Would you like some wine with that PR?

Almost every runner I know is very familiar with these two letters: P and R. No, I'm not talking about public relations (although some of my runner friends are so awesome that they SHOULD be getting more of that kind of PR). I'm talking about the ultimate PR: a personal record.

I'm a very goal-oriented person, and hitting milestones--especially in my running--gives me an inimitable thrill. When I set out to do the Napa-To-Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon last week, I told myself I wasn't going to go for a PR, even though secretly I was hoping for one :).

I ran the Kaiser San Francisco Half Marathon in February in 2:36:48, beating my old PR by almost 12 minutes. I was hoping that a flatter course (as the Napa Half promised to be) would result in a new record, but I also didn't want to push myself too much an risk injury--and risk my "real" event later this year, the Royal Victoria Marathon.

And so I approached this race with a calm zen-like attitude (as zen-like as a naturally Type A person can get, anyway) and just went out to have fun. As I got closer to the end, it became clear: I could actually beat my time! It was a happy discovery, since I had added more than 8 minutes to my total time, thanks to waiting in line at a porta-potty earlier in the race. But the idea of getting a PR despite that gave me the extra pep I needed!

In the end, I did PR, though not by as much as I would have liked. I beat my old time by 36 seconds, which isn't a stretch by any means, but faster nonetheless. And how did I celebrate this new victory? Well, we were in wine country--how else? With wine, of course!!

Salut!

Run girls celebrate with a wine tasting!