A Personal Milestone

On Saturday, April 9th 2011, I ran in the Charlottesville half marathon. I had been training for weeks and weeks and then all of the sudden, the race just popped up out of no where. I was excited, nervous, anxious, giddy...so many emotions the night before the race and the morning of. My mom came into town to support me since I couldn't convince anyone to sign up for a half marathon in C'ville. Hmmm, wonder why? Hills, anyone? Or perhaps it was the entry fee? I know college kids hate paying for extra stuff. Anyway, I had trouble sleeping because I was feeling all of these emotions. I ended up getting about 4.5 hours of sleep in the end, waking up at 5 AM to get ready, snag half of a bagel with peanut butter, head downtown to find parking and show up at the starting line by 6:30 AM.

Now, I've never ran in a race before like this one. The closest thing to a race I've done was a 5K in Old Town Alexandria and that was probably 6 or 7 years ago. The energy was amazing. Everyone was pumped for the race. It was of course still dark out and FREEZING. It was set to be an overcast, foggy day with highs of 45 for the race. I did a few jogs in place, and before I knew it, the whole mass of runners, both half marathoners and marathoners, started pushing forward to the start of the race. It was a feeling I've never felt before...just the sense of camaraderie, the energy, the support from the onlookers. WOW. We all ran in a huge clump of runners down main street, which was probably the flattest part of the course. After that, it was hill after hill, or so it seemed. I crossed the finish line at 2:41:31. I was elated when I caught a glimpse of the finish line. I had survived. I had done what I have never done before. I had reached a huge goal. I had achieved what I set out to achieve.

In retrospect, I know I should have trained harder during the last two weeks of training and even during my training plan. Between work, interning and being a full-time student, I found it hard to stay motivated during the middle weeks of my training. Then during the last two, my boyfriend visited, during which we ran only 1 day. Oh well. I tackled the hills as best as I could, pausing to walk now and then. Another thing that I was afraid of was my ankle. It had been giving me trouble during my runs for the past month or so...it feels like tendonitis (I NEED NEW SHOES) and that started acting up during mile 8 or so. Luckily, I felt kind of numb by the end/other parts of me were hurting, so it took my mind off of my ankle. Oh well, lesson learned.

Needless to say, I am THRILLED and eager to sign up for another race. Hell, I'm even eager to go running today, but my legs are telling me 'not yet.' I'm currently trying to find another half marathon in San Diego for the fall. That's right folks, I'm moving to San Diego!

Anyway, for my next race I will:

A. buy new shoes that support flat feet and control pronation (looking at Brooks or Pacers)

B. be more dedicated to my training

C. choose a training plan that does not span 2 months...maybe 6 weeks instead?

D. set a new PR !!!

Also, if you're a person that's not sure of signing up for a race or if you're even nervous about starting up running...I recommend BOTH. Sign up for a 5K. Just RUN. Your life will never be the same.

Well, I feel like I've ended one chapter of my running career and am about to start another one. I'll be sure to update it with my future training and future races!