Pasadena Half Marathon

Here's the stats:
Bib: 4006
Name: Joanne Kakuda
Gender: F
Age: 47
Overall: 1898 out of 2890
Women: 876 out of 1609
F 45-49: 116 out of 225
Age/Grade: 47.00% Place: 1479
Finish: 2:37:09 Pace: 12:00
10 Km: 1:12:37 Pace: 11:42

And here's my thoughts: It was hard. I did one training run where I ran 13 miles. And it hurt. Anything over 8 miles for me hurts, especially the miles past 10. During the race I had to stop once to stretch my hamstrings and calves but I don't know how much good that really did because after a few steps, they would tighten up. I don't know if it's just mechanics or if more long distance training would have helped.

What I do know is that I thankfully ran with Barbara and Carmen and this made the race. They decided before the race to run 4/1. I've never tried that and I didn't want to do run this all on my own so I thought I'd stick with them. I could always keep going during the walk period if I felt like I just needed to keep moving. But I decided to say. It felt good to stick with them. At the end, they kept me going and really pushed me on.

I could barely walk after the race. And the 4 or 5 blocks to the car took forever, with each step harder than the other. I think it must have taken 20 minutes to get to the car. But after the rest my legs stopped hurting.

Funny but I'm realizing I never thought "I'm never doing this again." I know I should have thought that. I wonder why that thought never came into my mind? It must have been because I was with Barbara and Carmen. Teamwork goes a long way. Thank you ladies.

And congrats to all those who ran this, especially the marathoners and the ones who came in after us. I know how hard it was to keep going and how painful. But the feeling of completion, after hours of constant moving, shows true heart and determination.

My gift yesterday was? Did I stop and "Smell the Roses?" Maybe not. But if I have to list something, it would be talking to my neighbor as she sat outside with her baby. Why would I list that as my gift? Its a gift of connection. I connected, if only for a short time, with my neighbor. One more little bit of forging a relationship and a sense of neighborhood.