Well, I did it. I completed my first half-marathon! It was hard, it was fun, it was miserable, it was a blast. I may even do it again. But not for a little while!
Okey dokey, race report. Where do I start? Hmm...well, it was an
absolutely bee-yoo-tee-ful day for a race. Sunny and cool (almost cold)
at the start. I started off the race running with my friend Amy. She runs
about the same pace as I do, so we figured we would probably be able to run the majority of the race together. We were running really well and
getting into a groove when (tmi warning) some digestive issues surfaced. I thought I was going to be ok until just before the 2 mile
mark. Then I had to make 3 unscheduled pit stops between miles 2
and 3. I got that out of my system and then developed a stitch in my side
that forced me to walk a decent bit of mile 4. Mile 4 was a 12:30 mile. Blech.
I got into my groove after that and was really feeling good. Miles 5-12
were at or below my goal pace (10 minute mile). I was able to pass most of the
people that had passed me during my stops. I felt really strong, and really good through that entire section.
Around 11.5, my legs hit the wall. My cardio felt great but the legs
were kinda done. And then at 12, there was the one big hill on the
course. The majority of the course is on a trail that runs along a
river. At mile 12, you come up off the trail and have to go up a
viaduct and into the city. It's a big hill. I managed to run the whole
hill and hit the top and had to stop and walk.
I picked it back up a little around 12.5 and was able to pass a
lady in front of me in a hot pink shirt that I remembered passing at
the beginning before I had to stop. I turned the corner, and my friend Becky was there and ran me in, yelling at me to go
faster and beat the guy in front of me. He heard her yelling and picked
it up, but he faded and I got him right at the end! (sidenote...I found out when I looked at the official results that the guy was 53 years old...woohoo, I can outsprint a 53 year old dude! LOL)
So, I'm a little disappointed because I know I could have done better
without the stops I had to take, but at the same time I'm very proud of
myself because I did really well outside of that. And I managed to fight through a really tough start and finish strong. My official time was 2:20:20. My "real" time (without the pit stops) was 2:16:12. Without the stitch in
my side that made me stop and walk, it would have been closer to 2:14. And I officially completed
a half-marathon! My goals for the race were: a) Finish. Yup! b) Finish under 2:30. I would have been pretty disappointed if I hadn't, but I definitely did. c) Run 10 minute pace overall for the race. Unfortunately, no. It would have been somewhat close if I had been able to run hard for miles 2-4, though! My official pace was 10:43, but my "real" pace was 10:25. I did manage to run 7 miles at or under goal pace, but the ones that were over were just too far over to even it out. This was kind of a "dream" goal for me anyway, but I really think I could have done it had the stars aligned for me. Oh well, I'll just have to try again!
I just want to say thank you to my friends Sonja, Amy, and Hillary that I ran the race with for going through this process with me. Amy and Hillary were both first-timers, too. Sonja managed to run a personal best even with intense abdominal pain that sent her to the ER later in the day! These women inspire and amaze me every day!
And a HUGE thank you to Lindsay and Becky for coming out and cheering! Lindsay took the time to come out even though she's super busy and stressed out over remodeling and moving into a new house. It was great to see her and Becky at mile 2, and even chat with them while I waited for the port-o-potty. ;-) Becky was AWESOME and popped up right around the half-way mark to cheer some more, and then was waiting at the finish when I turned the corner. It felt SO good to have her there cheering for me. Generic cheers are nice, but cheers specifically for you are the best! And she even gave me a ride back to my car so I didn't have to ride the light rail back. Love ya, Beck!
I've got some pretty sore legs today, but not too terrible. I also have some sore abs right where the stitch in my side was, which is a little weird, but other than that, I feel pretty good considering I ran 13.1 miles yesterday. I think I'll skip running for a couple of days, though! Now I just need to figure out what's next on the agenda...I'm definitely running a 10k at the end of May and have already signed up for an Olympic distance triathlon in July, but I'll probably fit a few more races in there at some point. I'll keep you posted!