(written under the influence of a runner's high) (obviously)
Monday, Jul. 14, 2008 - 17:25

Best Race Ever! I'm always having the best weekend ever but this time, seriously, Best Weekend Ever! I totally know right now why I run races. I totally kicked ass, relatively - I mean, I totally kicked my own ass. I totally had the Best Race Ever. It was perfect and totally warrants the overuse of capitalization. Holy crap it was great. Like, I mean, you know, every single race I do, whether it's a 5K or a 10K or a half marathon or whatever - I usually always get to a point where I'm like "I can't keep this up, I have to slow down" and then I have to use my yoga training to keep myself going - but dude, man, yesterday I never got to that point. I was strong and fast and awesome and in control the entire race. I was worried I was going to fade but a combination of excellent training, adrenaline, ibuprofen, caffeine, and awesomeness precluded that from happening. Dude. Seriously. I started out too fast and thought for sure I was going to slow way down at the end but I got to the 12 mile marker and realized it wasn't going to happen, I was still maintaining that incredible pace, so I started hooting and it made me go even faster. I don't normally hoot - in fact I've always been staunchly anti-hoot (it's embarrassing - my dad is a hooter) but I hooted and ran a fucking 7:22 mile for my last mile. 7:22! I'm always going to hoot from now on! Every race, I'll hoot the whole race! The loose group I was running with enjoyed my hooting and joined in. I didn't hoot again but I clapped going around the last corners and clapping also helped me speed up. Ha! I was so happy, I was still going so strong.

Then: I'm running across the bridge at the end, there's only me and one person in front of me, we're heading for the finish line, and I hear these fast heavy footfalls coming up behind me and I'm like, "the fuck some asshead is going to pass me now" so I sped up some more, I'm flying across the bridge and I cross the finish line and my time is fucking four minutes faster than my goal and two minutes faster than my secret goal and sixteen minutes faster than last year! And six minutes faster than the half marathon I did three or four weeks ago! Right across the finish line there's the guy who led the training class and he gave me a big hug and I totally fell in love with him for three seconds oh my god, and then his mom gave me a big hug too - best moments of the day, man - and they were so happy for me and I was so surprised to see how fast I'd done - even my overactive imagination hadn't imagined such awesomeness or such a Goddamn Perfect Race. It was - I mean... anyway. Yay.

I ♥ half marathons and everyone in my training group did awesome and it was so fun and I stood by the finish line to cheer my teammates on. People met their goals or didn't but still ran a half marathon or a full marathon - some for the first time ever - and seriously, maybe you don't believe me, but our bodies are absolutely incredible. We are capable of incredible things and I'm on such a runner's high I almost just got talked into doing a full marathon and who the hell knows maybe I'll do one in a couple years rather than wait until I'm 60 which was my plan.

Later, after seeing some of my peeps finish and congratulating each other and eating and getting hungry and eating and getting hungry, I went home and had a Mexican Coke and took a nap and had a caper dream - there was a band of robbers of which we had been a part but we'd recently secretly split from them - we had the key, and they were going to figure out that we had the key so we had to get away but couldn't move because our bike was stuck in the air. We had a fax of the key. Or something. My elbows and knees were hurting really bad, I was sleeping like a duck. I got up. I felt fine. I feel fine today - my legs are a little tired, my hip flexors are tired - last year the day after the half marathon I felt like I had whiplash. Anyway, fucking awesome. Agghhhhhhhhh I'm so in love with stuff. I can't stop thinking about this.

(sound of me hooting: woohooo!)