I spent Sunday afternoon semi-bragging (and simultaneously consoling myself ) on Facebook and  at mein Schatz‘s Oma’s 85th birthday party, that although my time in the Hannover Half wasn’t my fastest, at least it wasn’t my slowest.  Um, yeah, but it sure came pretty darn close.

I just took a look back at all my old race times, and somehow I had it in my head that my most painful and unpleasant race — a blisteringly hot July day in 2004, pounding the pavement in the Bronx with excruciating knee pain — was also my slowest.  Yet, despite my terrible memories, I actually finished that race in 2:20:38.  In reality, Brooklyn 2007 was my slowest time ever, clocking in at 2:23:37.  (As a comparison, my 2:13:06 in Manhattan in 2007, 2:13:10 in Brooklyn in 2004, and 2:17:08 in Hannover in 2009, round out my top three races.)

Not that any of this really matters, because even at my fastest, I’m still not very fast and I’m not really in this to compete with other people anyway.  BUT, I love competing with myself.  So one mega item on my (as of yet, unposted) Life List is to someday run a half-marathon in under two hours — awesome because it is simultaneously a major challenge, while also being totally doable if I set my mind to it.

Anyway, back to Hannover 2010.  I was worried it would be tough because I was undertrained, but I also knew I could pull it off if I just kept myself healthy, well-rested and well-fueled.  That I did, and the whole thing turned out to be pretty pleasant, I must say.  The cloudy 50-degree F weather was perfect and I still love me an 11:15 a.m. start time.  I also enjoyed quality time with mein Schatz, who ran a 3:16 full marathon the weekend before (!), but graciously kept me company in this race — chatting up the other runners, rousing the onlookers for applause, and speedily maneuvering his way through the refreshment stops to bringing me back cups of water while I plodded along. A girl could seriously get used to such service!

Towards the end of the run, we met a nice lady from South Carolina, probably about twenty years older than me, who was in town visiting friends and thought it would be fun to run the race. How awesome is that?  When I’m in my 50’s, please let me also be simultaneously running half-marathons and traveling the world.

Anyway, two days later, except for some soreness in my quads, I’m feeling back to normal and considering venturing out for a run tomorrow — so to quote the Hash House Harriers, “On, on!”