The night before, we ate the classic pre-run dinner of spaghetti and meatballs (fake ones for me). We laid out our clothes, pinned our numbers on our shirts, and charged our iPods. I even put my chews in my pockets because I was so scared I was going to forget to take them on the run. We got Simeon settled over at our friends' place (conveniently next door), and tried to relax enough to go to bed. The plan was to go to bed early . . . we made it in bed by 11pm. Oh, well.
5:15am came too quickly, and the night before was filled with getting up to go to the bathroom, since we both had hydrated extra well the night before. We got ready, emptied our bladders and bowels as much as possible (trust me - this is vital before running long distances!), and ate a banana (potassium helps with bring water into cells) and steel cut oats (carbs). And away we went.
It was a bit cold out, but it was actually really refreshing. We took some pictures, took a little warm-up jog around the field there, and peed 3 or 4 times. And it was time to start. There were even less people than I had expected - about 150 at the most.
The first mile was a whole lot of me getting passed, which I expected. During the second mile, I had to really use the confidence I had worked so hard on when first running, as I realized I was actually the very last person. It felt like I was in 4th grade track and field again, and had to remind myself that I deserved to be there just as much as anyone else. I was also afraid of getting lost, since they had changed the track due to the Tanque Verde wash flowing with water. It took until mile 3 to remind myself of how far I'd come and that six months ago, I couldn't even run a mile. Also, I had to remember that my goal was to run the whole thing, and that some of these people ahead of me are going to walk at some point, which ended up happening towards the end of the race - I actually got to pass a few people then. :)
My running went great. I ran the whole half marathon!!! With no walking. My original goal was to finish in 2 hours 30 minutes. I then changed it to 2 hours 45 minutes when my training went down hill because of injuries. I finished in 2 hours and 39 minutes. Yeah! There were a few hills, but nothing crazy. And it was really beautiful. The run went through the neighborhoods around the 49ers and other neighborhoods off of Tanque Verde and Reddington Road. The turn around point was at the end of Reddington Road, where it turns to more of a dirt road. Once I got into a groove and got over my frustrations (see next paragraph), I really enjoyed my run. I did great until the last 2 miles. Those I really had to push myself to keep running. That's when I started thinking about Cruz, my sister, her husband, and their kiddos waiting to cheer me on at the finish line. That really kept me going, and I finished strong.
The race itself . . . . where to start and how to stay positive . . . ? If you are going to do a half marathon, go for one of the big ones, with thousands and thousands of runners, and people who are cheering along the sides. This race was really frustrating. It was a fundraiser for a local group, so my expectations weren't super high, but really?! Our start/finish sign was butcher paper held up with duct tape. The course was confusing, and over half of us went the wrong way, so ran the majority of the race (a huge loop) backwards. There were water stations at mile 2, 3, and then I didn't see another one until mile 7. Then I didn't see another one until the mile 3 spot (which was then mile 10) and one more before the finish. We live in the stinkin' desert!!! I think there was at least one more, but it was packed up and driving away as I was approaching. Thankfully, there were some people filming from a golf cart in front of me around mile 9? and they gave me their own (half drunken) bottle of water. That saved me. I don't think I would have finished without it. The volunteers also seemed to care less that they were there and that we were running a really long way. No cheering. Hardly a smile. I'm never doing this marathon again. I'm going big next time.
With all the complaining done, I am still proud of myself and my husband. We totally rocked! I am also glad that I ran the half marathon. I met a few other runners towards the end that were also running their first, and we tried to encourage each other along the way. I have learned so much from my training and actually finishing my first race, and I'm excited to do it again, but better. Here are some of the things I've learned:
-How to love and encourage myself
-How to push myself when I want to quit
-train slowly, especially at first, and fight the urge to do too much at the beginning
-don't get discouraged from an injury - just cross train and let it heal
-get your stride evaluated and invest in good shoes (no, the $25 special probably won't cut it)
-Shoes' support goes out after a few hundred miles (I didn't know this!), so shoes have to be replaced, often before they show signs of wear (unless you're going to do the Zen/barefoot running style)
-Your body really only stores 1 hour of glycogen - Gu Chews make a huge difference in long runs, and they're not too bad tasting, either
-Run a big race, especially for your first one, and one that gives out medals - I wish I had something besides a really ugly Yellow shirt to show for my hard work.
-don't stretch before runs - just warm up - but stretch really well afterwards - yoga every morning has helped me a lot
-find music that inspires you when you exercise, and do a few runs outside without music, too
-good workout clothes really make a difference - I'm ready to try some of those awesome running shirts now, that have mesh in the underarm and sides
-get an iPod strap that doesn't chafe your arm so easily - ouch!
-figure out what works for you - many people do better running in pairs or groups. I run better by myself
-Sometimes it's important to listen to your body - sometimes it's important to tell it to shut up :)
-running, and most exercise, is more of a mental exercise than physical - we don't allow ourselves to feel a little pain to get the benefits
-We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for - Our bodies are amazing machines that we often don't push ourselves hard enough
If I can do it, so can you!!!
My next plans: (I've decided to use this word instead of goal - it then becomes something that will happen instead of something to shoot for)
1. re-train for a half marathon (do it maybe in Nov or Dec) and then continue training to do a full marathon in the spring.
2. if I get pregnant before plan #1 can happen, train through pregnancy, moving to spin and other low impact exercises as I get further along. Start plan #1 after a baby comes
3. get my mile time down - I figure if you get from walking to running by running 1 minute, walking two, then you can do the same thing to boost your speed (run 1 minute at the faster pace, run the slower pace for two)
4. add in weight training 2-3 times a week again, and yoga every morning again
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