The Half Marathon

Naturally, we were running late on Saturday morning, and traffic was disordered due to road blocks and other race infrastructure challenges. I hopped out of the car five or six blocks from the course after we realized we were traveling in futile circles. I made my way to the start line, skipping the long waits at the port-o-johns in favor of chancing it somewhere along the course.

I missed my 2:30 heat, but joined the very last group of runners, marked with a "J" instead of a pace time. Squished in to the crowd, we inched our way closer to the official start, the bandstand music blaring louder and louder. The rain had been pouring in sheets all morning but transitioned to a cool mist as we started out down Broad Street.

I'm learning to be confident in claiming all parts of me, not just the ones that I am best at, or most talented, or the ones I get paid for. All the parts of me that bring me joy are of equal consequence and so I am a runner. I like the solitude that running offers. In that space I can be in the moment or out of it. I can go places when I run, and I can feel my city in a way that just isn't possible in a car. Races are an especially happy aspect of running. I feel a super sense when I am on a course, a heightened awareness that is energizing and just feels really good. The runners, the spectators, the sounds, the views. The work of pushing my body to move distance, across time. I love that running is truly for everyone. I love that people are at the heart of every race. I like running alongside them, being passed, and passing too. Energy radiates and the race is our one shining opportunity to culminate many months of effort and preparation.

I started the run counting miles up, until I got to the halfway point, and then I started counting miles down. The course was hilly around miles 6 and 7 but flattened out again after that. My toes fell asleep a few times and required a little stretch in the last half, but otherwise, I felt pretty strong.

When I reached the 12 mile mark, I was ready to be done, knowing that the last .1 mile always feels incredibly far. Distance running and birth share some sentimental parallels for me and so I thought a lot about my client mamas, and my friends, and my own birth experiences in that last little stretch.

A nice surprise was that the final .6 miles of the course was downhill, which made for a mad sprint to the finish.

This morning, Roscoe insisted that I wear my medal around my neck to drop him off at school. I obliged his request and as we said our goodbyes I offered it to him to keep for the day. I stayed back to chat with another mom, and caught the beginning of morning circle time, when he stood up and told the story of how his Momma ran a half-marathon and won, holding up my medal to prove it.

Half Marathon Training: Week 1

I ran the Richmond Marathon in 2005 at the start of my first grad school year, and it was an incredible experience that I still carry with me. I have many times since then called on the mind-body confidence and inspiration that I felt in meeting that challenge, particularly in preparation for giving birth.

I have run many half marathons, mostly in 2005-2008, and a few shorter races while pregnant and in between pregnancies.

I like the half marathon distance because it requires only a 3 month training commitment and the runs are never over 2 hours.  It offers a good challenge without the hardship that I equate with the longer 6 month marathon training and 3.5+ training runs. 

This year I'm on a SportsBackers training team: the Zebras! So I will probably be sporting a lot of animal print between now and the big race day in November. I love running the long runs in a team environment because it is so convenient to have someone else determine the routes and I really enjoy the SAG stops, which are tailgate style pit-stops with water, gatorade, and gummies of all kinds to refuel every few miles. 

While I have been crossfitting for a couple years now, I don't run that frequently, maybe a couple times a week, and I usually choose runs that are around 3.0 miles.  In the past, I have had a hard time keeping up a training schedule while also maintaining my regular fitness routine.  

My plan for this event is to run the long runs with my Saturday team, and to run the midweek run on my own, filling in the other days with my usual Crossfit mornings. We ran our first group run last Saturday: 2.87 miles, 30:23 min, 10:37 pace. 

This week:

Monday: crossfit

Tuesday: 3.04 miles, 32:45 min, 10:47 pace

Wednesday: weight lifting at Gold's Gym

Thursday: crossfit

Friday: crossfit

Saturday: 2.98 miles, 31:27 min, 10:34 pace

Sunday: rest/active rest

Today's Saturday Run: 3 miles

My average pace seems to be somewhere around 11:00 minutes but I run faster when I'm in a group. I think the pace that I kept this week is a combination of my new Garmin (which continuously displays my pace and motivates me to keep it up) and running sans stroller. I am conditioned to run with the Duallie, often pushing both kids and all of their books/snacks/etc. When I run alone it feels like a relative breeze. 

To stay comfortable and hydrated on my runs I bought the new Camelbak Dart. I used the camelbak's lumbar reservoir system for the 2005 marathon, and while I didn't mind the way it jostled around during my runs, I thought I might avoid the potential chafing issues that I experienced on a few rainy and long runs that year. 

Some will say that this is overkill for short runs of 3 or 4 miles, but I really do feel better when I can drink whenever I want to. I filled it only half way, tightened the straps down, and I almost couldn't tell I was wearing it. I think it's going to work out nicely!  As for music, I always run with my iphone or shuffle with ear pods. While there are some fancy headphones out there, I prefer to run with headband style earphones because they never come out of my ears. I was curious about the yurbuds inspire series but decided to go with what I know, the cheap oldschool-style sony brand. 

I'm looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow! 

If you run, what accessories do you count as essential?