You might think that I am lying to myself, but it was actually really fun! Once I got past the initial shock that the course was mostly uphill and that even though my legs felt like rocks by kilometer 9, I realized that I was really enjoying myself.
I've found here in Madrid that I am like a moth to light or a Spaniard to ham, when it comes to festivals and lots of people in one location. Whether it is a smokey discoteca, a fallas festival with loud fireworks amongst the streets of Valencia, or thousands of disguised, costumed young people in the streets of Cadiz for Carnival, I live for the crowd, and the chaos and energy that come with it.
This past Sunday, the crowd was a healthier group but the spirit was the same. The madrileños woke up relatively early for the gunshot at 9:30am. We had people cheering us on the side of the streets yelling, "Ánimo, ánimo, venga, venga!", which is somehow even more encouraging in Spanish. At one corner, I noticed a reverse in cheering- the runners were cheering as they were turning. As I got closer, I saw two adorable nuns sitting on the curb watching the race and cheering on the runners. Yet these nuns were getting more attention than us; I couldn´t help but smile.
The hardest kilometers were 19 and 20, just before the final kilometer. Kilometer 19 involved a cruel and intentional uphill into the Parque del Retiro and kilometer 20 involved a tease: just when we thought we were going to turn left to run in to the finish, the race took us on a long and arborous path where we passed right along the runners that had already finished the loop. Yet, through it all, I made it in just over two hours, and all of my friends finished as well.
We got some sweet shirts out of it; even more so we got a sweet tour of the city! From the energy of the crowd to the views of the city to the proud feeling after crossing the finish line, I will forever remember the Madrid half marathon. And I will choose to forget the pain I felt today getting to school and back ;)
