2011 Earth Day Half Marathon!

I finally did it! I ran my first half marathon.

The entire week before the race, I watched the weather forecast for Saturday, April 16 with optimistic anticipation. Day after day, the extended forecast called for rain into Saturday. And day after day, I found myself rationalizing the possible outcomes for this undesirable moisture.

Monday, I was sure the forcast would change.

Tuesday, there was still a chance it would rain, but we would also likely see warmer temperatures.

Wednesday, rain was defininately on it's way, and I wasn't so sure about those warmer temperatures.

Thursday, the forcast for Saturday changed from cold and rainy to cold and snowy.

Friday, I reminded myself that my training had prepared me more for a cooler run than the sheer discomfort of a warm day. After all, I though, I had trained in the cold; therefore, the impending snow storm would be just fine.

On Saturday morning, I awoke early. I studied the temperatures, the wind strength, and the amount of snow that had fallen the night before. I had one last bit of rationalizing to do. Saturday morning, I convinced myself the sun would wrestle its way out of the clouds, and by the time the half marathon started, this beautiful Minnesota spring day would definitely be warming up.

That's where my excessive optimism failed. After arriving at St. Cloud State University's Hallenbeck Hall, I took my time to do some proper stretching and to carefully examine what others were wearing. I saw shorts, t-shirts, sweat shirts, winter hats, gloves, and layers and layers of other miscelaneous clothing. I figured my attire fell somewhere in the middle. Convinced of my averageness, I felt ready to push on.

At 8:40 a.m. I joined the throng of anxious runners as they flooded out toward the starting line. I did my best to ignore the bite of the wind and the inadequate layers I had donned. Focusing on the starting gun, my race strategy, and anticipated split times, I entered the "race zone"!

The first 6 miles were solid. I kept pace with the group I started with, and was feeling pretty in control of my run. I will admit I did a little too much positioning which caused me some energy deficiencies later in the run. Despite this, I figured I should feel pretty good until mile 9 or 10.

I was wrong. This day, settling in and warming my muscles up were not in the cards. By miles 5 and 6 I was already admitting to myself that this run may not actually feel so good.  Regardless, there were splits to hit. Who really cares how much it hurts? In this situation, pain wasn't relevant. And by the way, this half marathon discomfort was nothing compared to root canal or major surgery.

Feeling better, I moved into the last few miles. I knew I had at least two minutes to make up during the last leg of this race. Telling myself it was time to stop slacking, I refocused and concentrated on one step at a time. This seemed to be working. My arms and legs were moving fluently. My breathing was still regular, and I hadn't actually burned through my quads, hamstrings, or hip flexors yet. I had energy to spare! (The truth was I was so cold and numb that I couldn't feel much of anything...)

Moving into the final 1.1 miles of the course, I kicked it in. I told myself I could do almost anything for 8 or 9 minutes. Minute by minute, and step by step, I approached the finish line. I was no longer quite aware of where the route was taking me, but I knew I was getting close to the end. Entering the final stretch, I summoned my last nugget of strength and crossed the finish line with a flash of exhaustion and exhillarition.

I had done it. I have now competed my first half marathon. I still felt relatively ok, and I had come in under my goal time.

Throughout the run, I did learn a few things:
-A half marathon is too long to "jockey for position"
-There isn't really anything wrong with overdressing
-There is a fine line between acclimating to colder temperatures and hypothermia
-And I would definately do a half marathon again!

Now, I'm passing on Disney Land in favor of the start of TRIATHLON SEASON!!!!! Yippe!!