Half-Marathon

Now that I've had a couple of days to recover (well, other than a wrapped foot, a band-aided toe, and sore muscles, that is), I figured I'd share my thoughts and experiences about the race.

First off, there is nothing more exciting than lining up with 9,000 people to run a race. Nothing. OK. Maybe Christmas when I was 5. And hopefully my wedding. But other than that, nothing quite as exciting. I found the first 10 miles extremely easy, comparatively. I didn't train quite as much as I should have. Although I was pretty diligent about getting the mileage in, I don't think I pushed myself hard enough to complete the mileage as quickly as possible. So, although the first 10 miles were a piece of cake, the last 2 miles proved to be nearly impossible. I actually had a thought go through my head of "Oh, my gosh, I'm not going to finish this thing."

If you've ever run in Charlotte, you know how hilly our best running roads are. I've heard other runners describe them as "rolling." OK, let me explain... I think of rolling hills as slight hills, not as hills that make you feel like you're hiking up a mountain. Not that there were many of these, but there was definitely one on Colville Road. The rest were ok, I guess, but many complaints were heard about the hill on Morehead. Honestly, I don't remember this. Probably because I was trying not to black out.

Getting to the start line was difficult. There were several spectators standing directly beside the start line, which is understandable, but for whatever reason the people with numbers on their chests trying to get through had no sort of priority for these spectators to move. I barely made it to the start line on time, and there were several others that were having a hard time getting there as well. Still, running with a crowd that large is pretty cool. Next time, I would like to be able to run fast enough that I fit into one of the pace groups. One of the struggles that any runner will tell you is figuring out which of the crowds you need to stick with, and which of the crowds will be too fast or too slow. Unfortunately, they do not offer pace groups for "extremely slow, barely making it through" runners. My only option is to speed up.

Like I said, the first 10 miles were incredibly easy. Although I wasn't running with anyone, there was a point (at about mile 8 or 9) where I looked around and thought, "Wow, this is so cool... having this many runners with me pushing through!" I kind of felt like we were on a stroll in the park with friends (except, running of course). I told you I was with the slow group.

I will definitely run with a fuel belt next time. I didn't want to run with a huge water bottle strapped to me, but the ones made with little bottles were super expensive. So, I did without and relied on the water stations. The water stations were correctly instructed to give us half a cup of water (any more than that will make you throw up), but I was still super thirsty by the time I finished. Next time I run, it will be with a nutritionist guiding my caloric, salt, and water intake.

The last 2 miles were horrific. Serious thoughts of stopping crossed my mind. And not in a "I'll just give up" kind of way, but in an "I'm not sure I have the ability to finish" kind of way. There was a band at the final (.1 mile) stretch that played "I thank the Lord for what you've done for me" and I literally started crying. I was really tired. I wanted to go home. Or, at least, sit down.

A friend asked me right after if I would do it again. I said absolutely not. Honestly, though, I can't wait for my next one. I'll just try to train longer. This was the start to my training. Next year, watch out!