Wax Porhetoric

Ah yes…it is true. I ran my first half marathon today. Since I pulled my calf nearly a month ago I haven’t done a damn thing. Nada. Nothing. Ok, well, I did play one game of soccer yesterday to test out my calf to see if it would be good to go. It SEEMED like it was good. I mean, I sprinted, I ran, I cut, I took shots, all was well in my happy little soccer world (well, we did lose, but I was still a happy Chia). That was very encouraging. Hurray! I should be good to run the half!



I woke up ass early this morning and holy crap it was cold outside (still in the 30s when we got up). Jay and Kerri picked me up and we headed down to the start. Now let me say, I couldn’t ask for anyone better to do my first half with than them. Two rockin’ people, both runners, and both really good friends. The perfect symbiotic relationship there. Even though we didn’t run much of the race together we still did the pre-race, the start, and the post-race together.



“So how did it go Chia?” you ask. “If you didn’t do any training, were you sucking wind?”



Oddly enough, I was doing pretty damn well. I was just cruisin’ along, doing my thing. Weaving in and out of all the walkers (it still baffles the mind that so many people are either so unaware of their surroundings or they just don’t give a shit as they walk five people wide making it impossible for the runners to get a clear running path) and chuggin’ along. Nine miles in I’m still feeling good and thinking “hell yeah…this is good…I should easily finish in under two hours”. That is, until I felt the calf whispering to me.



“Don’t do it. Don’t do it!” thought to myself.



It did it. I felt it the exact moment it tore. NOT a pleasant feeling. Just over nine miles in (I was at 1 hr 20 min at that point…easily on pace to finish the race in under two hours) and I’m done. That’s roughly four miles I have to walk now. Fack!



I walked. Not completing my first half marathon (actually, not completing ANYTHING) is just not an option for me. So I moved to the right and walked. And walked. And now this 40 degree windy shit was really starting to annoy me. And the calf of course. Thank goodness for someone giving out beer…sweet sweet lucious beer. Then I’d smile knowing I’d still get a fairly decent time for my first half…with no training at that. People passing me, me with my headphones in, life isn’t too bad. I’ve got my health, good friends, why be bitchy?



Jay and Kerri ended up passing me with roughly a mile to go. They wanted me to finish with them but I informed them it was the calf and that I’d catch up with them at the end.



After it was all said and done, I finished my first half in 2:33. Considering four miles of that was at a limping walk pace, I’m fairly pleased. Just imagine what I could do if I trained!



And that’s my story. I’m still trying to warm up, glad I got to do this with Super Jay and the Shia, and ready to stuff my face (or take a nap).



Here’s to continuously challenging ourselves no matter how old we are, spending good times with great friends, and keeping your chin up even when things don’t turn out as planned.

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