When I do a tri, here is my ranking of my favorite things to do:
1) Swim
2) Bike
Running isn't even going on the list. I loathe the run portion. I have dreams of creating a triathlon called the Swim-Bike-Swim so we can just skip that running nonsense altogether. But I realized after my last triathlon that the running isn't going to go away and I was probably going to keep doing triathlons so I needed to conquer this running problem. Not that you can't walk the run portion but after awhile I was bored walking and just wanted it to be over. So running!
I've been training for this half marathon for eight weeks which was really a stunted schedule. I should have allowed a bit more time -- like 12 weeks. My schedule was basically run 3 days a week. Monday/Wednesday (3-5 miles) and Saturday a "long run" (5-9 miles). On the days I didn't run, I did yoga or walked or sat on my butt. I loosely used this training plan.
The thing you should know off the bat that I was not perfect with this training plan. You don't have to be perfect to succeed; you just can't give up. There were weeks that I skipped workouts, meetings came up, laziness took over BUT the next time I needed to work out? I was putting feet to pavement.
You should also know that I didn't just start running. I didn't strap on expensive shoes and say, "Woot! I'm a runner!" and take off doing miles. Even now, I am slow. SO SLOW. In the beginning, I walked and ran a little and walked some more. Even when I built up enough stamina to run miles, I didn't necessarily do that. The week before my half marathon, my "easy 5-mile run" became a walk while listening to a book and a half-hearted jog in the middle of it. I think "perfection" as a means to accomplish something is a huge downfall for people who are beginners.
Now, on to the race!
On the eve of the race, my friend and I (we both have small children) got a hotel room just steps from the start. It was such a great idea. We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory the night before for dinner and then headed to bed. Being it was DST, we had to set the clocks ahead (ack! Even earlier race time!).
We joined our wave and there were 10,000 runners that day (not an exaggeration). So it was crowded and energetic. Friends of mine who run marathons all the time warned me not to get caught up in the wave of people and excitement and blow my pace (13:30/mile). I concentrated on that.
The course was beautiful and we had the perfect weather. I had spend some time going over the course map and picked some mental milestones. I knew I wanted to run (with no breaks) until Mile 6. By Mile 6.5, I was happy because, for me, there was no turning back. As this point, if I quit, I would still have to get back to the start of the race and now it was equal distance from the finish line so I just had to keep running.
Mile 9 was all uphill. A steep enough hill that I only saw 4 runners actually RUNNING up the hill, everyone else was walking.
Mile 11-12 was probably the hardest miles for me. My body was starting to hurt and cramp. It was all downhill, thank goodness, but it was still tough. My friend who was running with me definitely kept me going. I tried to pick out children about my daughters age in the crowd and thought about being a role model.
The last half mile was fun. All the people cheering! The signs! Most of the tris I do don't attract this kind of a crowd so it was great to see so many little families out there supporting one another. My own family was at home (totally my choice!) but it didn't matter because everyone was cheering for everyone. There was a sign that said, "You are amazing, random stranger!"
At the end of it, I was way more sore than I thought I would be but I enjoyed it and I would do it again. I hope you will too if you haven't. And if you have? You know what I'm talking about.
My friend's husband took a quick pic at Mile 11. (I'm the one on the right... duh).
Mile11 by SweetEnnui, on Flickr
I finished in under 3 hours (just barely)! With a pace of around 13:17 (based on my GPS, not the race's).
That is sooooo good and thank you for sharing!