Wanted to share some pictures and one bout of silliness from my first ever race—last Saturday's Prague Half Marathon.
My time: 2:01:39. Not bad for a newbie runner. :)
It was a good—maybe even great—first experience. Namesake, Ci and her boyfriend came to see me off. (Thanks guys, you rock!)
My starting pace was pretty conservative, probably slower than it needed to be, but I wanted to prevent early flameout. Once I got comfortable I gained momentum. No cramps or stitches; an even tempo with enough energy left at the last kilometer to make a mad dash for the finish line.
And mad it was. The reason? Pure and simple competition. Not race timing as one might expect. Because of my slow start I had already made peace with the fact that I wasn't going to get to the finish line in under 2:00:00—until one particular runner came along in the last two kilometers, and I figured out that she was using me for “target” pacing. Grrrr.
She passed me. A few minutes later, without much of a change in my pace I passed her. Within seconds (really) she “sped up” and passed me. And then—here's where things clicked for me—her pace slowed down again once she was ahead of me. Hmmmm.
My competitive side, which had curiously stayed dormant for the first 19 kilometers, suddenly kicked in: “Lady, you picked the wrong girl to use as your benchmark. I'm gonna drop your ass, and good luck catching me if you can!” As soon as I saw the 20km mark I took off past her and did not look back.
Run BlackGirl, Run!
The effort nearly killed me. I was so sure that my heart or lungs or a blood vessel—something internal—was going to explode. Either that or I would drop at the finish line in a faint.
Then I saw the clock time.... Afterward I realized that I probably owed the woman a “Thank You” (and a “Well Done”). Without her, I don't think I would have tried harder in that last leg.
Next year, I'm aiming for 1:45:00, and healthy competition. :)
Cauky.
Take a wild guess who the race leaders are?
Sprinting for the finish while I'm still at the 10km mark.
The insanity is almost over.
I poached this picture from "Empty Nester", a reader of this blog and recent American Expat to Prague. She came up to me as I was waiting and asked: "Are you BlackGirlinPrague?" :) Second time in two weeks this has happened to me.
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Is this Prague's biggest event of the year? Probably.
Obama comes into town tomorrow and will give a speech on Sunday morning. I'm making plans with some friends to go hear him speak. Gates to Hradcany Square, where the event will be held, open at 7am, but crowds are expected before that time.
Looks like I'm going to be setting up my alarm. As I wrote to Namesake: “It's a rare man that I would get up that early for these days.”
My concern now is what four hours waiting outdoors will do to my disposition. I'm cranky and ravenous in the mornings!
Is Prague the place to be in April—for Black people? It would seem so—three other celeb figures will be in town: Tina Turner, Beyonce, and Ice-Cube.
Tina and Beyonce will be performing within three days of each other—April 27 and 30. Yours truly is on a budget and “should” only spare funds for one..... Who will it be?
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An internal dialogue from the last few months. Can you relate?
I'd like to do ABC, but I'm busy. Put it on my to-do list.
I really want to (ought to, must do) ABC, but this “busy” thing just won't let up.
I want to make ABC a priority, but gosh, busy again...and tired. How does Oprah do it? Right, she has a staff.
I'll regroup this weekend, then start ABC next week—on Monday.
Great, someone else is doing/has done ABC-and D. What's my excuse?
Ooh, a little bit of time! Perfect opportunity to jumpstart ABC... What the heck? I just spent three hours catching up on CSI? The internet is evil.
Why do I want to do ABC again? Argh, the curse of ambition! Why can't I just be content as an underachiever?
I just stumbled across my to-do list from 200x. Guess what's on it?
My inability to get ABC done is starting to screw with my self-esteem.
I'm reading a self-help book. When I feel better about myself I'll tackle ABC.
I get it now, it's not me—I'm okay the way I am. ABC is the problem. It needs to be “redefined”.
ABC is now XYZ.
The last two sections of this
article pinpoint what ails me. The author's advice is similar to an approach that I decided to follow in January. I'll touch on that in a different post.
Now, I'm off to go get something done.
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I woke up early for a Sunday morning—7:30am. Too early to be thinking about racial bias, and the complexities of foreign aid to Africa. But these two topics grabbed my attention in the list of articles featured in my daily email subscription to the NYTimes.
