Half Marathon Update

Sunday I ran my first half marathon in San Diego with my mom (she actually ran the full) and two of my sisters!

This was for sure a day to remember!

Once we pulled up we took some pictures and let's just say my nerves started getting the best of me.  I wasn't really nervous until then.  After awhile of standing around, eating, going to the bathroom multiple times, I just started to get extremely excited and anxious.  We had to wait quite awhile before we even got to   line up to run.  The whole be there 90 minutes early is for the birds!

 This was a rather large marathon with over 25,000 participants between the half and full and about 60,000 spectators so it was crazy!

I was in Corral 5 to start and this is still how far we were from the Start line.

And this is the never ending people that were behind us.

Starting out was hard with that many people moving around.  It took awhile to get to where I could run my own pace and not be constantly cut off by someone.  I will never forget that feeling of starting and running amidst that many people.

I also started out with a 2:00 pace group but knew I wanted to be ahead of them because I wanted to finish under 2 hours.  I ran the first few miles with them then tried to run ahead a bit.  I never saw the next pace group which was 1:45 so knew I never got that much ahead.  My bladder stinks and I had to try and take a bathroom break twice which killed my time.  I couldn't believe there was a line at every porta potty stop.  It was torture standing there waiting while everyone was running by.  Next time I will really try to avoid that time waster!

I couldn't believe how many water stops there were and all the random people who had set up tables with food and snacks for you to grab.  I only got one cup of water and at one point grabbed a Gu pack  they were handing out which was perfect because I got it in right before a little section of hills.

I loved reading all the signs but honestly didn't take in much of the scenery.  I  was a little too focused on running and watching the people around, I had no idea where we even ran.

Some of my favorite signs were
 Mind over Matter
Pain is temporary- Internet stats and race times are forever
This is the worst parade ever!
 I'll be honest, this is not your last hill.

There were lots of creative ones but those are ones I remember!

I felt great until about mile 10 where my calves really started to hurt, and they did hurt the rest of the way.
When I saw that mile marker 12, I was ready to get to that finish line and really pushed that last one.  The last section I even tried to sprint.  Crossing that finish line was AWESOME!

Now that I've felt that feeling.  I understand.  I understand why runners push themselves so hard for these marathons.  I understand why they run over and over again.   I know why  they go through the training.  I've felt the runners high.  I've ran through pain and oddly enjoyed it!
It's fun.  It's unexplainable.
And I for sure plan to do it again, and really thinking about going for the full marathon!
It's in my blood now!

After the race we changed into clean clothes but kept those sweet medals on, haha I wasn't letting that go yet.  Since it was a Rock and Roll Marathon they had a concert after the race inside Petco Park and we were lucky enough to score some VIP tickets so we got to go to an inside area ( perfect because we were freezing) in the park and enjoy some awesome food for free!  Inside we snapped a picture that I just love, because we worked hard and earned those medals and had a great time doing it.  I've looked up to my mom for years for running and always wanted to be a part of that area of her life and we all got to at the same time.  She may of ran the full but we got to be a part of the day and accomplish goals of our own!  Unforgettable!

Speaking of goals, I wanted to finish in under 2 hours, which I did but was really hoping to beat my dad's time on one of his halves which was 1:56, and I got so close with a time of 1:57:28.  Those darn bathroom breaks ruined it!  That's okay though next time, I'm breaking that one!

My average mile pace was 8:58
I finished 3756 out of 17983 overall
My gender overall was 1305 out of 10988.

For my first half marathon and just starting running earlier this year, I'm proud of the results!

I've learned a lot through this experience and plan to continue running and figure out which race to do next!