Wisdom at last?

They say that nothing can buy experience - true in several instances. Youngsters do tend to have the brash - what do they know about people in their 40s like me - well, I'm sure I did the same back then. In today's race though, I think I think I finally gained a little wisdom six and a half years after running my first half marathon and six years after running my first marathon.
I might have said this several times before but running gives me immense pleasure - maybe the only thing that comes close to that with any physical activity is when I am hiking in a beautiful patch of land. However, I think that exhilaration I feel when I am running on an empty road or up a hill cannot be explained.
Just two days ago I contemplated whether or not to run my fifth half marathon - well, it had been a year since my last race and I was itching to do one. 10Ks don't give me as much pleasure and a full marathon does require a fair amount of training - I am not quite ready for my next. So, even though I hadn't specifically trained for this one, knowing that I had been running fair distances regularly enough that I would not bomb that I decided to go yesterday and register for this race. Why this one? Several people had told me that it was fun with all the bands along the course. So I went ahead and paid what I thought was a ridiculously high price for a half marathon - I think I paid around that much for even the Nike full marathon last year - but then I was looking forward to the experience.
The last few mornings have been chilly and this morning was no exception. It was expected to be sunny though and having been sunburnt badly during my first marathon, I decided to apply my sunscreen even though it was dark leaving home. I liked that I had to drive only 15 minutes to the start, that parking was really easy when I arrived and that there were zillions of portable toilets. I did not, however, expect to pay another $7 for convenient parking. Oh, well, all for the experience.
I delayed checking in my gear till as late as I could because I did not want to brave the morning chill longer than I needed to - my racing tank would be freezing. At 7:40 I decided to take the plunge, checking in my gear with two like-minded women I had met while waiting for the opportune moment.
Off I strode looking for my corral - I had given a random end time of 2:20 - that I think was my time for my first half marathon. I knew I wouldn't do worse than that because even though I am maybe 10 pounds heavier, I feel much fitter than I ever have. As I was entering the corral, I met this dear, old friend of mine - I first met him 20 years ago when I used to do my usual runing back and forth on Marine Drive in Mumbai and he used to play cricket and we both worked at the same place. When we reconnected a few years later, both were married and he was way more into running than I was. He ran my first marathon with me at my tortoise=like pace just to give me company - and he came all the way to San Diego just for that. I have yet to see him not go out of his way to help another runner. Anyway, I knew that he would be there today, I just didn't know where and it turned out that he was one of the pacers for my kind of pace - so that really made my day.
I then met with another woman who was fairly local and who was running on her own. She and I ran together for a little over half the way and she then told me that she was going to slow down a bit. Initially, I kept just a little ahead of my friend and his pacing sign - thereafter, I decided to up the speed just a bit and I kept increasing it. Along the way, I saw several interesting signs but the one that inspired me the most was this one on a woman's back that said "Running for my almost 3 year old and my 13 week old" 13 weeks - I could barely get my body back together and here was this woman running a half marathon - of course, I had to compliment her - that was awesome. There were lots of people running in memory of children, friends, family members, others attempting their first half marathon and yet others like me who just ran because they liked to. Want inspiration next time? Go volunteer at a race or run/walk/bike as part of one - it is simply amazing.
The bands - almost one at every mile - kept up the spirits as did several local folks who came out on Sunday morning just to cheer us, some enjoying their drinks, others, giving food to the runners, yet others playing music for the crowd and cheering us on - even little ones. That, along with the 12,000 strong participant number kept up the level of excitement.
The medal is probably one of the nicest I have received in my races and I was sure glad that they gave a real banana instead of the packaged health foods - they did give a couple later. The funniest was the volunteers cheering when someone decided to get a bagel - almost nobody wanted one.
For the first time since I started running distances, I felt like I had the pacing in my control; not only did I start out a little slower but I also had ample energy and finished my race in 2:08 which was only 2 minutes slower than my fastest half marathon time 5 years ago. I seemed to want to increase my speed at each subsequent mile, didn't need much water, used just one gel pack because I felt hungry. All this made me feel even more inspired - who says that speed cannot increase beyond 40 - its all in the mind. I'm not really sure but I certainly felt that way today - and with one of the bands playing "Doors" at mile#12, who can ask for more?