My First Half Marathon

My First Half Marathon
Feb. 27, 2013
So this past weekend, Becca and I headed down to New Orleans to run in the Rock n' Roll Marathon Race. I ran the half and she ran the full. We had never been to the Big Easy before and it was quite an experience! We stayed in the Holiday Inn, which was one street over from Bourbon Street.

Saturday Expo at the Morial Convention Center was less than a mile walk from the hotel. There were lots of booths and Becca got a sweaty band. The race shirt was nice and made by Brooks! Afterwards, we went to Cochon where I ate the mac and cheese and pork leeks. We headed back to the hotel for a much needed power nap! Afterwards we headed to Cafe du Monde and ate some delicious beignets!!! The take out line wasn't too long of a wait. I ended up scarfing down a lot of the powdered sugar that was left in the bag! We enjoyed the sights and sounds of Decatur St. while we devoured our French donuts! We ate dinner on Bourbon St. at Redfish Grill! It was a nice treat before my 13.1 mile journey that I would take the next morning.

How I trained:
I used a combination of Hal Higdon and Runner's World Smart Coach. I rested on Mondays and Fridays. I ran my short runs of 3-4 miles on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. I was supposed to do speedwork on Wednesday but seldom had the chance. My long run was on Saturday. I actually ran 13.1 miles two weeks before the actual race. I ran it around a 9min pace. I used Clif Shot Block and GU Chomps. I preferred the Chomps more because they were smaller and easier to chew. I mainly ran by myself although I did get to run with Becca  a few times. Sunday was a short 3 or 4 mile easy run.

How I ran the marathon:
The race was scheduled to begin at 7am. I went to bed around 10 the night before. I had all my gear ready and plans were finalized. I woke up around 5:30, showered, ate a Bagel Thin with peanut butter, and got dressed. I wore my Nike sleeveless 12:1 shirt that I had made. The verse is Hebrews 12:1. It says,"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." I also wore by Nike compression shorts, Nike running shorts with blue lining, black performance socks from Target, another sleeveless Nike shirt underneath, a blue Nike headband, and my volt colored Nike Pegasus 29. I also wore a long sleeve cotton shirt to keep me warm. I took it off around mile 3. We put our luggage in our car before we met the rest of our group in the lobby. They all arrived around 6:30 and we headed to the starting line. We got there and I found the gear check area which were UPS trucks. I grabbed a couple of bananas from the fruit booth and headed to my area, Corral 3. This corral was expected to finish at 1:45.

I found my corral as the elite group was starting and less than 1 minute later my corral begins. I didn't have much time to worry or get anxious about the race. I was off and running. I found a couple of guys who were planning on finishing at about the same time as me and they encouraged me to stay with them. I did this for about the first 4 miles, then I saw the elites! Mo Farah and the others were running so effortlessly. It was amazing to watch these superhumans and to think that I was participating in the same competition as them was mind blowing! It inspired me and gave me a good boost at the 10K mark. I started to pick up my pace at miles 8 and 10 and passed people left and right. Miles 11 and 12 were run at a steady pace and then I had a nice kick in the final mile. I sprinted past 20-30 people and finished with a time of 1:46:07!!!

After the Run:
I walked in the secure zone as they handed me bananas, power bars, water, gatorade, pretzels, etc....I grabbed an empty box to store my treats. Andrea called me and found me. DW and the girls were there to see us run! (We actually stayed at their house on Friday and Sunday night) We headed to our Family Reunion letter, Q, and I laid down on my blanket. I ate a grilled chicken sandwich they were selling, refueled with liquids, bananas, and put on my pants and my race shirt. I wore my medal proudly around the finish line.

We all went to see Becca and Liz finish the marathon. I saw Becca turn the corner and snapped a few pictures. There was a huge smile on her face and she was passing people like it was nothing!!! I was so proud of her. All the training, sweat, and sacrifice culminated into this one moment! She finished with a time of about 4:28:04.

What I learned:
-Don't start off to fast. Try to run a negative split.
-Have a change of clothes. Long pants, long sleeve, and sandals. The weather was perfect but after the race I did get a little cold with the wind blowing.
-REST before. We had planned on doing a light run but decided that all the walking we did the day before was good enough to keep our muscles loose. I hadn't run since the previous Tuesday and the race was on Sunday. I was a little worried that I had lost some fitness since I hadn't run in 4 days. My wife assured me that I would be okay.
-Have everything ready the night before.
-After you run, walk around for a little bit. This will help cool your muscles down.

We decided to sign up for the half marathon in Nashville on April 27th. Before that we are running in a 4 miler in midtown Memphis called Race for the Summitt to benefit the Pat Summitt Foundation.

I have truly enjoyed my running journey and hope to continue it for as long as I can!!!