couple steps ahead of her before she knew i was there. i don't think she liked that very much. she kicked it up a notch and we ran neck and neck for a few strides. then i kicked it up a notch and beat her by several steps. "i'm sorry about that," i totally didn't say, because it was a race, and besides, i was busy looking at my watch and wondering if it was right.

if it was, i had beaten my goal time by more than three minutes, and my previous PR by nearly seven minutes. i chugged a couple bottles of water, found the missus and the girl, and we traded high-fives and smiles. they showed off their swag bags, and we wandered over to the post-race area near the vendor tents.

we stretched, we relaxed, we filled up my swag bag. free stuff! woo hoo! finally, i went over to the official timing/results tent and entered my bib number into the keypad. turns out my official time was faster than my watch-time.

don't get me wrong, i'm not fast. but in 2012 on a late, sort-of summer labor day outside seattle ~ the girls and i had the time of our lives.