Sunday 1 November 2015
An Extraordinary Sunday
Sunday was extraordinary. I got up at 4am, took the ferry to Devonport, gathered with a few thousand runners to watch the All Blacks winning the Rugby World Cup final, ran the Auckland half marathon barefoot, had a quick shower at home, made it to church on time to worship the Creator of the universe, taught Sunday school (on the transfiguration of Jesus), ate tasty Vietnamese food at Hansan, took my son to his water polo game, then to his cousin's pool party, returned home to rewatch the final, cooked dinner, tried to figure out an rr bug, and collapsed into bed.
I'd hardly done any training for the half marathon, initially because I had had a sore knee that I was afraid of aggravating and later because I was too busy with tramping trips and other activities. Yesterday I had intended to just try to finish in under two hours, but I started a bit too quickly and by the time I realized it, there was nothing to be done but push on. I finished in 1:48, five minutes faster than my previous best (four net). I paid for it though; keeping going was mentally harder than anything I've done before.
It was a fantastic day altogether. The experience of being in Devonport at dawn watching the rugby before the run was something I'll always remember.
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