I’m happy to report that we managed to finish our first half marathon. My official race time was 2:48:33, which, while definitely not stellar, is acceptable and something to improve upon. Matt, after sprinting off around mile 7 after running with my slow self, finished in 2:34:09, which is great. And a shout-out to our buddy, Patrick, who finished in under 2 hours, making him a rockstar in my book!!
The race itself was perhaps more grueling than I thought it would be. I’d done 10 miles before and adding 3 more with race-day adrenaline didn’t seem to be too big of a deal, but it was no joke. I probably ran about 90% of it, but I walked here and there, especially on hills and there were quite a few of those. The overall elevation gain was small, but it was a rolling course and there were plenty of ups and downs. Mentally it was a tough course too … there was a long out-and-back section where I kept expecting the turn-around at any moment, but it didn’t come for miles. I got so disoriented that when we finally had turned around, I had no idea and thought the on-coming traffic was still the people in front of me. Then right as we got near the end, they ran us around tons of corners, amusement park style … you felt like you were right there and still 2 miles to go. I also thought I might get a slight elevation advantage, but the humidity of Nashville easily canceled that out, especially after two days of acclimatization.
After the race, Matt and I were both sore and tired, for sure. Chiefly, my feet felt awful. The buckets of rain we’d been promised, held off until just as I finished, but we were preoccupied with getting to the car and didn’t stretch worth a darn.
And as there is no rest for the wicked, Ben had an upset tummy that night and we were up with him until 3:15 and then he and Tabby were up for the day about 3 hours later. Ugh. To make matters worse, as I rushed Ben to the facilities for stomach emptying bout #2, I slipped and fell (thank goodness Ben didn’t get hurt!) and further pulled a muscle in my leg that has been plaguing me since then. I’m a bit gimpy still. Continue reading “Done with 13.1”