I ran 13.1 miles today and passed hella bitches on the way

I ran a half-marathon today (that's 13.1 miles for those of you who don't know) and it was one of the coolest things that I've done in a while. Kyle and Ben also ran today. At first when I asked them to run with me I thought that we'd run it together side by side. But no, Ben was way faster (he won the race) and Kyle was way slower (almost lost but didn't). So basically I was forced to run by myself most of the time and then pace or have conversations with strangers on the way. It was cool getting to know people but it was kind of annoying in that all my conversations only covered the topic of running, the last thing I wanted to think about during the race.
So probably the coolest thing that I did next to finishing the race was pass people. I started out running really slow and then I sped up continuously as the race went on. As a result I passed 20 people over the course of the race, and every time I told them "good job" or "nice work," but inside I was really laughing thinking that I was better than they were. That's not really true. But it does feel good to pass someone especially when they look healthier than you of if they look like they could possibly beat you up if you got in a fight. However, I was really relieved when I passed someone who didn't look like they should be in front of me. Maybe that is what kept me going during the race, trying to make sure I finished in fronts of people I thought were slower than myself. Most of these people were old, short, skinny, scrawny, men that were probably 40 years my senior, and I passed most of them.
An observation I made during today's run is that drinking water is really difficult when you're moving. It isn't as glamorous as the pro-marathon runners make it look. I thought that getting a cup of water would be quite simple, i.e. run by, grab a cup, pour it down your throat, throw it away, and run off without losing speed. But no, it's actually really difficult. At the first water station I grabbed a gatorade and spilled it and got sticky stuff all over my hand and arm. So the next time I decided to get water and proceeded to spill it all over my shorts. The third time I finally managed not to spill the water but nearly chocked on it. Finally I decided that I would slow down my running and take my time to take a slow and deserved gulp of water. So basically it wasn't till mile 6.7 that I finally got a real drink of water.
I hurt so bad right now. My knees are sore, my feet are in pain. and my muscles fee like they're going to cramp. I know that I'm going to pay for this 13.1 miles for the rest of the week in pain. But was it worth it? Yes it was.