2 hr 11 min 35 sec

I have completed the first half-marathon of my life. Through the blisters on my feet and the extreme pain in the knees while climbing down stairs and the walk of a geriatric; the unchanging, invariate and triumphant news is that I prevailed and completed the Seattle half-marathon in the aforementioned time.

Some highlights of the race:
1. Made infinitely worse the by the one thing you definitely don't want to see the morning of a marathon, especially when it happens once a year in Seattle: snow!!
2. Made fractionally easier and more irritating by the rain that the snow trascended into and which remained from the start of the race to the end. Made tougher by the fact that there are uphills and more uphills in the course making it tough tough tough. A stretch of flat land was like an oasis in a desert.
3. Made interesting by the 7000 people who ran and warmed up the place by their competitiveness and enthusiasm. At no stage of the race was I running alone. There was a crowd to wade through and I was grateful for that.
4. Made uplifiting by people who came out on the streets to cheer the runners through the cold. The best exhorting statement came from the lady who said:"This run is your bitch" :-)
5. Made possible by the mad rush I had in the last three miles, which were run on pure adrenalin and reserves of energy I did not know existed. In the last mile, I gave it everything I had and overtook 30-40 people. Discovered that pain has its own beauty and is as pure as love can be. Through the excruciating pain came the urge to overcome it and get to the finish line as soon as I could.
6. Made quirkier by thoughts like: this is easy; there are only 5 miles to go; what about a full marathon?
7. Made beautiful by running by the waterfront and through different vistas from which the beauty of Seattle was revealed. Passed by the house of Cobain and wondered why he would need to kill himself when he could be running up and down the stretch all the time.
8. Made raising my arms at the finishing line a very deserving and satisfying action. Then the arms fell down to the ground and so did I.

There I have it: my first prize in athletics in my life, a medal for completing the race, the tag of being a half-marathoner.