Running the 9 Miler!

My latest race of the season was in April at the Big Sur Marathon!  I have to clarify here, I didn't run a marathon, I only ran a 9 mile race!  Isn't that the lamest clarification?  9 miles is a lot of miles, yet when I told people I was running, they asked, "The Marathon?"  And my sheepish response was, "No, uhh, just the 9 mile race..."  Should anyone be sheepish about running 9 miles? NO!!!  So, I hereby proclaim, proudly - 

I ran 9 miles!!  

And, I have a really cool medal to prove it!

My goal in this race was to have a pace of less than 10:30 per mile.  I've found that I'm just starting to get faster after over a year of running, and I was thrilled with my 10:10 per mile pace!!

Now, when I run a long distance, (remember, 9 miles is a long distance) the first few miles are really interesting and full of awe and enthusiasm, but after those first few miles, you have some time on your hands and not much else to do except listen to the i-Pod and look at people.  People passing you, people that you are passing, people cheering, people dressed in ways that they really shouldn't be dressed!!  Ok, so there it is, I love looking at what people are wearing - sometimes with admiration, sometimes with scrutiny, and sometimes with "jaw-dropping 'what the hell we're you thinking?'"

So here are 9 "Rants & Raves" to match the 9 miles that I ran!

1. Rave - The Big Sur Coastline - it is simply my most favorite place to be!  I, quite literally, could spend hours just sitting enjoying the view - breathtaking! 

    2. Rant - Don't have too big of a smile on your face when you're coming back from the turn-around     when I'm only on mile 4! This means you, 24-year old Berkeley kid!!

3.  Rave - Very unique ceramic medal for all finishers!

4.  Rant - If you're not an Olympian, perhaps you should reconsider wearing only a running bra and shorts during your race!

5.  Rave - Very enthusiastic groups at every mile shouting words of encouragement!

6.  Rant - Don't wear white running shorts if you're a man - actually this applies to women also - please, there are children watching this race!!

7.  Rave - My fans!  

Me & the Babies! My biggest fans!

8.  Rant - Don't yell, "Why are you slowing down?" to people coming into the finish!  We're tired - and why aren't you out here running next to me?

9.  Rave - Being blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run!  Thank you Lord!

Still able to walk upright! It was a good day!

Here's some thrilling news!  Running Buddy and I were picked out of a random draw to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco in October!!  What's the big excitement about this?  The hunky firemen dressed in tuxedos handing out Tiffany necklaces at the end of the race!  

Woo hoo!  I'm going to fool myself into thinking that I'm actually "lookin' good" at the end of a 13.1 mile race!  What fun!

Hey, thanks for visiting!