Half Marathon: Hot, Hot Hot!

I ran the International Peace Half Marathon this morning in Alexandria, VA. This was definitely the most challenging race I have ever run, for the following reasons:

• The heat and humidity
• The hills
• The lack of crowd support and the small number of runners 
• The absence of mile markers

I ran the first half in just under 1:00. There were no mile markers, but there was a turn-around halfway through the course, so I knew I was half done by that point. I started out very strong. I think I was running a 9:00 pace, possibly even a bit faster. The amount of hills surprised me on the way out because the race director said the course was "mainly flat with two notable hills". I would say that 50 percent of the course was flat, 30 percent was slight hills and 20 percent was steep hills.

I was going strong for the first half, but I knew that going back would be difficult because of the heat and humidity. I was right-- the heat and humidity really slowed me down. The course was described as "completely shaded", and I would say that it was about 75 percent shaded. On the way back, the sun was shining directly into my face and it was nearly impossible to run. I would guess that the air temperature was in the low 80's, but it felt more like 90 with the humidity. It felt nearly 10 degrees cooler in the shaded areas.

It was such a notable difference that I had to walk during most of the sunny areas on the way back. I've never hit a "wall" during a race, but I certainly did this morning. I hit the wall at around mile 8. Miles 8 and 9 were a combination of run/walk, and then I resumed my pace at around mile 10. These miles are all approximations because there were no mile markers! Mile markers are always my saviors during races. I tell myself, "just get to the next mile marker, that's you goal for right now", and I didn't even have that, or the satisfaction of passing the miles as they came.

A major component of running a long race like this is the mental challenge. Without mile markers, it was very hard to keep myself motivated. Additionally, there was no crowd support. Even the finish line only had about 5 people standing there. Crowd support is extremely important because it provides accountability. It's really hard to stop and walk if there are tons of people cheering you along. It was always nice to go through a water station because the people there were cheering me on!

Even though I had to walk through parts of mile 8 and 9, I did a damn good job for running a race in that kind of heat, with all those hills, and without my motivators. My time was 2:05:40. I didn't have a goal time for this race, so I was very happy with that time. When I was at mile 8, I thought I would be lucky to finish under 2:10. I really pushed myself for the last three miles and I didn't stop once I got past the "wall". So, even though I am not particularly proud of my time, I think it's great considering the race conditions. I am very proud of the effort I put forth.

I was speaking to one of my friends on the phone this afternoon and I told him that this time was over 5 minutes slower than my previous half marathon (which was flat, had no humidity, with mile markers and 10's of thousands of people watching). His response to my time of 2:05 was "so you don't want to kill yourself because of that?" WTF?! Yes, I am usually very hard on myself if I don't get good race times, but with race conditions like these, I can't possibly be hard on myself for not beating my other half marathon time.

One of the things I liked best about this race was that it made me feel like a "real" runner. I talked a little about that in a previous blog entry. This was a race of about 300 people. It wasn't publicized, so you had to be following race calendars to know about it. It's not like the VA Beach half marathon where everyone knows about it and it's many people's first and only half marathon. I'll bet almost everyone who ran today has already run a half marathon and most of them have probably run full marathons. It was hard core-- no mile markers, no crowd, no timing chips, no splits. Just the course (which was shared with bikers because the trail wasn't blocked off for the race) and the runners. I think I saw someone taking photos, and if that's the case, I'll post mine when they get posted.

I probably finished in the lower half, whereas in larger races, I usually finish in the top 20-25 percent. Simply because I was running with people who are really amazing runners.

My main challenge in this race was fatigue. The sun and the hills were really exhausting me. The good news is that I had no pain! No pain in my legs, feet or hips! In the full marathon, my hips started to kill me at mile 5. A few hours after I finished, some calf pain kicked in and I am sure I will be feeling this tomorrow. But at least there was no pain during the race, just fatigue. The exact opposite of the full marathon, where I had loads of pain, but a low level of fatigue.

