Digg! this story.
I did it! And in the process I accomplished two of my three goals. First - I finished a half marathon. Second, I did it under 2 1/2 hours. The third one that I didn’t quite make was running the entire distance.
Here is some more details - I got up at 4:45am to dress and drive up to Idaho Springs, to pick up my bib and chip. (I don’t think I slept much at all - I kept rolling over every five minutes to look at the time, to see if it was time to go yet.)
After getting my bib/chip I hopped the shuttle bus to the starting line. I actually ran into someone I knew while waiting for the bus, and we talked on the way up. Then came the 1 1/2 hour pre-race wait. I did some stretches, my wife called for some last minute instructions on where she need to go towatch for me, and a final wait in line to use one of the outhouses before the race. As it was I timed it perfectly and got in the start group a few minutes before the race began.
The race began on time and the crowd slowly walked towards the starting mat. I started in a group with a slower average pace than my trainng had been so I had to maneuver around other runners in the crowd. My first mile came in under ten minutes! So I pulled back a bit. I was glad I had my pulse monitor, since I used it a lot to monitor my pace. My heart rate stayed pretty close to 160 (between 150 and 168) the entire race (which is a bit higher than I usually train at.)
This race is a beautiful course! I had been waned that the hills were murder on your knees and joints, but they weren’t that bad. I just made sure I took it easy on the down hill slopes.
I ran past my cheering family at about the 8 mile mark, which was cool - giving my two oldest kids a high five as I ran past. After that my energy level started to drop. I really had to focus to keep running, saying in my mind “just five more miles, you can do it, four miles is just a light run; threa miles is nothing, just two more.) It didn’t help to be passing all the other people who were now walking. Finally at the 12 mile mark my energy was gone. I walked for about 30 seconds and started up again. Of course, after walking once, it’s alot easier to do it again. Two more times in the last mile I walked a stretch. I did muster up enough energy for a final push the last 200 meters. I finished strong in a personal best of 2 hours, 19 minutes (a 10:39 overall pace). (Of course it was a personal best - it was my first half!)
I stopped for the volunteers to remove my tag, and as I walked to the post-race celebration field, the realization hit me - I had done it! It wasn’t overwhelming but it was a good feeling. I had accomplished my goal!
Next up - I’m not sure. I’ll keep running and in a few months I’ll decide if I want to go on and do a full marathon, shoot for a second half, or settle for just running to stay in shape. That decision can wait. For now, I can revel in the fact that I’m a half-marathoner!
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 08/09/2008
- Time: 12:00:00
- Total Time: 2:19:36.00
- Average Heart rate: 160
- Max Heart rate: 168
- Distance: 13.1 miles
- Average Pace: 10:39.43/mile
- Max Pace: 9:58.01/mile
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