1:54:08 for my time. While I’m not an elite runner…I’m proud of myself (is it ok to be proud still?) I have this mental hang up that I’ve never been genetically wired for athletics. Even with a ton of yoga, running time, and good nutrition this is where I ended up. A little better than average for my age category. So I’m proud of myself…though it’s so weird…I feel it comes so easy for some (a friend of mine just decided to run his first half and did it with a time of 1:45…genetics?). Makes me envious…but such is life. This is my 8 or 9th half.
Anyways I’m happy, even though I know as much as I keep training, my genetics will make it not easy for me. Had some good celebrations yesterday. Thought I’d share some good news on here for a change.
Good for you! Just finishing a half-marathon is an accomplishment. I wouldn’t worry about the time so much as just doing it and enjoying it (as much as possible). Or, at least, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment when you’re done. I’ve run several, and I’m also just not a natural runner. Can’t say I loved every minute of it, but it sure felt good crossing the finish line!
I think it is still okay to be proud of athletic ability in Doperville. But when it comes to good looks and intelligence, the only appropriate emotion is shame.
Cripes, cut yourself some slack Quasi. The problem with events like this is that when you look around, all you see is people who are at least as athletic as yourself. Unless you won the thing there’s going to be somebody who was faster and who looks fresher than you. That’s kind of the point. That’s the competition that makes us work harder.
You should be proud of breaking two hours and save the worry about genetics. It clearly comes easier to you than most people, just not all the people. Congratulations.
Don’t know your age, but under 2 hours is an accomplishment no matter what. That means you’re running, not just out for a stroll. And a PR is always cool. Nice job.
Hey thanks! I actually broke it in the fall with a 1:56 time, and yesterday beat that with a 1:54 time.
I was pretty ecstatic about it, but then my regular self critical thoughts kicked in…not being good enough, wanting to be better, seeing others around me succeeding more than me. I don’t know how to shut that off apparently. I also feel like my social network didn’t care too much about it, some did, but many didn’t. I know it should be about internal validation, and to degree it is. I feel unbalanced in this area of my life though, as if I’m really wondering how much people care for me…so my feelings are mixed. I am glad though that for a decade my previous best was 2:06 and now I cut 12 minutes off that time. I always thought be looked at me as “cute” and “adorable” as if I can try hard but not really succeed. I’ve been trying to prove that image wrong…I can be competitive. Goes so far back to high school when I couldn’t do anything athletic. I want to prove that incorrect. I can be an athlete / athletic. I’m working at it.
We all go through that. Even the guy running a 1:02 because he knows the guy running a world record is 3 1/2 minutes ahead.
See if there’s a running club in your area. Non-runners, for the most part, just don’t get it.
Same here. Running is the only sport I’ve done that I wasn’t abysmally bad at.
Though cross-country wasn’t a sport you bragged about in those days (76-78).
Thanks Man (Running coach? Damn that’s awesome). It’s crazy what motivates us. I still have this voice inside me that says…people say you can’t do it? Fuck em…prove them wrong. I was the portly kid in High School who had no athletic skill…I’ve been fed up with that image of me. The voice was quieter before the race and now louder after…why do I care? I don’t know…I guess I’m neurotic. But damn if I won’t try and shut the voice up somehow. I have new goals and training ambitions this summer… and may potentially run another half in the Fall. I actually signed up for the full San Francisco Marathon…because the half was full. My only goal there is to complete. And enjoy the scenery. I also signed up for a Spartan Sprint. Here come’s the cross training and sandbags.
^^ I trained well for a year before my first half, and continued that training through to my first 25k, which continued to a marathon-length training run.
After all that, I never at any distance could finish in the top half of my age group, much less men in general.
So very nice work, take advantage of it and good luck training for the Spartan!
I misread that as “never at any further distance”, which is the case for me. Despite the fact that I always finish in the bottom 20% in any race longer than a marathon, it feels like more of an accomplishment than to finish around the 50% mark in marathons or in the top 25% in shorter races. And I’m not even a very good short distance runner: I’m pretty sure it’s due to selection, i.e. only people who are already very fit would compete in an ultramarathon, whereas there are a lot of casual 5K-ers out there.
My personal best is 2:25:32 at the Ottawa Army run in 2011. My average is between 2:30:00 and 2:45:00, but I run/walk and on race days mostly end up walking when my left knee gives out.
I’ve been running for the past ten years, and somewhat seriously (30-50 miles a week) for about a year, and one iron truth I’ve learned is … there’s always someone faster. Never mind. Unless you’re an elite runner, the only person you’re racing is yourself. So you should be proud! A sub-two half is a serious result! It’s one I haven’t yet achieved, though I came close in my last half (2:01:53. Although I’m morally certain I’d have cracked 2:00 if there hadn’t been a line at the Porta-Potty).
I successfully finished my first marathon in March. I had set three goals for the race: to finish, to finish without having had to walk any part of the course, and to finish under 4:30. I achieved all three - 4:26:01. Fast? No, not at all - I was nowhere near the top of my age group. But my medal felt like an Olympic gold, simply because I had beaten the one runner I was competing with - the one in my mirror.
All of which is to say: congratulations! That’s a hell of an accomplishment.
Well, I was inspired by this thread to just up and try 13.1 this morning: 2:34 :o. Of course it broke 80˚ before I was done and I had run (as opposed to walked) less than 10 miles total in the last 30 days. I consider it an accomplishment that I didn’t stop [del]running[/del] [del]jogging[/del] shuffling except to take a swig of water.
I also signed up for a Spartan Sprint. Here come’s the cross training and sandbags.