My First Half Marathon

Saturday, November 22nd. A day that will live in infamy as the occasion of my first ever half marathon.

Sporting my finisher's medal

I'd been training for this since August, though by the last two to three weeks I was really over all the running and began to slack off considerably. The experts tell you to taper your training in the last couple of weeks (meaning you run less), so I told people I was just taking my tapering super seriously. Add to that the fact that I came down with a nasty head cold the week of the race, and I was really ready for the race to just be done.

So cold before it started

Getting RunKeeper set on my phone while waiting for the gun

The race was held in Roanoke, and that morning it was only 23 degrees as Charles and I drove to the starting line. Because of the frigid temperatures, we couldn't get anyone else to come along to cheer me on. So Charles was my one man cheering section, and it was motivating to see him at various points throughout the course.

And we're off!

Finishing up mile 10, with energy enough for a wave

My original plan was to start off somewhat easy and pick up the pace about halfway through the race, after ascending the largest hill. I had wanted to finish at around a 10:00 per mile pace, which would be 2 hours and 10 minutes for the total 13.1 miles.

Striding toward the finish line

My oh-so-glorious face after just finishing the race

After getting sick and not running for awhile, my revised plan was to still start out slow and then just try to finish the race. I took DayQuil beforehand and ended up feeling OK while running. After the first few miles at a nice easy pace, I realized that I could put a little more energy and effort into the race. I began to revive my hopes of a sub-2:15 finish.

Official results: 250th out of over 500 that started the race, 22nd out of 48 in my age/gender bracket

Super negative splits, last mile was the fastest

As you can see above, I started picking up the pace after the first couple of miles and then just kept dialing it up throughout the race. I stopped only briefly for water at a few of the available stations and didn't use any of the fuel I had in my pocket (dried apricots). Overall, I felt really good and was so pleased with my results. My overall pace was 9:39/mile, better than my original goal and far better than I would have hoped given my sickness and lackadaisical attitude toward training in the last few weeks.

My coveted prize

After the race I had only one thing on my mind. (And no, it wasn't food. Although that did come later!) I wanted to get my hands on that finisher's medal. At first I couldn't figure out where they were giving them out, but I felt it imperative that I have this proof of successful completion of what has been a huge goal for me. Once I found the man with the box at the finish line, I grabbed a medal that said 10k. Nope, that will not do at all... I ran 13.1 miles, and I want the appropriate medal to show it! As you can see in the photo above, I finally got it, along with a big smile of satisfaction.

Many thanks to all who supported me in this endeavor, especially Charles. The title of this post uses the word "first." Now that I've finished 13.1 miles in 2 hours 6 minutes while battling a cold, I'm wondering how much better I can do in full health. Will there be another half marathon in my future? Only time will tell!