In Which I Do a Half-Marathon and Barely Survive

So, let's talk about my first half-marathon. Back in March, Kristin told me about the 1/2 Sauer, 1/2 Kraut Half/Full Marathon that was to take place in Pennypack Park in Philadelphia. She had already run one half-marathon before and I knew I didn't want to run my first one alone, so I very spontaneously signed up. It seemed like a step in the right direction because my overall goal is to run a marathon (spoiler alert, I'm signed up for one this coming January!). 

 Have I mentioned my obsession with sassy running headbands?

The website calmed my nerves a bit in that it spoke of walkers being welcome and that the overall pacing is not that fast due to the summer heat. They advertised plenty of shady paths and water stations generously sprinkled throughout the park. Capping at around 1000 people, it was a nice medium sized race and the difference in price between the marathon and the half-marathon was $5. Runners were encouraged to just run the 13.1 miles if the heat of the day became too much and they'd be eligible to the half prizes. Overall it came off as a very welcoming race to all running types.

I started my training shortly after signing up by more or less following this running plan. I'll admit I didn't run nearly all of those shorter runs during the week because there were days when a 6 mile "short" run just wouldn't fit into my schedule. The program did get me out there, though, so I'd highly recommend it. I mixed into my training the Iron Barre class at the Hot Yoga Spot twice a week. It's a strength training class that works you from head to toe in a 90 degree room. I'm glad I added it into the mix because it really helped to strengthen my legs and I've noticed a difference in my overall body appearance. It's worth the 5am wake-up call!

Training also gave me an excuse to get some new running gear. I went to Fleet Feet and a very informative man named James got me into the perfect pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14's. I also bought way too many pairs of Belega socks, which are so worth it because I haven't had a single blister since. On a long run I saw another woman wearing a great running pack, and because I'm a creeper, I went to 4 different stores before I found the exact one and purchased it. The Nathan Trail Mix belt holds a nice amount of water and has a pocket to carry tissues, my phone, inhaler, and my Sport Beans! Great investment.

 

The man at the store said the mud would give me street cred.

 

I'll admit that I didn't get up to the 12 miles the plan has laid out. I had been pretty dedicated to my long weekend runs down by the river with Mike, with Dunkin' Donut coffee recoveries afterward for  good two months. But as the warmer weather hit, plans became inevitable and I just wasn't home/able to do the weekend runs. I did my best to run during the week and I did get up to 10 miles, which at the time had been the farthest I'd gone. Looking back, I now know how important those long and short runs are in the training process. 

The day of the race, Mike and I picked up Kristin and her friends Molly and Laura at the house they were staying at and we headed to the outskirts of the city to a nice shaded park. It was certainly everything they advertised. Not too crazy, well organized, lots of Porta Potties. Mike was a great sport and took care of all of our stuff while we ran. Kristin and I headed to the last wave as I was unsure of what kind of pace I'd be able to run at. The first 3 waves left and it was our time to head to the start line. The organizer joked that they saved the best beer at the after party for the last runners and then we were off!

We're doing this! It's about to happen!

 

We started off at a great pace. I like running with Kristin because she's a great pacer and got me running faster than I knew I could, while still feeling good. There was certainly plenty of shade, but 3 previous days of rain left behind lots of mud and huge puddles to run around. And the hills! There were three pretty steep hills in succession, and I ended up walking some of them. The humidity was not helping!

Two blessings to speak of were that the water/Gatorade stations were religiously every 1.5 miles and that their mile markers seemed to be closer together than my Garmin was telling me. Kristin and I noticed early on that even our two Garmins weren't in sync with one another. So when we saw mile markers approaching when our watches told us we still had 0.2 miles to go, it was a nice surprise every time.

As the miles passed on, I found myself getting really tired. I had eaten a pretty good pasta dinner the night before and a protein shake that morning, which was my go to pre-run meal. Kristin kept me going, though. We got to around the halfway point and came to "Mount Cuckoo", which was a trail portion. At the time I really liked it because I was able to go a nice slow pace on it, but the mud made me over-adjust my stride. Soon after completing the trail portion, I started feeling a pain in my right leg.

By mile 10, every time I tried to run, the arch of my right foot up to my knee would cramp up then spasm. It hurt so much! I started crying, both in pain and frustration, to come that far only to have my body revolt. I had been keeping hydrated the whole time, alternating water and Gatorade at the aid stations, so I don't think it was dehydration, but maybe it was. So for the next 5k, we pretty much had to walk it.

And here's where I tell you how great Kristin is, which I know I've done before. When it became apparent that running was out of the question, I urged her to go on so as not to totally screw up her time. And do you know what? She didn't. She stayed with me every step of the way. Encouraging me. Telling me that finishing was all that mattered. Showing me great stretches. Putting up with my sorry ass. Because as positive as I normally am, when I'm in pain, I suck and every negative bit of me comes to the surface. And this isn't even the first time she's had to stick with me during a terrible race! She came in last with me in an 8 mile 4th of July race 3 years ago when GI issues again kept me from running. But once again, she rose to the occasion this hot Saturday in June and literally kept me going. I honestly don't know if I would have finished it without her. I'm really incredibly lucky to have her as my BFF.

I knew I had to finish this race running, so for the last 1/2 mile, I made my body move in a strange jog/skip/limp and crossed that finish line at a time of 3:10:59! Not the 2:30 I had been shooting for, but finished nonetheless! It felt so good to finish and get that medal. It made every mile of pain seem worth it, to know I could at least get my body to move for that long and far. 

 

No take backsies! This finisher medal is mine!

The after party was at the Cannstatter Volksfest Verein Club, a beautiful German-American club, where they served beer and brats and had prizes for the people who had dressed up for the race (crazy people). I surprisingly enough wasn't in the mood for a beer, so I used both of my tickets for brats for Mike and myself. It felt so good to be done and to be sitting. And I will say that after a quick nap back at the hotel, I felt good enough to walk around Philly for a bit. So I am a true believer in training and its role in recovery!

So now I'm ready for my next one. I'm going to start integrating more hills and speedwork into my training and see if that helps, and try to figure out what caused those damn spasms!  I'm glad I did this one, and while I'm disappointed with the end pain, I know I can only get better from here!

P.S.
It should also be noted that we didn't come in last. Woohoo!

That's us at the top of the Rocky steps, because we're champions like Rocky. Get it?