I finally conquered my first half marathon. I feel like I finally accomplished something with my running. (not sure what but something). Every one of us have different personal goals that we set when it comes to running. First run a mile without puking, 5K, 10K, then faster 5K, faster 10K, half marathon, then.... just good to get this one checked off. I'm sure you all remember the first time you notched a half - pretty good felling, huh?
I literally didn't sign up for this race until a month ago and now I'm glad I did. Today's race was strickly training run at a comfortable pace. I was supposed to be running with a friend, but that backfired on me when I couldn't find him before the race. 5000 bodies shoved into a small place makes it difficult to find a farting elephant much less a person. No matter, it gave me the chance to run at my own pace. The weather wasn't nice. It was the worse weather that we've had here in 3 weeks- remnents of this weeks blizzard that dropped snow out west. 38 degrees with a 17-20 mph nonstop wind. It was cold and brutal. I ran in shorts, underarmour layer and a short sleeve technical shirt - not a good choice...
I ran at a comfortable pace with my HR staying consistent between 70-74% max for the first 10 miles. The last 3.1 miles my HR climbed to the 80-82% range at the same pace. I wanted the race to copy a basic long run at home. For the most part it did minus the brutal hills. The Knoxville Marathon is known for its hills. No PR's on this course! Mile 1, 3, 7, and 11 were big hills and numerous smaller hills. I finished the race in 2:23:02.
Even though I didn't push hard my legs still felt like lead the last couple miles. I hoping a few more long runs will fix that problem. That's probably why my HR climbed toward the end. Conditioning.. Do you 13+ milers' have heavy legs toward the end of your long runs?
Running these races is just another reason why I love running. You don't have to kill yourself for a PR to enjoy races. Just run them for fun!
I've said this before, but I'll say it again. You marathoners are the bomb! I couldn't but feel bad as I was entering the stadium to finish and watching the full marathoners turn a corner just to run another 13 miles. Holy Crap!!! I was very much releaved to know I was finishing. I felt anguish for them - of course they have trained for nothing less..
Did I tell you that I got a medal too? They even give them to us slow people.
