Two Sundays ago during Memorial Day weekend my mother and I ran our first ever half marathon! We started training back in March and went through a whole 12 week schedule. We weren’t real big runners before this, but I needed something to keep me in shape during the basketball off season and crazy me thought why not run a half marathon?
When I suggested the idea to my mom she agreed to run it with me. Then the next thing I know we are signing up for a half marathon in Boston and we begun to train. Training definitely had its up and down. There were good running days and bad running days; cold, hot and rainy running days. But overall training was a good experience and all the long runs were so worth it in the end. Let me tell you there is nothing quite like running a half marathon… so here is my mile by mile breakdown of what it was like for me to run a half marathon!
Mile 1: All before the race I told myself to make sure I pace myself in the beginning, you don’t want to start off too fast because then you will have nothing left at the end. However as soon as I crossed the starting line I was basically sprinting. Everyone else was running really fast so I felt like I had to run fast. So yeah, I didn’t pace myself.
Mile 2: I was still sprinting.
Mile 3: I was basically still sprinting, but I had definitely calmed my pace down to what I was use to during training. Overall I felt really good. Only ten miles left and I felt unstoppable!
Mile 4: I had definitely settled into my pace now. During mile four was when I saw my favorite poster of the day “If Trump can run for president then you can run a half marathon." I picked up my pace a little bit after seeing that poster because I thought it was so funny. Mile four was also when I saw my dad and brother for the first time during the race and getting high fives from them helped me sprint out the rest of the mile.
Mile 5: I don’t really remember mile five that much. I think at this point I just began to realize that I had been running for a very long time.
Mile 6: HALF WAY DONE (kind of)! This was when I saw my first mile marker and I had definitely found my pace at this point. I felt so good running! At this point I began to think that I could actually be a runner once I am done playing basketball in college.
Mile 7: I don’t remember anything. I am pretty sure I blacked out and my legs just kept on moving.
Mile 8: I don’t really remember mile eight either. Although I do remember pouring water on my head at the water station… that felt really good and pulled me out of my running blackout!
Mile 9: During mile nine I saw my dad and brother again and this helped bring me back to my running. I picked up my pace and hit mile ten with a bang!
Mile 10: I paced myself during mile ten because I wanted to make sure I had enough left in my tank for the last two miles. At this point I still felt really good running and I thought I was going to have no problems during the whole race, if only that were true.
Mile 11: Before the race I had wanted to pick my pace up at mile eleven and empty out my tank for the last two miles, however my ankles had a different idea. Around mile eleven I suddenly became very aware of why I wore ankle braces when I play basketball… my ankles are weak! So instead of picking up the pace I just kept on running steady and tried not to think about the pain. But no matter what I was not stopping to walk!! You do not run all the way to mile eleven to walk.
Mile 12: My ankles were still killing me. But as I kept getting deeper and deeper into mile twelve, the crowds got louder and louder so I began to pick up the pace. During mile twelve more runners began to walk and there was no way I going to give in that easy. Plus once I stopped running there was no way I would be able to pick it back up again, so I pushed on.
Mile 13.1: As we hit mile thirteen we had to go up this hill which no part of my body appreciated! Whose smart idea was it to put a hill right at the end of the race? Well whoever’s idea it was is no friend of mine. But once I got to the top of the hill I could see the finish line. At this point I knew there was no other option than to sprint to the end. So despite all the pain I was in I broke out into whatever sprint I could muster up after thirteen miles, raised my hands, and crossed the finish line!!
What happened after I finished is kind of a blur, I stumbled into the Seaport Trade Center where volunteers handed me endless amounts of water and food. I got a text from my dad saying that I finish in two hours and ten minutes, pleased with my time I laid down on the floor and waited for my mom to finish. The only thought running through my head was when can I run another.
