I ran my first half marathon earlier this year, and finished my second yesterday in San Antonio; pictured to right is my sister (L), my dad (C) and me (R). I must admit that I’m a bit disappointed in my run; I had expected to do so much better.
When I trained for my first half marathon, I procrastinated and ended up over-training as I rushed to add enough mileage to an already tight training schedule. As a result, I suffered from terrible shin splints. Nonetheless, I ran the entire race without stopping – even if I looked like a frail, old woman hobbling down the street. I finished in 2 hours 43 minutes.
For this second half marathon, I vowed to be better prepared. I started training 12 weeks before the race and successfully completed my training program. Based on my training runs, I expected to finish the race in less than 2 hours 30 minutes – no sweat. I was ready!
The morning of the race was a frigid 35 degrees in San Antonio – yowzers! As I waited in the corral with my sister, I was confident, excited and hyped about the run. As we inched toward the start line, my excitement grew and before long we were off!
For the first mile, my legs felt rigid and stiff. I figured it was the cold weather and mentally told myself, “You’ll be warmed up by mile 3. No problem.” My sister needed to stop for a quick bathroom break around mile three and since she was a virgin 1/2 marathon racer, I stopped with her. I was grateful, actually. My legs still felt really stiff.
As we set off, I continued to suffer from tight, achy legs. By mile six the ache had traveled down to my knees and ankles. I stopped twice to stretch and then borrowed my sister’s ankle brace – hoping for some relief. I hobbled through to mile seven. Between mile seven and eight, I was frustrated when I had to stop again. I had trained for this; what was happening?!
We pressed on, but I just couldn’t keep running, so I lost my sister somewhere between mile eight and nine. For the remainder of the race, I ran for a mile (limping) and walked for half a mile. As I approached the finish at the Alamodome, I spotted the “13″ mile marker – at the top of a hill – such cruelty!! I was determined to run through the finish line (there were photos being taken, after all) and slowly made my way up the incline – “one step in front of the other” I repeated until I made it up the hill and raced to the finish line.
My official time was 2 hours and 50 minutes (but I keep telling myself to take off five mintues for the potty break at mile three). Nonetheless, I’m not satisfied; I know I could have done so much better. So I’m on the look out for my next race.
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I think you did great. I don’t think i would ever be able to run a marathon, I’m exhausted after a mile. Congrats to you anyway.
Congratulations. As a fellow runner, I know it’s not easy. We make it so much about the finish line and the time. But, in reality, it is all that we put into the preparation that matters – we learn discipline, determination, pacing. Added to that we get the great “runner’s” rear!
Just found your site through twitter. Congratulations on completing your 2nd half-marathon! As a mom and runner myself, I know how difficult and time consuming training can be! I’m ‘thinking’ about doing 3 half-marathons next year in CA. We’ll see though…balancing work and home life is tough enough. Can I add in training? Anyway, enjoyed reading your blog!
Congrats for even running the race!
You GO! That’s incredible! Congrats to you!
Im not a fellow runner-hate to run-but I give kudos to anyone that does run!
Congrats. It’s a testament to your strength- finishing although your body was not cooperating.
I envy you. I was never a runner even at my healthiest, but your tales of running makes me want to get into shape even more.
Way to persevere! A lot of people would have given up. Give yourself the credit you deserve. Good luck in your next race!