The Gulf Coast Half Marathon was great! I finished in 1:58:55 and came in 91st out of 203 people! I am very satisfied with my time because I had never run more than 12 miles before Saturday. My goal was to run the entire distance (which I did) and my slightly sub 2 hour time is a huge bonus. :)
The morning of the race was really cold. It was probably in the 40's during the entire race, but I wasn't so cold that I didn't end up tying my jacket around my waist after a mile and a half. I did find myself thinking around mile 9 that I was pretty cold, but that was just another reason to keep running. I'd have been colder had I slowed down!
I ran with my friends Margee and Jen. They are more experienced and faster than me (and came in at 44th and 45th because they are awesome!) so I was only able to keep up with them for the first 3 miles (because they picked up the pace after that). I averaged around a 9 minute/mile pace for the first 10 miles or so, then slowed to closer to a 9:30 pace for the last 3 miles. One of my favorite moments in the race were at mile 6, when I remembered how I was huffing and puffing at the end of the Crescent City Classic (a 10K and my first race) and contrasted that experience to my current physical state at 6 miles- I was breathing easy and feeling happy and strong. Also, there was a turn around point where you looped back on the course. When I passed Margee and Jen going the other way, they waved to me and cheered and yelled "It's her first 1/2 Marathon!"
Another highlight was right after I passed the 12 mile marker. A couple of runners said "Good job!" and I said "Thanks, it's my first 1/2 marathon and as of right now, the furthest I have ever run!"
I ran with them for the last 1.1 miles and at the very end, Margee and Jen were waiting for me. They ran to the finish with me, which really helped me find the extra energy to sprint to the end and finish strong. My darling fiance was there too, and he took a picture of us as I sprinted to the finish line!
Overall, I feel really proud of myself for accomplishing this goal. I ran faster than I expected and I really had a good time! This was a great race and I'm really happy that I decided to run it!
Congratulations on completeing your first half marathon. Next up???
ReplyDeleteI haven't completely decided. There is a 1/2 marathon on the 20th (The Old Man River), but I don't have anyone to run it with. Also, due to me needing to have a rest week this week and the fact that I'm visiting my parents the next weekend for early family Christmas, I'm not sure what my long run schedule would have to be like for me to be ready for that race. Oh, and I'm *still* freaking sore today (I actually woke up in pain last night- I tend to get really sore when I run fast!) and kind of worried about jeopardizing the skiing I'm planning to do later that week. So today I'm feeling kind of pessimistic about my actually running it, but once I'm rested I'll revisit that decision. There is also a half marathon portion of the Mardi Gras Marathon in Fed. that I have my eye on.
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