Racing

May 26, 2025

You know when you’ve had a date in mind for months and it finally sneaks up on you?? That was this week for me. My friends and I had decided to sign up for a Moonlight Half Marathon what feels like forever ago, and this weekend it finally rolled around.

It was a busy week leading up to the race! At school we seem to be cramming everything into our last few weeks of lessons. Monday kicked off with the dreaded microbiology exam, which to my surprise I did well on. I’ve never been so relieved to have an exam out of the way. The rest of the week I had thesis work and practical classes in our experimental vineyard and multiple seminars on yeasts and fertigation (fertilization irrigation) and climate change. I was so happy on Thursday night, when after a 10-hour-day on campus I could finally take a little mental break and get prepared for the weekend.

Friday I slept in a little, booked my one way flight home for July (and cried) then spent the afternoon doing some deep cleaning and organizing. That night, my friend Marianne brought over her pasta maker and we had a little pasta making party. I can’t believe I’ve never made pasta from scratch before?? It ended up being one of the best meals I’ve had in my life. We browned some butter and added some sage, then topped the noodles with Parmesan and guanciale. I probably ate enough to feed a family of four. It was necessary though, I needed to carbo-load!

The next day, Teresa, Sam and I got up early, picked up our rental car (a red Fiat Panda) and hit the road to head to Jesolo. We spent the drive listening to 2000s hits and pretending we weren’t nervous for the race. It was a beautiful drive! And Jesolo was so pretty. It’s a charming seaside town on the Adriatic Sea, near a lagoon, surrounded by farmland, and threaded with canals.

When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and the race, then ate horrible grocery store salads before heading off to the races. Sam’s 10k started before our race, so Teresa and I cheered her on then lined up. We sang the Italian National Anthem, shouted the countdown, then hit the pavement.

The race started in the center of town, then we ran towards the more historical area (which was precious) and crossed a flower-covered bridge before going through the countryside. Teresa and I kept pointing out poppy fields and horses and cows and grapevines and cute boats in the canals, and all of this was happening at sunset which just added to the beauty and the fun.

Between the views and the camaraderie and adrenaline at the beginning of the race, the first 5 miles passed so quickly I hardly even realized I was running! The next 5 miles I was certainly aware I was running, but I couldn’t stopped smiling. I felt so strong and so thankful for my body and so excited because I saw the 2-hour-pacer balloons up ahead and knew I had a shot of accomplishing my goal of a sub-2-hour half marathon.

Teresa and I finally caught up to them with about 3 miles to go as dusk faded to darkness, and that’s when the doubts crept in. My legs were on autopilot at that point, but I didn’t know how much longer they’d last at the pace we’d been going. I started thinking under 2-hours might be a little too ambitious, and maybe I should slow and catch my breath, then we took a turn and were greeted with a sandy beach and crashing waves. It was exactly the sight I needed to keep going.

The beachside portion was only about 2-miles long, but it felt like half the race. This is where my shuffled running playlist came in clutch. It played The Spins by Mac Miller, Real Gone from the movie Cars, and Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes as my final 3 songs.

With about a mile left in the race I finally passed the pacers. I pushed myself to the point where I couldn’t feel my head for the last half mile, but I crossed the finish line with it held high nonetheless. My official time was 1:58:27!! Woohoo!!

The transition from running to walking was awful. It was like my legs forgot how to work properly. Finally plopping into a chair and sitting for dinner was a true blessing. The girls and I got pizzas and beer, and let me tell you, a beer has never tasted so good. Standing back up and walking back to the hotel after our meal was torture. We hobbled all the way to our hotel, having to stop a few times along the way, then fell into bed.

We woke up Sunday morning sore, but alive, and decided to take advantage of the beautiful day by stopping by Venice on our way home. We slowly made our way around Santa Lucia Island and ended up running into a friend from Cremona and having some Prosecco together. Such a fun way to end the weekend!

This week is our final week of classes, then it’s a month of chaos, racing to get my thesis done. I can’t believe how quickly time is flying!