I’m sore and tired but it makes sense because I ran in the Berlin Half Marathon yesterday! It was a nice day, all things considered. The sun was shining but it was windy and cold most of the day. I was more prepared for this race than I was the last one but for some reason I had a lot of anxiety about it? It was immediately gone when I crossed the finish line and came home.
I listened to my music and enjoyed running through the city where I live. I love Berlin. It made me emotional to run past the famous landmarks and most importantly, seeing my friends on the side of the streets cheering for me. As I got closer to the 11km mark, nearly halfway, I knew I’d round the corner to see Adam, Ryan, Isabel and the guest of honor, Russell. Isabel raised Russ up so I’d see him and I darted over to him so I could kiss his face as I ran by. Then I kept running through my neighborhood, onto Potsdamer Platz, knowing I’d see more friends at the 15km mark. I ripped open a cherry gel and trotted along listening to music.
I was starting to lose steam and knew the distance between 15-19km would be tough. And then my friend Peter jumped into the race and ran with me. We talked and caught up about things that had happened in the past week while I was gone and we just had fun. It helped quite a bit and was nice to take it easy and just have fun in that stretch of the race.
And then finally, I sprinted towards the end and ran through the BrandenburgerTor and finished the race. Adam was waiting at the finish with a donut and a big hug. He bundled me up in his sweatshirt and jacket because I was so cold and tired. He was so proud of me and for some reason that made me want to cry. He’s always so supportive of things I want to try and he always encourages me along the way. He was at the last race I did and knowing he was there to watch really helped me get through that experience. We’re doing a Hyrox race together next month and I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve been exercising together for a long time but training for Hyrox since January. We complement each other so well in that sport.
Anyway, thank you to everyone who was so nice about the race and sent messages of support. It meant a lot to me. For now, I don’t think I’ll do another race. The thing I love about running is that it’s individual. It’s a place where I can clear my head and be alone while moving my body. I don’t like pressure surrounding the topic, even if it’s self inflicted. I just want to be alone and listen to a book, podcast or music while being outside.
