Lessons from a Half....

On Saturday I ran my first half marathon. I say first because I know realize that my last one did not count. The last one, 4 years ago, was a marathon relay which meant I ran three 4 mile laps (my partner did the extra lap so technically I didn't even run 13.1 miles) in intervals. So I got big breaks in between. This time was the real deal. My girlfriends and I woke at O'dark thirty and were out the door by 5:15am. By the time the race started at 7am it was a balmy 40 degrees with 82% humidity (ie it was FREEZING). Despite never actually running 13.1 straight miles in my entire life I felt good the entire race. I started strong and ran my fastest mile the first mile of the race. I never walked and only stopped to use the bathroom.
Between mile 0 and 12 here are some things I learned:
* I felt a sense of accomplishment at every mile marker.
* There weren't enough porta potties on the race course. I was bummed because I thought, at mile 10, I was going to wet my pants. I raced to a construction porta potty (gross!) only to find it was a false alarm. This one stop cost me valuable time and prevented me from beating my goal. (More on that in a minute)
* There are a dozen hills in Baton Rouge and I ran ALL of them Saturday morning. (read: ouch!)
* I never warmed up despite running so hard/long. The first time I felt warm all day was after soaking in a HOT bath for several minutes once I got home.
* Having complete strangers hold up encouraging signs and yell words of encouragement was a huge motivation!
* Not knowing the course I was running had it's advantages because I didn't know where I'd be running next. It kept me motivated.
* Having so many people present while I ran kept me from walking. I had too much pride to walk. At all.

What I learned mile 12-to the finish line:
* It was the longest mile of my life! (I swear it was 5 miles, not one.)
* Seeing my boys at the finish line, each holding a dozen roses for me, was the highlight of the entire race!

Back to my goal: Every race I've ever done I choose someone, about halfway through, that I want to beat. This race it was a lady who looked to be in my age bracket. But that's not why I wanted to beat her. I wanted to beat her simply because she was annoying. Yes, you read that right. She'd run about a half mile or so at a decent pace. Then she'd get right in front of me, hold up both of her hands in peace signs and then STOP. She'd walk until her watch beeped then she'd do it all over again. She also didn't wear headphones so everyone around her got to listen to her music of choice. I wore headphones but had the volume turned down because it was a open course (meaning cars drove all around us). Every time I was running near her, her music would overpower mine. There's one of these type at every race and it was my goal to beat her. Sadly, my last bathroom stop prevented me from accomplishing this goal and that frustrated me more than anything.
All in all, I am so glad my friends asked me to do this race. It taught me a lot, gave me time for reflection and prayer, and filled me with pride at how well I did. I'm hoping to get the official race results soon because, as of an email that was sent out yesterday, it looks like I finished 5th in my age bracket. But, regardless of standings, I am just happy that I participated and am looking forward (kind of) to the next one!