Go Mama Lee

Last October, after I finished my 1/2 Marathon in San Jose, Mama Lee said to me that she thinks she could walk a 1/2 Marathon. So I looked at the calendar, and found a 1/2 Marathon during the time I am in LA.

The Pasadena 1/2 Marathon that takes place on March 22nd, 2009. I thought it would be cool weather and not take that long from her house. So we both signed up to walk the 1/2 marathon. She has been faithfully training ever since we decided to sign up.

The race started at 6:30am, so we left the house at 5am. Yet, we were only a mile from the race, and we hit really bad traffic. Therefore, we got to the race 30 minutes late. We started the race at 7am. That is ok, except that for a while we were the last ones in the race. I wanted to stay with Mama Lee to keep her company. Both of us have a little of a competitive spirit, and a little shame at being last. Some of the volunteers told us we were last and had everyone cheer for us. "Oh no you didn't!" So every time we saw people ahead, we started running just to beat them. I feel bad that I made Mama Lee run so much for us doing this "walk."

She was doing very well considering it was raining from mile 2-3 and mile 8-10. During mile 2-3, there was a regular flow of rain that was slightly more than a sprinkle. Still we got soaked. At mile 8-10, it was partially pouring. I was developing problems that I usually don't suffer from. My sweatpants was getting really heavy that it was dragging on the ground.

I stayed with Mama Lee up until right before mile 10. Then she told me to go ahead and that she would catch up with me. So at mile 11, I started running until the finish line. Then I waited for Mama Lee. As I was waiting for Mama Lee, I stood next to the announcer at the finish line. He has a computer that tells the runner's name and age. So he will say, "here come Suzuki, who is 68, finishing the 1/2 marathon." It was really inspiring. There was 81 year old woman walking the 1/2. So when Mama Lee came, he said, "Here is Rosalia Lee from Palos Verdes coming in for the 1/2 marathon. She is _ _ (her age). Raise your hands Rosalia!" So Mama Lee raised her hands as she crossed the finish line. She told me later that he shared so much information in front of everyone. haha.

And the best is that we weren't last! Mama Lee came in 45 minutes faster than she expected (plus we started 30 minutes later than everyone). Funny thing is that although last time I did a run/walk and this time I did a walk/run, I was only 40 minutes slower than last time. Last time I thought it was torture to finish, this time it was fun and I wasn't even tired. Not bad. (Plus my knees didn't even hurt like last time).