October 21st: Halfway There

Exciting news: I did my first half-marathon yesterday! The Seaside Half-Marathon is in the books!

Final kick in the last tenth (courtesy Mark Stalford)

I completed the 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 0 minutes, 40 seconds -- so close! If I hadn't had to stop and pee around mile 8... I finished 286th out of 678 runners.

Logjam at the start of the race (courtesy Mark Stalford)

First, the good: I was able to maintain a solid pace through 12 miles. I generally stuck to my game plan: Fall back on my training, maintain form, walk through hydration stations. It's also great to have a little cheering section -- big thanks to Jackie, Carol and my folks for being there at a bunch of spots along the course. And the other big positive is that I learned a lot about the ins and outs of running a distance race:

• Definitely get there early before the crowd at the check-in table is insane and the line for the bathroom is out the wazoo. 
• Don't worry about pace at all in the first mile. There's just too much traffic, and you waste far too much energy trying to run around people.
• Probably don't need to hydrate as much as I did. (Could have avoided that pit stop.)
• GPS isn't super-accurate. MapMyRun was more than 4 tenths of a mile off by the end of the race.



Look at that form! Run with your gut, not your calves!
(courtesy Mark Stalford)

• Maybe this was just this race, but make sure your own stuff is ready to go at the finish line. I assumed that Gatorade and other provisions would be waiting for me, and left mine in the car. We wound up having to walk back to the car and missed the awards ceremony.

The bad: I ran out of gas in the last mile or so. As I've mentioned before, I suck at judging my pace, and I'm still getting used to exactly how much I can do, since I'm still improving both on time and distance. I had to walk a couple times in that last mile, which is actually what cost me those extra 40 seconds. I think there's a learning experience here, and I'm sure that as I run more races, I'll get a better sense of what I'm capable of and how much fuel I can burn in any given mile. But when I saw the Mile 13 marker, somehow I found the energy to sprint the final tenth to the finish, with my family cheering me on!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the organizers of the race were a little scattered. As you may know, they had to change the course and the check-in location on short notice because of the boardwalk fire. The check-in was a zoo, and afterward, none of the racers realized that the post-race provisions were all four blocks away at that check-in spot (a restaurant). Someone was ferrying stuff to the finish line, but not nearly enough or quickly enough, and nobody was informing us that there were bagels, bananas, Gatorade, etc. back at the restaurant. It was a good run, so I don't want to let that mar the experience, but I hope they run a tighter ship next year.

I'm still recovering today. Might get back at things on Wednesday. Work Out World misses me, I'm sure.

Total miles since starting the blog: 93.4