Yep, I did it; I completed my first half marathon. I say first because it was such an awesome experience that I'm already thinking about another, maybe even a full marathon?!?
According to Brian, he forgot that I even had a blog. The thing is, I got to a comfortable point in my training and it almost seemed too boring to blog about. Well, the race has come and gone, and before it becomes a blur in my mind, I thought I should document it all.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported me in my training. I never could have done it without friends and family who volunteered to watch Adelyn on pace run and long run days , or those experienced runners who helped me through pacing issues, minor injuries, and mental fatigue.
Race day experience:
4:45, my alarm goes off. 5:45, leave house. 6:30, finally get parked after traffic issues and nearly getting demolished by a huge SUV that failed to obey traffic laws (I'll spare you the details, it was ridiculous). 6:45, reach the crowded streets of Columbus and decide that we should use the Port O Johns. 7:15, after waiting close to 30 minutes in line, finally its my turn to use the dreaded and oh so smelly Port O John. 7:20, find a spot in the corral and wait anxiously and excitely for the next 10 minutes to pass.
Lesson learned, if I ever run in a marathon event again, allow at least 30 minutes to clear my bladder.
As many of you know, my goal was the complete the half marathon (13.1 miles) in under 2 hours, which works to be about a 9:10 pace. Samie and I spent at least 30 minutes talking through a grand plan for pacing the distance. Lets just say that you can train at a certain pace, but once you get to the event, your adrenaline kicks into gear, you're surrounded by thousands of runners, specators are cheering for you, bag pipes are playing, and kids are high fiving you, and all of that goes out the window. We had intended to keep a pace of 9:05 throughout the majority of the race (a little slower in the beginning and a little faster in the end), but we found that we consistently ran at an 8:50 pace. Here is the breakdown:
Mile 1: 8:52
Mile 2: 8:52
Mile 3: 9:13
Mile 4: 8:50
Mile 5: 8:53
Mile 6: 8:40
Mile 7: 9:02
Mile 8: 8:51
Mile 9: 8:48
Mile 10: 8:54
Mile 11: 8:37
Mile 12: 8:36
Mile 13: 8:06
The most important .1 (insert chuckles for those of you who know that a half marathon is not 13 miles, it is 13.1, emphasis on the .1) 6:28
Overall, thats an 8:51 pace, and a finishing time of 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 48 seconds.
Best signs: an oval shaped 0.0 and "w.t.f. is the beer?"
Worst miles: 3 and 7. Between 2 and 3 the road went from 3 lanes to 2 causing a lot of congestion for the first time in the race. We got stuck going a slower pace for most of the mile. Mile 7 was the only uphill part of the race besides the little bit at the end. Brian tried to warn us of this but we thought he was being sarcastic.
Best mile: Gradual downhill at mile 9, really gave us the energy to push hard the last 3 miles.
I over analyze everything, I've tried to quit, I think it's just who I am. To be completely honest about the race, it wasn't hard; I really wanted to keep going once we got to 13.1. Maybe not to mile 26, but I know I could have made it to mile 18 for sure. So I've been asking myself, did I over train? Or did I just train exceptionally well? I mean this in the most humble way possible. Brian says if I trained really well, competition should not be hard. My mind works different, I don't want it to be ridicously hard, but I do want an element of struggle, whether it mental or physical. Maybe I just didn't run hard enough? But if I ran faster the first 10 miles I may not have made it to the finish?!? See what I mean? I over analyze.
I am so happy that I signed up for this half marathon, it was just what I needed after a year and a half of being pregnant and nursing. I needed to feel like I had control of my body and I needed to do something for me! I did it!!
So what's next? I'm still contemplating training for a full marathon. In the meantime, my next running goal is to run the Turkey Trot 5k with a 7:45 pace. If I can run 13 miles at a pace of 8:50, I can certainly run 3 miles at a 7:45 pace right?
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