[img]541|left|||no_popup[/img]At the Santa Barbara half-marathon expo over the weekend, they offered a special device that would allow me to track my pace by the mile. I declined to purchase. On my way to the race start, a fellow runner mentioned her interval-ready running watch. I responded while laughing that I had forgotten my sports watch.
A few races back, not having the ability to exactly track the vital statistics of my run would have caused me more stress than the run itself. Not this time. My training runs were as long as I felt like on that particular day. My walk breaks occurred while I searched for the next song on my iPhone or reached an intersection… or just felt like a break.
A Learning Experience
The run itself, 13.1 miles, was shorter than I expected. I started in the back and kept waiting “just one more mile” before picking up my pace. In this fashion, after 4 miles and a porta-potty break, I felt as if I had only just begun.
By the time I reached the big hill at Mile 10, I was ready to stretch out my legs. I cruised up the hill passing people like they were standing still. I love hills!
From there, I decided to challenge myself and kept up my pace. Even so, as I entered the final stretch, I still had energy left. I sped up even more and finished at a near sprint. The announcer even sounded impressed with my “strong finish”!
I won’t divulge my time. It is not relevant. What matters is that I had great fun training, I enjoyed a run in a beautiful city, I finished strong, and I learned that I have more strength and endurance than I realized.
I look forward to the next race… and learning still more about myself.
Ms. Dewberry, an accomplished cellist, completed her DMA in Chamber Music Performance from UCLA in December 2005. She received her MM in Cello Performance from UCLA in June 2002 and her B.M. in Cello Performance from Western Michigan University in April 1998. She also holds a B.A. in French with a minor in Women's Studies and Philosophy.
Her website is www.carterdewberry.com
She may be contacted at carter@carterdewberry.com
