Oh jesus, bfx is going to preach at us about running again...doesn't this guy do anything else...
Context: Ran my first ever half-marathon, and certainly not the last. Planning on signing up for 1-2 more road halfs this year after getting checked up by my Physical Therapist later this week...oh god...
Pictures:
It's a-me at the finish line, looking completely exhausted and feeling this weird mix of ecstasy, exhaustion, and being on the verge of tears! Yay!
Mayer Hawthorne was the headlining artist. It was pretty dead, the weather was cold and it started to rain at this point so nobody really cared. It was still a good set, I was stoked to see him live.
Race Info and Results:
Training
Continued on with the 30-40 miles a week, basically my own modified Half Marathon training plan. Which is great, until I got shin splints three weeks before the race. So, my last week had one run instead of three, and I did half the distance for my last long run...needless to say, that's a bit nervewracking.
The Race:
Holy fuck. It's 3:30am. I'm up at 3:30am to go run 13.1 miles. This is stupid, running is stupid, and we're all crazy people. Pick up one my friends who's running and away we go. The weather is perfect, overcast, not raining, and mid 50's. You all should know that it took me thirty goddamn minutes to make it through the port-a-potty line before lining up...You can't ask for better running weather in the Pacific Northwest. Park, take the shuttle to the start line, and we're off at 6:30am except OH WAIT, NO WE'RE NOT...I signed up for corral 15 (out of 25-30ish) which means my actual start time was closer to 7:00am. So many people, and I should have signed up for a faster corral. Spent most of the first two miles dodging people who are running or walking (how the fuck are you walking at this point!?). Okay, that part is done. I feel fast. How fast? Well, mile 6 comes around and I've PR'ed my 10k time by a few minutes. So that's fun. Keep going...keep going...stop by a couple hydration stations, down some gatorade, stop by the single energy gel station (oh my god this was a lifesaver) and try and keep in control of my declining pace.
Miles 8 - 11.5 were a steady low-grade (2.0%, probably less) on the same street, just going straight...for forever...it was mentally taxing more than anything else, and my times reflect that. Something to work on moving forward. Okay, I see downtown Seattle, I almost see the stadiums. I know the stadiums are close. Time to to pick up the pace again, playing the fun game of "pick a person and catch them". The last ~0.75 miles are more a sprint than anything else, which is good because we run up a fucking ramp at mile 12.5. That was amazingly fun! At least it was downhill after. The entire time I'm thinking this is fast, this is going better than expected, my shins don't hurt, let's push it and make up time. And, well, it worked!
Final time: 1:53:02, beating both of my goals! Overall I came in the top 15% in the half marathon distance, top 25% in my age bracket, and top 25% in my gender. What a fucking way to start running half marathons!!! Wanting to have somebody review my gait, training plan, and see how I can improve here. I want to be top 10% overall and improve in my age and gender. See if I can't start consistently hitting 8:00 minute miles for a half marathon distance.
Aftermath:
I'm not even that sore, which is weird. Tomorrow will probably change that. Feeling ecstatic, still. Running with friends was great even if they were well behind me, or running the full marathon. Seeing Mayer Hawthorne play the after party outside of Century Link Field was a great time too, and the event was amazingly well organized. Signed up for the full marathon distance for the same race next year, which is...a bit terrifying.
- and being on the verge of tears!
My first half was a year ago, and after I finished I sat on a bench for a few minutes. It wasn't exhaustion or anything physical, I was just overcome by the feeling of having completed the run.
Races are great. It's almost entirely about the personal achievement and personal satisfaction. Among the very fastest it's a competition, but the thousands and thousands of other runners are doing it for themselves (and also for a banana). And I love the race atmosphere. Everyone is so supportive.
Congratulations on the great finish. For what it's worth, my current fastest time is more than seven minutes faster than my first half marathon. Your goal of eight minute miles will be a lot of work while totally doable.
Post race bananas are maybe the single greatest thing in the world. There were some really inspiring moments during the race, such as the blind runner being guided by his coach, or the marathoners with their baby strollers, or the 60 year old guy who ran at attention for a full mile as he passed a section of American flags.
The atmosphere is amazing, you're spot-on about that. It's going to be a gradual thing, hopefully hit 8:20 miles, then 8:10, then 8:00. Do you have any races coming up?
I'm doing a charity 5k on Saturday. I'm planning my day to go run another six or so miles afterward to get my miles for the day.
My next big run is August, a half marathon. I did the same run last year and struggled with the humidity. But I also finished that run feeling like I could do a full marathon if I just continued ramping up my training. I'm doing a full in November, so I figure the August run is a good benchmark along the path to the full.
It's the only full I'm signed up for, but I already signed up for two more halfs next year.
When's your next race?
Thanks cgod! Good luck to your wife on the full, has she ran a marathon before? I was thinking about signing up for the half but things like kind of dicey with the permitting situation with that race this year.