Tupelo 14.2 mile race

Yesterday morning I ran my first half marathon.  Well, it was actually 1.1 mile longer than a half, and I wanted to blog about it while it's still fresh on my mind.  Warning:  This post is more for me than anyone else.

I just looked at my training schedule, and I started training in May.  That's 4 months.  There's not much I've done consistently for 4 months.  The only way I was able to train consistently is because Will is such a great dad and helps so much with Garrison.  Many nights Will did the bed time routine by himself so I could go run.  And he rarely complained about it!

Saturday night I laid out all my clothes so I wouldn't have to scramble around in the dark.  I set my alarm for 4 am and was startled when it went off.  I said out loud, "I think that was for me," and Will grumbled, "It was."  I got all my stuff and went downstairs to change so I wouldn't wake anyone else up.  It was a bit surreal.  I kept thinking, I'm getting ready to run a half marathon.  This is real.  This is what I've been training for.

I ate a banana, put on my Garmin and headed out the door.  We stayed with Larry and Judy, so I just walked from their house to the starting line.  I picked up my bib and chip and stretched just a little.  It wasn't extremely organized.  Everyone started walking towards the starting line so I followed.  I was standing by myself and the people in front of me started running.  I heard someone say the race had started, but they never announced it.  The lady next to me said, "Did it really just start?  Should we start running now?"

The race started at 5am.  I've never run that early.  EVER.  And I typically don't run in the dark (I'm too scared to run by myself in the dark!).  But to run and watch the sun rise was amazing.  I liked starting out in the dark because I didn't compare myself to anyone because I couldn't SEE anyone! Some people wore headlamps, and others had flashlights to road.  Otherwise, it would have been complete darkness.  Actually at one point I ran with my eyes closed for a few steps.  I was so sleepy and couldn't see anyway!

For the first three miles, I never turned my music on - I just listened to the conversations around me.  I heard one lady say this was her 97th half marathon to run.  That's pretty amazing.  One guy is training for the Atlanta marathon in November, St. Jude in December, Birmingham, AL in February and a 50 mile trail race in the spring.

In training, I've been running a mile, and then alternating walking .25 and running .75.  Many nights I would come home from running discouraged that I didn't run more.  It was like I just couldn't push through it.  I knew it was mental.  I've read that on the day of a race that adrenaline kicks in.  I've been so steady and blah in my training that I didn't really know if MY adrenaline would kick in.  But it's amazing how that works!

Except for walking through the first two water stations, I ran all the way to mile 6.4 where Josh met me to run with me.  He immediately cut 2 minutes off my mile!  It's amazing what a difference it makes to run with someone! Josh was not officially registered for the race - it was already full when he tried to sign up.  He was so patient with me as I struggled along.  I had to walk a few times from miles 9 to 14.  My left knee started hurting, and I really tried to just push through it.  Jenifer tells me to dig deep and push through it. 

The course is a little longer than a normal half because it follows country roads.  At the 13.1 point, the people running the marathon turned around.  They had a clock set up at that point, and my half marathon time would have been 2:22!  Which I'm super proud of!

I had told Will that I hoped to finish in 3 hours, so he planned to bring Garrison to the finish line at 8.  We knew that we would finish before that, and Josh and I laughed that we would probably beat Will to the finish.  The last .2 miles was through the parking lot of the furniture market.  I kept telling myself to run faster to the finish, but my legs just wouldn't do it.  I started laughing at myself because my body just would NOT do what my mind was telling it to do.  I think I smiled through the finish because I realized I actually completed the race!  It was an amazing feeling.  And I think I'm addicted. 

Josh and I grabbed some water and started walking back to Judy and Larry's.  We met Will driving down the road.  I knew he probably thought to himself, "Uh oh!"  He knew he wasn't late for the time I expected to finish!  My final time for the 14.2 was 2:35!!  I'm pretty excited for my first half!

Today (Monday), I'm extremely sore.  My knees still hurt, and I have some shin splints.  But it's an amazing feeling to know I finished!  I can't wait until November 12 when I run another one (and Jenifer and Josh are training to run too!!!).