Honestly it feels weird even beginning to write this post. I cannot believe the half marathon is complete. A quick back story…. On September 22, 2013 I competed in my first 5k as an adult (I’ve run a 5k or two before when I was much, much younger) to bond with my sister. I trained for one day before that 5k so my goal for the race was to compete the 3.1 miles without walking. I felt like I was going to die, but I did it. After that race it was official. I caught the running bug. I wanted to run more races and compete. The next day after the 5k I started running and a week later was up to 6 miles run/walk using couch to 10k (I realize now I upped my mileage way too fast). October 8th I decided I was going to run a half marathon and started training for it. My goal at that point was an April ½ marathon. By the end of November my knees were in excruciating pain (no surprise there though… it dangerous to increase mileage like I did). By the time December rolled around I wasn’t able to run anymore because of my knee pain so I took my training to a gym and did some cross training. My next run wasn’t until January 22nd. By this point I realized that an April half marathon was not going to happen and so I kind of gave up on the idea of running a half in 2014. From that point on I would run, bike and started the Bikini Body Guide, fast forward to August 15, 2014 when I found the Shades of Death ½ marathon. I’m a Weird NJ junkie and this race just fit. It was the perfect first half marathon for me. So, I registered that day and had 7 formal weeks of training specifically for the race.
Back to the race… my goal was to run every mile sub 11 minutes, putting me at a 2:15-2:30 finish. Mile 1, felt great. Found a nice pace that was not too fast and kept myself there (even though I wanted to go faster, I knew I couldn’t that early in such a long race). Mile 2, 3… 4 I realize how long this race is going to be but I keep my pace at around 9:30. Mile 5… "I thought I was only at 4… sweet"… 6… 7… all consistently at about 9:30-9:35. Mile 8. I’ve just begun the second loop of the course and I hit ‘it’. That thing I’ve heard about from so many runners. My wall. This I when I really slowed and wondered why I was doing this and if I will be able to finish. Mile 9. More of the same. Fighting through the exhaustion and definitely bleeding from my toe. Every step I can feel my flesh rip from the blood soaked sock. Finally mile 10, double digits. "Time to run hard" I tell myself but nothing happens. My pace stays then I’m passed by an older woman who looked more like she was walking than running. First I’m angry with myself. “Why are you going to let this person finish before you?” Then I accept that she is better than me and deal with it. Then my body finally responded to my demand from earlier and I began to pick up my pace. Slowly but surely every step I took my pace increased and I passed the woman then another and then a few more. 2 hours 13 minutes and 40 seconds from when I began the race, I finally finished. I was in pain but I was also in heaven. I did it. I finished! Now I’m even more hooked to running. I’ve already set a goal of sub 1 hour and 50 minutes. If I can improve as much as I did in the 5k for half marathons it is an achievable goal. But for today I rest. My knees and ankles are still sore and my body needs time to heal before I begin preparations for my next half. My 7 weeks of training really hurt me in that aspect. I never got in enough high mileage runs to prepare my body for the impact of 2+ hours of running and that mistake caused me to hit my wall. Cardiovascular I could have continued at 9:30 but my knees and ankles could not. I will not repeat this mistake and look forward to running my second half marathon to see how far I push myself. I still can’t believe the run is already over and I’m so thankful that I found that race and committed to completing 13.1! Set high goals for yourself because once you meet them the accomplishment feels that much more rewarding.
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