My first half-marathon!!

RubyLou25

I was so nervous going into my first half-marathon. I stopped training for a while and only restarted a month before my half. My longest run was just under 9 miles, how the hell was I going to run 13.1 miles? I made 3 goals for the run.

1. To NOT be the last half-marathoner to cross the finish line.
2. To run the entire half without stopping.
3. Finish in 2 hours 30 minutes.

My normal pace training has been anywhere between 10 and 11 minutes per mile, but I didn't want to push too much, and 2 hours 30 minutes was an 11:27 minute mile.

I didn't sign up with anyone and figured I'd run the half-marathon all by myself. Discovering there was a 2 hour 30 minute pace team was so exciting for me, I had people to run with. I met 3 girls who had run one before and they were super chatty with me.

Mile 1-pretty sure the best mile I've ever ran, I was feeling so confident.

Miles 2-4 were right on board with mile 1, I was doing this and doing great. I couldn't believe it. I was going to hit all my goals.

Mile 5 sucked. This mile was taking forever and I couldn't believe I was feeling like this after doing so well. This damn mile was going on and on. I couldn't take it anymore. I asked one of the pacers when we were going to hit 5 miles. She laughed and said we're almost at mile 6. Apparently, I missed that mile marker.

The view was beautiful. We started at the capital in Madison, ran by one of the lakes, the Governor's Mansion, and so many beautiful neighborhoods. The girls I met stopped to walk somewhere in mile 6 and I didn't see them again.

Mile 7 was on par with the rest of the run, I was halfway done.

Mile 8 was rough. I started to fall behind the pacers a little bit, but I didn't want to quit my goal of running the entire half-marathon yet without stopping. I got to a water station and got some Gatorade.

Mile 9 was so much better. We were running by the other lake. It was beautiful, and I forgot all about how I was feeling. It took my mind off running and was exactly what we needed. Then I ran through a tunnel. This had to be the best part of the race (besides finishing of course) When my brother and I were little, we had family friends who lived in Madison, and when we went to see them, driving under this tunnel was one of our favorite things. I was running in this tunnel. Second wind. I caught up to the pacers without even trying.

Still in the tunnel, the very first full-marathoner passed us. OMG, his legs had to be taller then me. The cheering of the half-marathoners of him passing by were amazing.

Mile 10 was beautiful on the lake again. I passes the pacers, not by much, but I was doing amazing, and there was only a 5K in front of me now.

The last half of mile 10 and all of mile 11 were the hardest. It was out in a area where there was no crowd, nothing to look at.

The pacers said this was the mentally hardest part, and boy were they right. Once again, I fell a bot behind them. I just couldn't go any faster at this point.

At last mile 12. We started to hear the music they were playing the the capital. I was almost done. I was right behind the paces again. One mile stood between me and goal finishing time. I was going to do this.

The last half of mile 12 is a huge hill going up to the capital, and damn it, I was falling behind again. Hill sprints, I worked on these, I can do them right now, right??? Picked up my pace as much as I could during that hill. I was doing it, I was sprinting.

After all the cussing in my head about this damn sprint, I turned the last corner, and the finish line was right in front of me. I wasn't slowing down until I crossed that line. 2 hours 30 minutes and 24 seconds. I did it, I couldn't believe, I finished my very first half-marathon.

I'm already thinking of the Spring half-marathon and work for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I know I can do it after how well I did today.

Sassyallday

Good for you! Sounds like you stepped way out of your comfort zone, accomplished a lot, saw some beautiful sights and made new friends. That's a lot. Celebrate!

Linli_Anne

Congratulations on your first half and meeting so many goals! You'll remember that moment for a long time.

AllonsYtotheTardis

Fantastic!! Savor this moment!!

lauriebeakley1

Congratulations! You are truly an inspiration!

runs4zen

Awesome job!!! Congratulations!

cjmcmillan

So awesome! I'm training for my first one coming up in May.

jofjltncb6

Awesome.

:drinker:

brandiuntz

Congrats!! What a great experience. I've got my first one in 2 weeks. So excited.

jenilla1

Half-marathon is my favorite distance. My very first race was a full marathon and it hurt so much pounding the pavement for so long. 26 miles is not too bad on dirt trails, but those hard surfaces get to me after a while. The wear and tear isn't worth it to me, so now I only do half marathons. Glad you had a great run on your first time out and good luck on your next race! :drinker:

stackhsc

Thats cool. Glad you made it

RubyLou25

Thank you all! This is a huge turning point for me.

BeachIron

Congratulations!!!

