Lemon's Practice

The Hottest Half was Sunday. I survived. I didn't break any records. I didn't even run the whole time. I crossed the finish line, and I felt great. My knee is still intact. I didn't have much soreness. It was great practice for marathon training. Oh yes, that's next. Speaking of practice...

The real star of the Hottest Half was Andrew Lemoncello. He won. He ran the thing in 1:07. I think there are some seconds on there too. I saw him between mile 4 and 5. And by saw him, I mean I saw a streak running toward me, heard people clapping, turned around to see who the heck it was and kept running. That was him on the way back to the finish line. So I looked ahead waiting to see the next group of elite runners trailing him. It took a minute or two, but they slowly (obviously not that slowly) started passing us mere mortals. As two guys (I'm guessing they finished second and third) were passing, I heard them say, "Do you know who the guy in the front is?" Well, he was Andrew Lemoncello. He can be found here.

Here is his tweet from later in the day: "Swam through a half marathon in Dallas today it was so humid. Great practice for Daegu"

Yes folks. It was practice. Finishing 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 7 minutes was practice. Flying by me as I was clipping along at my own merry (read: slow) pace was practice for him. He won the Hottest Half, arguably the literal hottest half marathon you can run. No biggie.

His running was effortless. And I don't hold that against him. Good for you Mr. Lemoncello. Good for you. I still finished. I still felt great. I still got my post-race Mexican food. And you know what? I'll run just a little bit better during my next race, because it was practice. It's always practice. Remember: practice, practice, practice.

And for those who are still hating this running god (ahem, I'm looking at you running buddy), here's the quote I got today from my "Daily Kick in the Butt" from Runner's World:

"Winning has nothing to do with racing. Most days don't have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up." ~ Amby Burfoot.

Quotes for success

This is the white board on my refrigerator. I see it every day when I'm scrounging for foodstuffs. Most of the time I don't pay much attention to it. I've seen it before. I'll see it again. But today I paused and re-read each magnet, slip of paper and scribbled reminder. These aren't the only magnets or images on my fridge. These are just grouped together in a helpful and ironic way. Yes, next to my reminder to run I have a magnet about a fat-loving civilization. And next to this white board I have a picture ripped out from a Victoria's Secret catalog. I admit it. I covet one of the model's airbrushed abs.

"Don't put off till tomorrow what you can today!" I know I've blogged about procrastination before. It's a problem that relates to every aspect of my life...not just running. Though I don't often pay attention to this reminder, when I do, I promptly walk over to the dishwasher and put up the dishes. Or something like that.

"With the time and energy we've spent dieting, we could have built a small, fat-loving civilization." This one is from my darling friend who sends me all those encouraging text messages. It may not seem to belong on this white board. But it does. It most definitely does. It's a reminder to myself that sometimes ice cream is a good thing. It tells me not to obsess over my body.

"If you think you'll have more time to run tomorrow, remember, you said that yesterday." I warned you. Procrastination is an issue. This little advertisement is poignant. It points out the vicious cycle that begins when you get just a little off track. Tomorrow turns into next week, which turns into next month, which turns into next year, which turns into never. Advertisers really are brilliant.

"Happiness is a journey, not a destination..." Everyone knows this one. And before I quote the entire magnet, let me say this: I've learned to love running because it keeps me present in that moment. My mind may temporarily drift, but mostly I am centered during that run. Even when it's brutally heat and the sun is boring into my skin and sweat is stinging my eyes, I am in that moment. Each step is important. Each breath is crucial. It keeps me grounded. I can work out my frustration. I can laugh. I can cry. I can meditate. That's running. And sometimes I forget that when I'm not doing it.

So here's the most important magnet:

"for a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. at last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. this perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. happiness is the way. so treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one."