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| Me, my coach, JD, and my little cheer section! |
I did it! I successfully finished my first half marathon. I do believe it is a little bit like giving birth. You kind of forget the pain after. You know there was suffering, but it's a little blurred, now.
My morning did not start out so swell. JD, my coach was doing the race, too and he came by and picked me up at zero thirty in the morning. The race was going to start at 6:45am in January! Not to worry, it was in the balmy mid 60s or so. That eliminated the whole, "I'm gonna freeze", "what am I going to do once I heat up?" kind of questions. We got out of the driveway and I realized I had my heartrate strap on and no Garmin. Turn around. Got the watch and we were on our way. We found a great parking space(wonderfully and crucially,right next to the bathrooms, swwwweeet!) and then I discovered my watch was dead. This was a big deal because now I couldn't watch my pace and time or heart rate or anything! I KNOW I charged it up and had made sure 2 days prior that it was, but maybe an elbow knocked it off the base, I don't know. Oh, well, I could still run and it wasn't as bad as when I had forgotten my helmet, which you have to have to compete, at a triathlon and found someone to let me borrow one at the last minute, bless that stranger!
So I found a spot in the 5500+ people and waited for take off. The first 4 miles went by relatively quickly and felt good. I heard one lady telling another that they were under 11 minute pace and I knew I had to slow down a bit or I would run out of gas at the end. My goal was a) don't walk and b) under 12 minutes. My "stretch" goal was an 11:30 pace for the 1/2 marathon. 5k pace is not the same as 1/2 marathon pace I have learned! I'm a turtle, I know, but I'm out there, at least! The next few miles were ok, too, until I got to Burnet Road. I'm guessing around miles 7-9. I started the mental game around this point. It's the point where you still have quite a ways to go, but boredom and fatigue are starting to set in. I was getting thirsty around here, too. I usually wear my water belt when I run, but I decided to use their water stops with the exception of a small 8 oz bottle of 1/2 gatorade, 1/2 water in my fanny pack. They seriously need a different name for that thing. Not wearing the water belt proved to be a major mistake later. NEVER CHANGE THE ROUTINE! I drank about 1/2 my back up and saved the rest in case. I knew if I could make it to mile 11, I'd see Dennis and Chrissy and the kids and that would get me from 11-12. And I knew that once I was at 12, I was on the last mile and close to the end and that would spur me on to the finish. I FINALLY got to mile 11 and saw everyone and when I did I threw my hands in the air and ran over and gave them high fives. I had a small hill after that and probably expended too much energy when I saw them, but it was such a bright spot after the last 2-3 miles prior. I finally got to mile 12, which was possibly measured wrong at two miles rather than one, I swear. I saw JD as I was closing in on the finish line and he ran with me for a short bit and congratulated me and told me to sprint it in, which I did. Well, it felt like a sprint, anyways. Looking at the video, it was more of a normal jog :).
And I did it! I saw my crew right at the finish line and went to get something to drink. About 5 minutes later, I started to feel woozy, so I sat down. And then, it never let up. I laid in the dirt. I sat by port a potties. I spent time in the port a potty. I laid in the dirt by the port a potty. Finally worked my way over to the Med Tent, which was a mile away. At least it felt like it. Everyone was saying, "It's just right there." It was an eternity away! I wanted to puke and sleep and I couldn't do either. My dear friends and family may have been backhanded if they shoved another bottle of Gatorade or water in my face, had I the energy to do so. The thought of drinking something made my stomach turn. I knew I had hit all the water stops, so I don't think it was dehydration, but maybe hyponatremia. I wasn't THAT thirsty. But I did only have 1 cup of power drink the entire race. And I had changed from my electrolyte chews to caffeine ones that had some sodium, but not much. With the heat that I hadn't been training in plus those changes, I think it just hit me.
Overall, the race itself was awesome. I felt good for most of the run and I didn't walk and I averaged an 11:34 mile! Only 4 sec/mi off my stretch goal! I was more bummed that I couldn't enjoy the fun part of the whole shebang, which is AFTER you are done! It was also embarrassing. I'm sooo glad that I didn't actually pass out or puke. I was close!
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| Wearing my medal and my 13.1 Miles and Still Smiling Tshirt(thanks, Chrissy!) in the med tent. Someone take this stupid banana. I don't want it! |
Next stop: Zooma 1/2 Marathon April 16th
Lesson: NEVER CHANGE THE ROUTINE!
3M 1/2 Marathon: 2:31:28
