Half marathon--DONE!

Last Saturday I ran my half marathon! I was really nervous about it. A few months ago, I started a training program that I found on Hal Higdon's website. But, I wasn't great at keeping exactly to the schedule. I missed a lot of the runs, including the last two big runs of 9 and 10 miles each. As my runs got longer, my body would hurt more after each run. After my 8 mile run, I had pain not only in my knees but also in both of my feet in the arches. Then, last week, about 5 days before my race, I came down with a cold--sore throat, fatigue, runny nose, you name it. I was so worried that I wouldn't have the energy to finish or that I would injure myself. But, with a little help from the Lord, I was able to finish the race! I had three goals with this race (the first was a goal I wanted to hit, and the other two were more like "It would be nice if I..." rather than "I WILL..."):

1.) Finish - that's it! Just get through it without quitting.
2.) Don't walk at all.
3.) Run in 2:37 or less (an average of 12 minutes per mile)

So, I finished. I did end up walking, but only barely. I walked at the drink stations just long enough to drink my water. I stopped long enough to pee in a bush (they did have portable toilets, but the lines were so long and I didn't want to lose time waiting in a line), and I walked about 10 seconds at about 8.5 miles into the race. Not too bad for my first race! And, my race time wasn't 2:37 (see below).

The race started at 6:00 a.m., but we had to be at the local mall between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. to meet the buses that would take us up the canyon. I spent the night at my sister's house because a.) it was closer, and b.) she's usually up early in the morning anyway to feed her baby. She dropped me off a little before 4:00, and my crazy morning began. At the start of the race, there were so many people! The website showed the final count of those running the half at 1,949. Plus, there were volunteers, pacers, and maybe some who were doing relay half marathons. We were all trying to stay warm, and I didn't know a single person there (I knew some who were running the race, but I didn't see them). As it got closer to 6:00 a.m., the sun started to rise, and we all made our way to the starting line. We didn't have a gun that went off or anything--I just noticed that people were starting. I hung toward the back because I didn't plan on running too fast, so I didn't want to get in the way of tons people who would be passing me. It took a few minutes to get my stride, and then I settled in. There were stations every two miles with drink, food (some stations had oranges and bananas, while others had GU gels), and bathrooms. It was awesome to hear people cheering each other on, whether they were going fast, walking, or in-between. I was most inspired by those who seemed like "underdogs" - those who didn't appear to be in the best of shape, or those who were getting senior citizen discounts at restaurants.

Once we got out of the canyon, the race became harder. It was all downhill at this point, but the beautiful scenery was gone and I realized we still had a long way to go. This was also at about the 8 mile point, which meant I was also running further than I had in my training. But, it also meant that family and friends of the runners could be standing by the course, and there were lots of people there cheering not only their friends and family but everyone! It was such a boost to hear those people cheering, even though they didn't know me. And then, I saw my family! B1, B2, D, and my mom had come to cheer me on. After I passed by, they all got in their car and drove a few blocks down and kept cheering! It was awesome that they did that, as it kept me going during the worst part of the race. Once I hit the 9 mile mark, it became a little easier to keep going. Then, I saw the Riv, where B1 and I met nearly 9 years ago, and I realized how close I was. I increased my pace just a little, and when I got to where Brian and I lived when we were first married, I could see the finish line 5 blocks ahead. When I was at 2 blocks away, I increased my speed again, and I sprinted the last 50-100 meters to the end. Then I thought I'd pass out. :) I could barely stay on my feet as I walked around trying to find something to drink, and then I went and found my family. Beez and HeyHey met up with us right after while I stretched and tried to get my strength back. My official chip time was 2:42:46. So, it was about 5 minutes slower than what "would have been nice" but I'm still happy with my time.

As I've talked with people about the race since then, I've found that the best comparison I can make is that running this race was like giving birth. At first, I thought it couldn't be that bad. After all, thousands of people run races like this, or even worse, so why shouldn't I be able to do it too? Once I started training (like once I got pregnant) I realized that this was more daunting than I had realized, but the training process helped me feel like it was still manageable. The night before and the morning of, I was nervous but excited. About halfway into my race (like labor), I thought that this was the dumbest decision I had ever made. What smart person really runs like this for fun??? And what type of masochist actually does it more than once? With the help of my family cheering me on, I saw the finish line and I was able to finish knowing that the end was in sight. Once done, it was a high--I had done it! I had done something that lots of people don't do, and I had survived! The biggest difference between the two scenarios is that immediately after B2 was born, I swore I would never have kids again, because there was no way I'd be that stupid as to put myself through that again. However, immediately after the race was done, I thought, "Yeah, I could totally do that again, and next time I'll do it faster!"