Half Marathoner!

I did it! I'm officially a Half Marathoner!

This past weekend was the epitomy of jam packed! But, I loved every second of it! I got to do all of my favorite things- run (duh), spend time with my sisters, enjoy a beautiful wedding of one of my best childhood friends, shop in Charleston, and lay out in the sun. What more could a girl want?!

Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon Recap

This was my first Half Marathon and technically my 6th race ever! Who knew last August when I was preparing for my first 5k that 8 months later I'd be competing for 13.1?! I get kind of emotional just thinking about how far I've come.

The day before the big race I started prepping. I decided to skip my AM workout and use Friday as a complete "rest day". I ate my regular breakfast of 2 egg whites, a whole wheat english muffin and a cup of coffee and chugged water like it was goin outta style. I ate a pretty large lunch in efforts to carbo load, since I wanted to eat a lighter dinner.  I had spaghetti with ground turkey, fresh tomatoes and a little grated parm cheese. When I got off work, I went home to start getting things ready for the weekend.

I had wanted to eat an early-for-me dinner... but after picking up my race packet and running around I ended up eating around 8:30. I had a quick tuna sandwhich on whole wheat at Mom's- delish!

Once I got home, I laid out all my gear for the morning. Who knew runner's need SO.MUCH.STUFF. to...well, run??! Before I started seriously running, I thought all you needed was a "good pair" of tennis shoes (meaning the cheap ones on sale at Dick's) and you were off to hit the pavement! Oh, how young and niave I was (ahem, 8 months ago).

My packing list:
-Running Shorts
-Granny panties
-Extra clothes for after race
-Sports bra
-Racing bib/safety pins
-Running Team tee
-Water
-Garmin 305
-Prewrap (to go under my Garmin)
-Camera
-Spi Belt
-Gu, Gu Chomps
-Chapstick
-Body Glide (Chafe prevention!)
-Deoderant
-Running shoes (Ascics GT-2160)
-Nike Visor (to keep the rain off my face)
-Wicking socks

Quite the list!

After getting everything together, I was snuggled in bed, praying for a sunny morning by 9:45pm. Suprisingly, I slept pretty darn good and when the alarm went off at 4:50am I felt well rested. I got up, checked my email and was RELIEVED to find this:

Yesss!!! I got PUMPED after that, dressed quickly, checked and re-checked my bag, made a quick whole wheat english muffin w/ peanut butter + banana and threw it in the bag for later (planned to eat around 6:15am). Mom picked me up to drive me to a local Starbucks to meet my running team so we could caravan to the race.

After arriving, we did a quick warm-up and stretched. Thank goodness we used the bathroom at Starbucks! It was a good 30 min wait for the port-a-potties! It started raining promptly at 7:15; just enough time to soak us down before the race even started.

Miles 1-3 were kind of a blur. There were 3,300 runners and the 10k and Half started together; so naturally it was insanely crowded and hard to run without fear of falling and being trampled over by a gazillion crazy adrenaline-induced runners. I chased after one of my teammates, weaving in an out of the crowd until we finally got some breathing room.

Splits:
Mi 1 9:56
Mi 2 9:33
Mi 3 9:41

I passed up the water stations, mentally deciding to take water around mi 6 or 7 when I'd take my Gu. I was feelin pretty good, despite the constant rain, and decided to try and keep my pace around 9:30.

Miles 4-7 were nice; stayed mainly on one road with flat to rolling hills. The crowds of runners started to space out and I was trying to soak in every second. By this point 2 of my teammates and I were running together, although not making a point to stick side by side. By the end of mile 5, I decided to speed up and ran alone for the remainder of the race.

Splits
Mi 4 9:20
Mi 5 9:20
Mi 6 9:17
Mi 7 9:15

Look at that sexy hair!

Mile 8 was killer. There was about a half mile hill and my legs caught up to me. I took water at the aid station and my Gu and started feeling better- it was all mental from here. During all my long runs, my teammates and I would talk so I'd never bring music. Without thinking, I assumed it'd be the same on race day and didnt' bring along my iPod- MISTAKE!  I was so bored with myself and was letting my mind get the best of me.

"What's my pace? Where's the next hill? Why's my ankle hurting? Is that a side stitch coming? Where's that girl I was running behind, did she get way ahead of me? Am I going too fast? Can I do this??!"

Bad news. I wish more than anything I'd had music to take that damn voice out of my head! I'll know for next time. I recovered and got back to speed by mile 9 and took it easy on mile 10; I was starting to feel it!

Splits
Mi 8 9:54
Mi 9 9:17
Mi 10 9:35

Mile 11 was brutal. There was a steep but short hill that I had anticipated the whole way. I threw in 2 Gu chomps to prepare and took it like a man. I was SO suprised at how many people were walking; but I refused.  I just repeated in my head "JUST. KEEP. GOING" over and over. I had promised myself at the start that I wouldn't walk at all. Not even through the water stops. In my mind, I wanted to know I "ran" the whole way... and while I know it's still an awesome accomplishment for those that did take walk breaks, it was just my personal preference to run the entire way.

After that hill, I felt like my legs never quite recovered like I had expected. I was breathing heavy, I was soaking wet and I was bored. I remember thinking "this is not fun, I'm so over this right now" but then my optimistic side took over and persuaded my demon side that running faster meant ending faster, so I kept chugging along.

Splits:
Mi 11 9.56
Mi 12 9.40

Once I got to Mi 12 and knew I had just one more to go, I got excited. The rain let up a little and I was feeling good. I knew at that point I was going to be a Half Marathoner. I could feel the energy from the runners around me. I started seeing the crowds and I got butterflies through the pain in my legs. I just kept saying "hold it right here, you're almost there." I wanted to finish strong, I wanted to see my family's proud faces, and damnit, I wanted that metal! I crossed the finish line at 2:05 with a smile on my face! I did it!

Mi 13 9.40
Mi 0.17 1.30

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

-John Bingham

After that, it was straight home to shower then straight to Charleston, SC for a wedding and accompanying shenanigans with my two faves (including, of course, indulging on wedding food and BEER!)

I just love these two!

Oh, and of course, sweet pea got some pampering, too!

Lookin' fiiiine, got my huur did!