Posted 9 months ago

Short URL

11 Notes

Colorado Half Marathon — May 1st, 2011

Even though I dropped down from the marathon to the half marathon, I was still quite under-trained for 13.1. I chose to do the half instead of the 10k or 5k because I still wanted to do a long distance and, having run one half before, I knew it was a distance I could finish even if I needed to walk a significant portion of the race.

Still, I had a lot of doubts Sunday morning. What if I can’t finish this? What if I have to quit? I woke up at 4am and encountered several mishaps before the race started at 7:

  • When I went to fill up my CamelBak, I realized I didn’t have the bladder and it was nowhere to be found. I had never run more than a 10k without my CamelBak.
  • I had planned on meeting my friend and her mom, who were also running the half, at 5:15 but couldn’t find a parking space until about 5:30.
  • My friend’s mom bandited the race, and we had to get fairly creative to get her on the bus to the starting line.
  • Once we finally got on the last bus to the half start, I was pleasantly surprised to find a bathroom on the bus. Which I then proceeded to get stuck in for about five minutes.
  • And then we made it about a mile before the bus broke down.
  • While waiting at the half start, two ambulances rushed up the canyon to the marathoners, who had started an hour before us.

And then the race started. Glee’s cover of Don’t Stop Believin’ came on first on my shuffled playlist, and it felt like a perfect beginning. The weather was fairly cool—about 35* with a slight breeze and the sun just beginning to rise, but I warmed up quickly as I ran. Watching the sunrise while running through the canyon was, well, breathtaking.

I felt very strong through the first four miles. I was a little concerned without my CamelBak, but I was able to take both water and HEED at every aid station. Around Mile 6, I encountered the course’s one true uphill. It was tough, but I made it up and was very happy to be about halfway through. It also occurred to me that a year prior, I had run that distance, a 10k, at the very same event. It was my first race, and I don’t think I could have imagined running twice the distance.

The last half of the race hurt, a lot. I had been running pretty strong through the 10k mark but ended up slowing to a 1:1 walk-to-run ratio. I ran through a song, then walked through a song. And on and on and on. When I walked, my feet hurt. When I ran, my legs hurt. Thankfully at this point in the race, spectators were lining up along the way. They weren’t allowed on the first several miles of the race, and it was strikingly lonely at times. I am particularly thankful for the family bearing Hulk fists that I saw a good three times through the last six miles.

When I finally hit Mile 11, I realized I was actually going to finish the race. And then I was passed by a woman in her 70s, who was running the marathon in a string bikini top. I want to be her someday.

I got pretty teary-eyed when I turned the corner for the last .2 miles of the race. I picked up my pace toward the chute and felt incredibly blessed to have the SO and several of my friends (and Finn!) waiting for me at the finish line. I definitely didn’t break any time records, but I was proud of myself for finishing.

After the race, we went to Snooze for breakfast, where I got the pancake flight with red velvet, pineapple upside down, and blueberry lemon bar pancakes. And a mimosa.

Today I am very sore. Very, very sore. More sore than I’ve ever been. My legs do not want to move. I have the worst tightness in the right side of my neck, and I actually can’t turn my head all the way left. I think this is from the sloped sides of the road through the canyon; I know I was straining at points to keep my balance. I’ve also developed a cough, which was probably not helped by my needing to stay up until 2 and wake up at 6 this morning to finish a presentation for one of my classes. I’m pretty sure I was getting some funny looks in the clinic today for how I was hobbling from pod to pod.

So, when’s the next race?

PS: Everyone should probably run a race in Colorado. Don’t think so? Watch this video and then tell me what you think.

Tags

Replies

Likes

  1. allshedreams said: Congrats on completing the half, sounds like it was tough, but scenic course. My next race is the Nike Marathon :)
  2. shortmom said: Awesome!!!!! Congrats on another race completed!!!
  3. allisonerin said: congratulations! i, too, am hobbling today.
  4. spoonfulofvigor posted this

 

Reblogs