The Morning After

It's a little early, and I thought I'd be sleeping later, but I forgot that I passed out at about 8:30 last night, and slept for almost 10 hours. So I guess I was tired. I'm a little sore still from yesterday, but that's to be expected. I'm still riding on the high of yesterday, and I don't really think it's sunk in yet that I've done a half marathon...it's a long freakin distance!

I was really nervous/excited on Saturday, I went to the expo at the Seaport to pick up my number and saw that my packet said HALF MARATHON in big letters, and I smiled when I saw that. I didn't really do much for the rest of the day, made a stop at Marathon Sports to try and find some of the Powebar Gels, but I found some energy beans instead. There were also "13.1" stickers at the check out (you know, those white oval stickers that have letters on them you see EVERYWHERE) and I wanted to get one, but I didn't want to jump the gun. I'm going back today to get one. I also stopped at Sports Authority to get a new pair of shorts and some eye black to write my name on my arm so that people could yell my name when I go by. I had pasta and chicken for dinner and Katie came over and we watched Glee and then I went to bed early.

I slept ok - but at 5am I woke up to thunder and rain - great, I had run in the rain exactly twice. Fortunately by the time we left at about 6:30, it had stopped raining and it looked like the sun might actually come out. The only people on the train were people running the race, and you could tell because everyone had their timing chip on their shoes. When we got to the starting line, it was pretty crazy (there were more than 4,000 people running the half marathon) and we went inside the expo hall to meet Karen, Chris and her brother Mike. Karen, Mike and I were running, and Katie and Chris were going to be our cheering section. At about 7:55, we headed out to the finish line and got our pace group, 10:00. Just past 8:00, the starting gun (well, air horn) sounded and we were off. It took us about 4 minutes to cross the starting line; I started my watch and was off.

The course was great, It went through the city and Government Center, across the Longfellow Bridge, a loop along Memorial Drive from the Longfellow to Harvard, and then down through the Common, Downtown Crossing, Post Office Square, and back to the Seaport. The first 10 miles went really well. As expected, the first 3 were a little tough to sort of get going and get into a grove, and sort of figure out where I wanted to be. Karen and Mike got ahead of my around mile 2, but I caught up with them later on. I took Katie's advice about walking through the water stations and getting water, and then walking a little ways after before picking the pace back up. Since it was an out and back course, we could see the people in front of us after they turned around, and the guy that won was at mile 8 when I was at mile 5, ha. It was also really cool because they had clocks at every mile marker, and I could use that time in addition to the pace that I was keeping on my watch. I was running at just over 10 minute miles, which was what I was hoping for. Since the race started at 8am, it wasn't terribly hot, but since it had just rained, it was a little humid. So like I said, the first 10 miles went really well, I was in a really good groove, and I wasn't too tired. I kept eating my energy beans every 2 miles, and after I crossed back along the bridge and past mile 10, I started to feel good because I knew that I was almost at the end - 3.1 miles left, a 5k, and I'd done 4 of them before the race. I saw my first cheering section (Katie and Chris) at the Public Garden, and smiled and waved when I ran past them. When I got to mile 11, I looked at my watch and it said 1:58.34, and I had run 11 miles in under 2 hours, whoa! I was definitely on my way to meeting my goal (finishing in 2:30). Then, after the last water stop, I started to get tired, and rather than fight it, I started to fall into a walk for about .25 mile/run .75 mile, so that I wouldn't be totally exhausted. When I got to Tremont and Boylston, I saw my parents, Jess and my Aunt and Uncle, which was nice - I wasn't expecting to see them until the finish line. One of the last turns in the race onto Washington Street was tough, because it was a slight incline the entire way, and I was starting to get tired, so I really had to push myself. After going through Post Office Square (where I saw Mike and Rae) there was one last turn before we got back to the Seaport. I walked for the last time just before I got to the Seaport Boulevard bridge and the home stretch. The bridge was INCREDIBLY steep (who does that?! really?! at mile like, 12.5?! cruel and unusual), but I could feel the finish.

Once I reached the top of the bridge, I could see the finish line, could hear music, and the crowds began to get big and I could hear them cheering. My legs kind of forgot they were tired, and I kicked it up to finish strong. It was great, having all of that support carry me the last 1/2 mile or so. It was great to see TJ, Meg (with her great sign!!), Keough, Druface and DTP all cheering for me, it gave me that extra boost to finish strong. As I crossed the finish line, "Don't Stop Believin'" was playing in my ipod...a little cliche I know, but the perfect way to end the race. I had done it. I finished my first (and I can assure you, not last) 1/2 marathon. As we were corralled inside to rehydrate and get food, they gave us our finishers medal, and I was really excited to get mine. I put it on and didn't take it off for the rest of the day. I was so proud of it.

My watch said my time was 2:20.21, but my offical times were:

Net: 2:19.33 (personal time, from when I crossed the start to crossing finish)
Gun: 2:22.28 (time from when race started, not when I crossed start, to when I crossed the finish)
Pace: 10:39

I started training in November with this as my big goal and I met it. It was difficult, there were times when I wanted to give up but I kept going, knowing that I had a goal to meet. It was an exhilarating feeling when I crossed the finish line and knowing that I had met my goal, a goal I had worked really hard to get there. And I feel great.

So what's next? Well, I'm going to take a week or two off to rest up and relax, and then I'm going to jump right back in - The B.A.A. Half Marathon is October 11th!

Thanks again to everyone, your support really meant a lot!