Thirteen Miles of Random Thoughts

Sunday I ran (survived) the Monterey Bay Half Marathon. I’ve done a few half marathons, and it’s weird because you would think they are all the same but each one feels so different. The crowd, energy, and obviously scenery make such a difference. This one just felt fresh and open. 

I told you all I’d write about the random thoughts that pop into my head while running, so here they are. Every single one, straight from the brain of SavePointDad. I broke it down mile by mile because, honestly, that’s how I survive these things. I am sure you have all done that, you know that: I have an hour left or 4 15 minutes left of work. 

This isn’t a blog about pacing strategies or nutrition hacks. It’s just what went through my head in real time. Also, I almost fell twice trying to power walk and put these in my notepad app. Please appreciate the danger I put myself in for you all. I fall a lot and because I am tall, it sucks even more. You ever fall and while falling have enough time to think to yourself “This is going to hurt” ?

Mile 1

I’m super excited. I already feel amazing just knowing I showed up. There’s nothing like that first surge when your legs wake up and your brain says, Yep, we’re really doing this. I always love that sense of accomplishment waiting at the start line, all the training and just the ability to be able to run 13 miles. Let’s Go!!!!

Mile 2

It’s cold AF. Leggings don’t do shit for the cold and I start questioning why I didn’t layer better. They are comfortable AF, I can see why girls love to wear them. And no one talks about how fishy the ocean smells here. Not bad fishy, just ocean real. Like salt and seaweed. 

Mile 3

Friday night I treated myself to pizza, thinking it’d be my pre-race carb loading. I looked forward to that damn pizza all day. But it just didn’t hit. Total disappointment. Still thinking about that let down as I’m running. It feels like I am being petty towards the pizza.

Mile 4

Some people have cool nicknames, I wish I had one. I have always wanted one. Maybe I’ll just plant one in my friends’ minds like Inception. Start casually dropping random ideas and see if one sticks. For my friends who are reading this, maybe I am doing this already? One of my best friends used to call me Hermione Granger. I think that may still be my contact name in her phone.

Mile 5 

The ocean is big AF. That’s it. Have you ever just looked at and thought this shit covers the world? I don’t think we as humans can fathom size at that proportion. It’s a little scary when you think about it. We have only explored 5%-6% percent of it. There's so much we don't know. I don’t like that.

Mile 6

God Damn, I’m not even halfway. I realize I’ve been romanticizing this whole running thing. My watch says six miles, my brain says I can call an Uber and nobody will know. It’s embarrassing how I needed to reason with myself not to.  I did plan it and where I could rejoin course without anyone noticing. The early confidence fades and the body and brain start negotiating.

Mile 7

It’s funny to me that so many people pretend to like salad. No one actually enjoys chewing lettuce. They like the ranch dressing. Basically mayonnaise on leaves. Gross. I spent that mile furthering my argument that salad culture is a scam and people who say they love it are fake AF.

Mile 8

I swear I’ve seen this same bird twice, mile three and now mile eight. It must be super annoyed with all the runners. Imagine thinking you are going to have a chill Sunday and a full half marathon runs past your front door. I would be so annoyed.  I wonder if I’ve ever eaten two eggs from the same chicken. Or had milk from the same cow. Honestly, I don’t like eggs and only force them down at work breakfast meetings to look like an adult. 

Mile 9

One of the first times I hung out with my friend I knew we were going to be close. We were hanging out and she was in an online argument with some girl from Brazil who was messaging some guy she was interested in. Watching her react to every message she read and asking me for tips on what to say almost like I was a pettiness coach. It was so fun lol. She still doesn’t like Brazil and that was like 2012. She says I can’t either. Squad. 

Mile 11

“Just run this mile three more times,” I tell myself. Somehow that logic makes it worse. I start counting breaths, pretending every exhale is progress. Little mental games keep me moving. I am beating my personal record by about 20 minutes which explains why I feel extra tired. 

Mile 12

Our babysitter canceled last minute, so my wife stayed home with the kids. She took one for the team. I’m grateful for that, grateful we even get to do this kind of thing together. Now we’ll both have the same amount of medals. I fell on our first half marathon and was unable to complete it so she has had one more metal than me. She sent me a few motivational texts, they helped a lot. 

Mile 13

Sadly, I died. But I survived! Thank God it’s over. It’s weird how quickly I forget how miserable I felt two miles ago and just soak it all in.

Already thinking about our next one in January. Apparently, runners lie a lot. But maybe it’s not lying, maybe it’s hope disguised as stubbornness.

Post-Race Thoughts

So yeah, thirteen miles of random thoughts. I realize this blog is a bit shorter than usual and that's because I wrote it all today, usually they take a few days. Also, honestly I am still tired.

Thanks for tagging along through my mental maze. If you laughed, nodded, or have ever coached someone through an online argument, subscribe at SavePointDad.com.