After a 5 hours night of rest, the morning began at 5 am as I headed out to Santa Cruz (at last) to run the half-marathon that has been looming on my mind for months. To my surprise, I was more nervous in anticipation the day before the race than I actually was when I arrived. I will admit, it felt strange at first to be surrounded by so many runners. I mean I had gotten really used to lonesome runs with just myself and nature. But now I was just a fish swimming along-side fellow fish. As the gun went off, I felt a wave of sudden adrenaline swarm over my body, I start my playlist and as many took off or blazed by me, I felt grounded when I overheard someone say "don't worry about anyone else, this is your race". That really resonated with me and gave me confidence that my body could do it. Feeling my legs hit the asphalt, see the fog ahead and hearing my own breathe was so empowering. Strangely, my emotions were so strong, as my excitement and realization that I was actually running a race I had always glorified carried me along. I had been warned not to go out too fast because you want to be able to finish the last few miles. I mean really the whole thing felt like an 80% effort fast jog. It didn't feel hard like I had expected. Many of my training runs were harder. So maybe the fact that I kept waiting for the race the get harder and to feel drained was a testament to how strong and prepared I was. There were points during the race when I almost teared up from the rush of endorphins and bliss I felt. I was contemplating the reality of actually running or whether it was all a dream it felt so surreal. It hit me how far I had come with my fitness when someone on the sidelines said, "way to make it look so easy", I smiled and kept running. I was relaxed, pretty effortless and my breathing was very controlled. As each mile ticked by the exhaustion I feared was no where to be found. I took a shot block every thirty minutes, stopped for water 3 times and felt really strong the whole way through. After crossing the finish line 30 minutes faster than what I anticipated, the best part was, I knew I had found something I loved: long distance running. I am an endurance athlete and it took me 18 years to figure that out. It may have been all the adrenaline but I didn't feel spent as I crossed that finish line, I felt like I could have kept going. Crossing that finish proved to me how much I can accomplish and how gifted the human body is in its functionality. I left that race instantly thinking to what I want to next. My next goal is to do another half over the summer (probably July) and eventually I would like to train for a full marathon.
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