Afterwards, I was very close to passing out. I kept seeing black spots, so I kept having to sit down, drink gatorade and eat. I felt like I drank plenty of water, I had my Jelly Belly Sports Beans with me (which I ate at mile 7), but I guess the heat just really got to me. I felt this same way after a 21-mile training run last April.

iPod Playlist (made exclusively for this race):

1. Toad the Wet Sprocket- Fly From Heaven

2. Daniel Powter- Bad Day

3. Backstreet Boys- Get Another Boyfriend

4. Goo Goo Dolls- Here is Gone

5. Bangels- Hazy Shade of Winter

6. Jason Mraz- Did I Fool Ya?

7. Better Than Ezra- King of New Orleans

8. Duncan Sheik- Start Again

9. Breaking Benjamin- Diary of Jane

10. Toad the Wet Sprocket- P.S.

11. Raconteurs- Steady as She Goes 

12. Coldplay- Square One

13. Gorillaz- Dare

14. James Blunt- So Long Jimmy

15. Eddie Money- Take me Home Tonight

16. Frou Frou- Let Go

17. Red Hot Chilli Peppers- Especially in Michigan

18. James Blunt- Wise Men

19. Jimmy Eat World- If You Don't Don't

20. Lauren Christy- My Jeans, I Want Them Back 

21. Red Hot Chilli Peppers- Save the Population

22. Jason Mraz- Wordplay 

23. Anberlin- Readyfuels 

I ran a marathon!

I ran my first marathon yesterday. What an amazing rush! It was by far one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life.

I woke up at around 5:00 and started the day with a chocolate chip bagel. I got dressed in my racing clothes, double and triple checked that I had everything I needed and headed out of the hotel. I was well equipped with two iPods clipped to my shorts (in case one died), three packs of Jelly Belly sports beans, and a spare pair of headphones for John to hold in case mine died.

Music is so critical for me, that I can't bear to be without it even for a few minutes. The iPod Nano was set to go with a strategically arranged playlist of slower songs at the beginning and faster, energized songs at the end.

The marathon was 4 loops. The first loop was 7.3 miles and the others were 6.3 each. There were water stations at every mile, and the main crowd was gathered around the start/finish line. There were 600 runners, which is much smaller than any of the races I have ever run.

My friend Jenny, who I had met through an online discussion forum, was also running the race. In fact,

it was Jenny who found the race and suggested that I run it. We were both first-timers and had "virtually" trained together on our discussion forum. We didn't plan on running together because we needed to keep our own pace, and I wouldn't be able to talk to her with my iPod anyway.

The gun went off and I crossed the start line. I was wearing a stop watch so I could monitor my pace and time throughout the race. During the first loop, everything was new. The thought of having to see these exact same things 3 more times though, was a bit daunting. My fingers were numb for the first two miles, but it got warmer during the loop and I threw my jacket to John when I passed him after the loop. 

The biggest challenge during the first loop was watching everyone pass me. I knew the pace I had to keep (slower in the beginning), and I knew I wanted to walk for one minute after each mile marker. Everyone was wizzing by me and I felt so slow. But I tried my best to ignore the other runners, and remind myself that I would probably be passing many of them at the end. Another challenge was the mile markers. They were staggered throughout the course, since the first lap made it so you'd reach different markers at various points (ie, you didn't see a sign for miles 5, 12, and 19 as one sign... it was staggered by .2 miles or so). So the challenge was being on mile 4 and seeing signs for mile 23.

I was trying to just focus on getting to mile-marker 5, but then I saw markers for all these really high numbers, and it was nerve-wracking. My strategy throughout the race was to keep an even pace that was slower in the beginning and faster in the end. And to focus only on the immediate goal of getting to the next mile marker.

Toward the end, seeing a mile-marker was a gift from God. When I came upon mile marker 25, I wantedto hug the sign! Instead of one big goal of 26.2 miles, I had 27 individual goals, so the "high" of accomplishing something lasted the entire race.

My hips started to hurt at mile 5. This worried me quite a bit. Usually when I run, my hips hurt the most but the pain doesn't kick in until 10-12 miles. I was in excruciating pain by mile 8, and I didn't think I'd be able to continue on for the rest of the race. It was a shame because everything else was perfect. My feet didn't hurt, my knees and shins were perfect. I was extremely energized and spirited. And yet, I had a really awful pain in my hips. I probably need to work on my stride. I always assumed I got this pain because the trail I train on is slanted. But this course was flat and the pain came much earlier than expected. So, most of the race was run in an extreme amount of pain, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying the experience.