1968samuel

Congratulations to you! You put the work in and got to see the reward! Thanks for sharing your experience! :flowerforyou:

kczarnec

Great job and great goals! Glad you were able to enjoy it as well!

bookworm_847

I was so nervous going into my first half-marathon. I stopped training for a while and only restarted a month before my half. My longest run was just under 9 miles, how the hell was I going to run 13.1 miles? I made 3 goals for the run.

1. To NOT be the last half-marathoner to cross the finish line.
2. To run the entire half without stopping.
3. Finish in 2 hours 30 minutes.

My normal pace training has been anywhere between 10 and 11 minutes per mile, but I didn't want to push too much, and 2 hours 30 minutes was an 11:27 minute mile.

I didn't sign up with anyone and figured I'd run the half-marathon all by myself. Discovering there was a 2 hour 30 minute pace team was so exciting for me, I had people to run with. I met 3 girls who had run one before and they were super chatty with me.

Mile 1-pretty sure the best mile I've ever ran, I was feeling so confident.

Miles 2-4 were right on board with mile 1, I was doing this and doing great. I couldn't believe it. I was going to hit all my goals.

Mile 5 sucked. This mile was taking forever and I couldn't believe I was feeling like this after doing so well. This damn mile was going on and on. I couldn't take it anymore. I asked one of the pacers when we were going to hit 5 miles. She laughed and said we're almost at mile 6. Apparently, I missed that mile marker.

The view was beautiful. We started at the capital in Madison, ran by one of the lakes, the Governor's Mansion, and so many beautiful neighborhoods. The girls I met stopped to walk somewhere in mile 6 and I didn't see them again.

Mile 7 was on par with the rest of the run, I was halfway done.

Mile 8 was rough. I started to fall behind the pacers a little bit, but I didn't want to quit my goal of running the entire half-marathon yet without stopping. I got to a water station and got some Gatorade.

Mile 9 was so much better. We were running by the other lake. It was beautiful, and I forgot all about how I was feeling. It took my mind off running and was exactly what we needed. Then I ran through a tunnel. This had to be the best part of the race (besides finishing of course) When my brother and I were little, we had family friends who lived in Madison, and when we went to see them, driving under this tunnel was one of our favorite things. I was running in this tunnel. Second wind. I caught up to the pacers without even trying.

Still in the tunnel, the very first full-marathoner passed us. OMG, his legs had to be taller then me. The cheering of the half-marathoners of him passing by were amazing.

Mile 10 was beautiful on the lake again. I passes the pacers, not by much, but I was doing amazing, and there was only a 5K in front of me now.

The last half of mile 10 and all of mile 11 were the hardest. It was out in a area where there was no crowd, nothing to look at.

The pacers said this was the mentally hardest part, and boy were they right. Once again, I fell a bot behind them. I just couldn't go any faster at this point.

At last mile 12. We started to hear the music they were playing the the capital. I was almost done. I was right behind the paces again. One mile stood between me and goal finishing time. I was going to do this.

The last half of mile 12 is a huge hill going up to the capital, and damn it, I was falling behind again. Hill sprints, I worked on these, I can do them right now, right??? Picked up my pace as much as I could during that hill. I was doing it, I was sprinting.

After all the cussing in my head about this damn sprint, I turned the last corner, and the finish line was right in front of me. I wasn't slowing down until I crossed that line. 2 hours 30 minutes and 24 seconds. I did it, I couldn't believe, I finished my very first half-marathon.

I'm already thinking of the Spring half-marathon and work for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I know I can do it after how well I did today.

Congratulations! It sounds like you've worked really hard, so that's awesome you did this. Good luck in that next half marathon! :flowerforyou:

Angimom

That is so awesome! Great job.

RachelRuns9

I was on the EDGE OF MY SEAT reading this!!! AWESOME job!
I am training for my first half marathon right now and just did a PR of 7 miles today (I have until April). I am so nervous mostly b/c I need to lose a lot of weight. So reading this from the perspective of someone who didn't feel 'ready' is right up my alley. I love the mile-by-mile detail. I will probably be remembering your words when I'm out there

CONGRATS to you and thanks for sharing

RachelRuns9

how did you connect with the pace team?

RubyLou25

how did you connect with the pace team?

They had a booth at the marathon expo where everyone picked up their bibs.

michable

What an awesome achievement! Amazing! Congratulations on achieving your goals!

jofjltncb6

My solution to this problem was to lower my expectations. I'm training for an undetermined 5k at some future point and my training distance is up to 10k now.

At least I shouldn't have to worry about not finishing.

MGreensides

Amazing, thank hou so much for sharing the ups and downs. I'm training for my first half now and it seems so unattainable at times.

RubyLou25

Thank you all for the wonderful comments.

debbiepa

Great job!!! I'm also from Wisconsin (Green Bay area) and run 1/2 marathons. Carefully, they are addicting!