On aid to Africa. First impression: Hard to disagree with Dambisa Moyo. I completely see the connection between foreign aid to African countries and increased corruption—it's an unfortunate and unintended side effect. Second impression: Smart woman—Harvard, Oxford. Third impression: I love her shoes.
On hidden racial biases. Can a test determine whether I have a strong bias for Blacks over Whites or vice versa? Though I think I'm tuned in to what my biases are, I was curious to find out what the Project Implicit test would reveal. (Take the US Election 2008 task.) Results? No automatic preference for one race over the other. Not to give toooo much credence to an online test, but that sounds about right. Living in America, I picked up “learned” biases that I didn't have growing up in Nigeria. Living in Prague, I find that these biases have become essentially useless.
Okay, more cereal and less cerebral for my Sunday morning.... It's cold outside and I feel disinclined to go for a run. Heading back to bed? Looking mighty attractive.
Cau.
PS – I'm playing hostess to younger Sister MoneyBags in a few days. (She's getting her MBA, hence the moniker.) This will leave two immediate family members—my Dad and younger brother—who have yet to pay me a visit in Prague.
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I went for a run late this morning. Training for a half-marathon that's coming up at the end of March.
Running in zero-degree weather isn't my idea of a rollicking good time, but pride (I've publicized my athletic intention to family and friends) and vanity (mini movements leftward on the scale) are great motivators. Plus, I've already paid 35 Euros ($45) to be at the start line—I hate to waste money.
Two things made me glad I ventured out, and regret that I don't make a habit of carrying my camera anymore. The first happened five minutes into my run.
Stromovka Park—a block away from my apartment in Holesovice—when covered in fresh snow is gorgeous to behold. (Stromovka means “Place of Trees”.) Apparently, we had gotten some snow earlier in the morning. Trees, plain and brown during past runs, were now powdered white and adorned with ice crystals. The scene sparkled; the air was light and crisp. A small wind blew specks of snow off branches; I got a cool dusting on my face, and I just felt so happy and alive and grateful.
“Wow, I want to share this experience! Why not blog it? It would be a nice way to return to posting. But wait, no picture? Darn, that would be a letdown, dontcha think? Maybe you should turn back to go get your camera. Oh man...”
Once I get into a run turning back is hard; plus, I don't trust myself—I could get home and find an excuse not to return. (Facebook, anyone?!) So, sorry I have no picture to show of my moment being at one with nature.
Thirty five minutes later, then I really wanted to kick myself for not turning back for the camera—because how often do I go out for a Sunday run and half-way through find myself being ferried across the Vltava River in a sailboat?
Here's how it happened: on a whim I decided to silently trail another runner. His route took us out of the park into the streets of Bubenec, past bus stops and nondescript rows of apartment buildings. Definitely nothing transcendent was going to happen for me on this stretch. When the guy made a beeline for his building I continued ahead until I hit a highway. To my left, cars and buses speeding past; to my right, the Vltava River; and across the river, the Prague Zoo in Troja.
One of the things I enjoy doing on runs is to see how far I can go along one side of the river until I find a way to get to the other and end up with a nice loop back home. So far I've found one connecting route—a rarely used bridge next to what I think is a water treatment plant. (Can't you just smell the roses?)
As I ran on the highway today, I wondered how and when I would find a way across, or if (already dreading the uninspiring landscape) I would have to turn around and head back the way I came. And voila, down by the river bank, a dinghy! A plain, small boat that takes people across the river, and you just pay with a standard bus-metro ticket. Sweet!
All smiles and happily violating my “Keep running unless you're about to pass out”, “Don't get in any water vessel without a life vest” rules, I joined a woman and her two children in the boat.
For someone who had recently come to bemoan the lack of novelty in her days, the two-minute boat ride to Troja was a welcome “adventure”.
"This is so cool and quirky! How many people know about this boat? And what's it called? The Prague Dinghy? Damn, I really should have brought my camera!...”
We've still got the whole month of February to get through, so there could be more snowy runs in Stromovka and a chance to get some nice shots. And something tells me I'll be back on the dinghy for another ferry across the river. :)
Cauky.
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My time: 2:01:39. Not bad for a newbie runner. :)
Take a wild guess who the race leaders are?
Sprinting for the finish while I'm still at the 10km mark.
The insanity is almost over.
I poached this picture from "Empty Nester", a reader of this blog and recent American Expat to Prague. She came up to me as I was waiting and asked: "Are you BlackGirlinPrague?" :) Second time in two weeks this has happened to me.
