My first half marathon

I finished my first half marathon yesterday! Hopefully it will be the first of many. I had a great time. Crossing the finish line was such an unbelievable experience!

The weather was awesome for our race. We were a little chilly at first, waiting for the race to start, but as soon as we started running, we warmed up. We woke up at 5:30 and left my apartment by 6:30 to get to the starting line well before our 7:30 start time. I was so nervous that morning! I ate a bowl of cereal and some powerade energy gummies and drank tons of water and gatorade.

When we got to the starting area, I was so excited! Music was blaring and there were so many people everywhere. We saw the 8k runners take off for their race, then it was time for us to line up for the half marathon. Tristan, Bud and I were starting in corral H (2:30 finish time) but as the waves started, we got pushed up to corral G and ending up starting with them. We had been in the front of corral H, but we ended up starting in the middle of G, which slowed us down a lot. It was too hard to stay side by side, so I followed Tristan and we weaved our way in and out of the crowd. Bud got separated from us at this point and we never saw him for the remainder of the race.

People were running so slowly at the beginning of the race. I like to start out a little under pace, but I was still passing tons of people. Next time I definitely need to start out in a faster wave, because weaving around slow people takes a lot of time and energy. Tristan likes to start out a little faster than me, so she started pulling ahead. I kept running at my own pace, running slower than what I thought I could handle. The first 3 miles felt like nothing. The crowd was packed and I wasn't running all that fast. It didn't feel like we'd gone 3 miles!

After mile 3, I tried to pick up the pace a little and get into a rhythm. I caught up to Tristan and we ran together until mile 6, then we got separated again and I was a little ahead of her for the rest of the race. At mile 6 (10k), they clocked our time. I looked at my watch and saw that we'd done 6 miles in under an hour- we were set to do 10 minute miles if we kept the same pace! Miles 4-8 were my favorite, I think. We ran through a park, there were live bands, lots of spectators, and I was feeling great. I started to wonder if we could finish in under 2 hours!

At mile 8, I got an Accel gel to eat/drink. I wasted a few seconds trying to figure out how to open the thing. I finally realized that you just tear the top off and squirt the gel in your mouth. I took two gulps of gel and threw the rest of the packet on the ground. It didn't taste THAT bad, and I needed the extra energy! At mile 9, I got powerade at the aid station and walked while I drank it. Up until then, I'd gotten a drink at every aid station, but I'd run through. After mile 9, I walked at every station. It was my reward for making it another mile. I'd walk for 5 seconds and take 3 sips of water/powerade, and then I felt like I could keep going for another mile.

At mile 10, things got a little rough. I always hit a point during long runs where I feel like I'm about to cry, and this was it. Nothing really hurt, but I was starting to feel the effects of running a long distance. I started thinking things to keep myself motivated:

• Don't stop, don't give up. Don't stop, don't give up!
• Just keep running, one foot in front of the other, this is easy.
• My mom doesn't think I can do this, but she's WRONG!
• If I was going to stop and walk, I could've done that 6 miles ago.
• Only 3 miles left! That's not that far!

At mile 11, we crossed Broad Street, and I knew we were in the home stretch- just 2 miles left! I started thanking God for everything. "Thank you that I can run, when some people can't walk. Thank you that I'm healthy and strong. Thank you that I'm motivated to do this. Thank you that I know you and you will never leave me!" I felt so grateful that I'm healthy enough to run 13 miles. I am unbelievably blessed!

At mile 12, I stopped at the last aid station and this time I got water and powerade (usually I alternated at each stop). I walked for 5 seconds while I fueled up, then I was ready for the last stretch. I picked up the pace and pushed myself to run as fast as I could handle. I was still passing people- I was amazed that I had any energy left! Finally I could see the finish line and the last part was all downhill. I pushed myself to go a little faster- arms pumping, heavy breathing, sprinting the last part- and I felt like a superstar when I crossed the finish line! The clock said 2:18, but I knew we had started about 15 minutes later than the first wave, so I knew I'd gone faster than my goal time!!

I walked through the finish area and grabbed all the snacks they were handing out, but I couldn't eat right away. Bud was waiting for me at the finish line. Of course he finished ridiculously fast, but at a price. He was hobbling around like an old man. After I walked around for a little bit, I felt kind of shaky, so I sat down and ate a fruit cup. Twenty minutes later, I was starving, so I went back and got 2 slices of pizza.

Bud and I eventually found Tristan and the three of us went to the Omni Hotel to get free post-race massages! It was wonderful. I think that helped me not be as sore the next day. All in all, a great race. We all felt on top of the world. And of course we took a picture with our medals!

My time: 2:03:30
Tristan's time: 2:04:52
Bud's time: 1:43:28

New goal: Run a half marathon in under 2 hours! :)