Sunday, September 09, 2007

I Did It - The Taste Of Achievement

One year ago, I began jogging one mile a day, if that. It was hard. But I did it.

Two months ago, I made a bold proclamation to all the blogging world that I would train for and run a half marathon. It was hard. But last Sunday, I did it. I won't lie, there were a few times over the course of my training that I thought about giving up, or doubted that I would be ready to race this huge event. But the feeling I had crossing the starting line with a thousand other runners made me feel like I was part of something so huge, it was amazing. Crossing the finish line with five of my greatest friends screaming and cheering me on was pretty great, too.



Items of interest -
  • My Pace: I decided to block out the race into 4/7/3 mile increments, building up my speed and music intensity at each milestone. This worked out well, because while those who raced ahead at the start began to lag behind, I was just getting a burst of energy.
  • My Tunes: Of course, I coordinated my play list specifically to this game plan. This took awhile to select the exact songs I would like to listen to for 2.5 hours, give or take, but it was well worth it.
  • The Course: Perfectly hilly, not nearly as bad as I had expected. I actually did most of my passing on hills, strangely enough.
  • Gatorade: I never appreciated that stuff as much as I did last Sunday. When you're not quite sure when your next hydration point will be, you use that stop to its fullest. Some of the water stops were even fully stocked with energy gels, and oranges and stuff, which was crazy. I felt so taken care of!
  • The Necessities: Next time, I will wait until the second bathroom stop. I added 4 minutes to my total time by waiting in line for the port a potty. But I had to go, and I didn't know when the next one would be. I was annoyed by the men standing in line, however. Come on, guys, you don't need a little box!
Overall, I had a great time with this event. I'm not quite sure where my training will take me now that it's over, or what my new goal will be. I do need a goal, though.

And in case anyone's interested, I placed 516 out of 642 entrants. Check it out.

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