My First Half Marathon! By Jackie

My First Half Marathon!

Before I committed to the San Diego Marathon, I had signed up for the New Bedford Half Marathon, thinking that was a pretty good goal to work towards. 

After signing up with Team In Training, I decided I was still going to run the half even though it didn't fit in with the training schedule for the marathon. 

The race was going to start at 11AM and I live over an hour away, so I woke up at 7AM. I had a protein shake, banana and oatmeal. I figured I'd want to get some substance in me before the race. At this point, I was really excited for the race because I wanted to see how well I could do, especially with the marathon coming up in a couple months. My best friend is a runner and gave me a lot of tips and encouragement which was great.

I got to New Bedford, picked up my number, and realized I was there WAY too early. I used that time to relax a little, listen to music and eat half of a Power Bar. As a swimmer, I knew warming up was really important, so I jogged around the town and stretched out a little. Fifteen minutes before the race I got to the start and they had signs with different mile paces. I wasn't really sure where exactly to go, so I decided in between the 9:00 minute and 10:00 miles. 

The gun went off and it took awhile to get everyone going, but I finally got to the start, started my watch and set off at an easy pace. I was wearing a heart rate monitor to see how hard I was working. I had to wear them a lot during swimming and have been wearing one for running too. 

During the race, I was planning on getting my splits to see how well I was doing and somehow just completely forgot. I ended up doing the math in my head which I guess was a good distraction, but not very bright. 

The race was going well...until around mile 3. I was running a little downhill and then saw in front of me a HUGE hill. I couldn't believe I was going to have to run to the top. I remember a cute little girl smiling and holding a sign near the top of the hill that said "Don't puke!" I felt like I was going to do just that. Then at the top, there was another sign attached to a tree that said: "See? Just a hill!" I didn't know whether or not to laugh or rip the sign off at that point, but I don't think I had energy for either, so I kept on running, trying to steady my breath and get back to the pace I was at. 

I made sure to hit all of the water stops and drink at least one cup in order to stay hydrated. I wasn't sure if I wanted to drink all that water because I was never used to doing that during a training run (there was a stop every 2-3 miles), but I was glad I took advantage of them. 

I didn't have any gu or gel, so I brought with me the other half of my Power Bar and ate that around mile 7. It was definitely a weird experience to be eating while running, but I was thankful for the energy. 

As I was doing the splits in my head (not sure why I didn't just start using my watch??) I realized I might be able to make it under 2 hours. I definitely got a little surge of adrenaline from that, but a couple miles later I think I realized I wasn't going to make it. However, I was probably just slightly delirious from all the wind and the pain in my ankle and really didn't know for sure. 

My ankle has never hurt while running before, so it was a weird experience for me because I wasn't really sure what to do. I thought maybe it was the side of the road I was running on, so I tried switching sides, but that didn't help. My pride would not let me walk though, so I kept running. I knew I was nearing the end. 

Luckily for me I had no idea what the course was going to be like. This was probably a good thing because I would've been dreading the huge (not sure if it was actually THAT big, but it sure felt like it!) hill at the end. However, I only dreaded it while I was running to the top which was probably the better scenario. 

The last mile felt like it went on for an eternity and I could not wait to get to the finish. People were shouting to pick it up at the end but I couldn't after that hill and with my ankle. I looked at my watch around 1:58 and hoped the end was near. I thought maybe I could go under 2 hours! People were saying the finish was right around the corner, so I picked up my pace as best as I could. Unfortunately it just wasn't fast enough and I finished in 2:02.22. I can't say that I'm disappointed though! I know I did the best I could and it was a great feeling to just complete the race.

After finishing, volunteers gave us water, oranges and tissues which was great (it's the simple things in life, right?). I walked out of the crowds hoping to jog a little, but all I could manage was walking. I walked to my car, stretched (A LOT), and ate some awesome food they served us. At that moment, clam chowder and fish sandwiches never tasted so good.

Driving home I felt a great sense of accomplishment and confidence for the marathon and training in general. To date, I had never run that far. Now I'm even more excited for San Diego!

Jackie