My music kept me going and my determination to run the marathon was powerful. The hardest parts where running through the ghetto areas of Wilmington. Part of the lap was on the Riverfront and it was beautiful. There were a few bands and people cheering us on. But after that first mile, there were few people cheering us on and we were running through alleys and boring neighborhoods. It was so hard to find motivation to run quickly when the environment isn't stimulating.

Since it was a relatively small race, at times, there were no runners around me or even in sight! On the first lap I wondered if I wasn't the very last person in this race! Those were the hardest times. I felt like I was running all alone. I think I prefer a smaller race to a larger one, but having people cheer you on really does contribute to the motivation and adrenaline rush. I think my fastest mile was mile 20. I had run a sluggish and painful mile 19, but then I passed the start/finish line, got psyched up and sprinted. I was so full of energy and the pain in my hips didn't stop me from running really fast. It felt like I was running an 8:20 mile for mile 20, and then I slowed down when I reached 21.

I didn't hit the so-called "wall" but the pain became more and more unbearable as I reached the finish line. Instead of a steady pace, I switched to sprinting and walking. I was highly energized, so it made sense to sprint rather than run slowly, because the pain wasn't worse at faster speeds. So, the last 3 miles were a sprint-walk-sprint-walk.

Throughout the race, I wasn't concerned with my time. My goal was to finish. So, I did what I needed to do to take care of myself during the run. I stopped to tighten my shoelaces three times. I stopped to go to the bathroom. I walked while I was drinking water. Not to say I had a "leisurely" attitude-- but I did my best to stay comfortable and I decided I would sacrifice an outstanding time to run a smooth and enjoyable race.

When I came upon mile marker 26 (which I had passed three times at this point) I realized that I was still not in sight of the crowd. How ridiculous! Here I am at mile 26 and there is no one watching! So, I sprinted the remaining 0.2 miles and crossed the finish line. According to John, I was the most spirited and most excited person to cross. I had a huge smile on my face, and I was singing to the Jason Mraz song on my iPod. My time was 4:46:09.

Although I achieved my goal of finishing, I was predicting a finish time closer to 4:30, based on past race results of my half marathon and 10-miler. But those races didn't have the hip pain that I experienced. When I run the Marine Corps in October, I will have a goal of 4:30.

Jenny, my friend who ran this marathon with me, finished about 10 minutes later, and she's registered

for the Marine Corps, too. Of course, there is Dane-- the guy who runs a marathon EVERY weekend for charity. He was there (although he lapped me!) and finished with a time of 3:13. It was nice having two people that I knew on the race with me.

Crossing the finish line was such a high! I still had enormous amounts of energy and I was so proud to be wearing the finisher's medal. I had trouble walking, but I was too happy to care. I really wish my hips hadn't hurt so bad during the race. My spirits were so high, the weather was perfect, I was well-hydrated, I had plenty of energy all throughout the run. In fact, my sister called me a few hours later, expected me to sound exhausted. But I was bubbly and bursting with excitement. I was surprised at my energy, level too. I was really exhausted after each of my long training runs, and I expected I'd be exhausted after this too.

On the car ride home, I was acting like an over-energized 6-year-old. Runner's high is a real thing! Especially when combined with crossing the finish line of your first marathon. I was so bouncy and I was acting all silly. I had the urge to jump out of the car and run all the way home. Hitting the DC-area traffic jam brought me back down pretty quickly, as you can probably imagine. 

Today I am walking with a limp and a BenGay patch, but it's much better than yesterday. Here are the results: 

Time: 4:46:09 

 Pace: 10:56 (seems so slow! I was expecting 10:30) 

 Division place: 15/19 

 Gender place: 110/171 

Not bad for my first one! 

SPLITS

Lap 1 (7.3 miles) 1:19:36

Lap 2 (6.3 miles) 1:08:34

Lap 3 (6.3 miles) 1:08:16

Lap 4 (6.3 miles) 1:10:28

I keep a steady pace! I would have kept it better the last two miles if my hips didn't hurt so damn bad. A fantastic day in every respect. Special thanks to those of you who have supported me throughout this.