First Marathon!

I did it!  26.2 miles in 5:01:37 for an 11:30 average pace!

Saturday my mom made an early Thanksgiving dinner (thanks, mom!) allowing me to finish my carb load with stuffing and sweet potatoes.  After dinner, Alek and I drove to our hotel in Philadelphia and went to sleep around 9 pm.  On the drive down I started to feel really anxious.  I knew I could finish, but what if the experience was so rough that I'd never want to run again?  How sore would I really be afterwards?  Would I even be able to run the whole thing?

After some restless sleep on Saturday night, I was up at 4am on Sunday for breakfast.  I had a bagel, a banana, some gatorade and coffee.  At 6, we headed down to the start area.  At 7:20, my corral was off!  I was feeling great.  Around mile 5, the crowds were thick and random people were calling out "Come on Wendy, you've got this!"  It was all so overwhelming, at several points during the race I started to tear up.  These people who I didn't know were cheering for ME!

At the halfway mark I was still feeling quite good.  I saw that my parents and Rebecca had made it and I paused for a moment for hugs.  Shortly after I passed Alek with his "Run ALL the miles" sign.  The sign is an instant smile bringer.

After mile 14, I made a restroom stop.  The line alone made me lose roughly 5 minutes but these things can't be helped.  After the break, I kept going - still feeling good.  But I knew the worst was ahead of me.  Around the 17th mile I started to feel exhausted but I knew I could push through.  I had a banana and after about 20 minutes I regained enough energy to get me through to mile 22.

Around mile 22 my back started to cramp.  I'd never experienced back cramps in my long runs and I couldn't run through it.  I slowed down, had some water and a gel and after a bit it was ok.   I started to run again, but had already been passed by the 5 hour pacing group.  I knew that I likely wouldn't finish in less than 5 hours.   By mile 24, I was a little teary-eyed at the thought of being unable to finish in less than 5 hours.  I told myself that I would never run another marathon.  After a few minutes I was able to push on in a run again knowing that less than 2 miles remained.  There was one final water station just after the 25th mile.  I stopped there for some gatorade so that I would have energy for the final stretch!

The final stretch!

I passed my family and Alek again.  I knew I had it.  They were at mile 26.  Then I made it!  I crossed the finish line.  Despite needing to do "marathon walk" just like all of the other runners, I decided that this is something I'll try again.  After all, I need to run a marathon in less than 5 hours!  

Finish line photos!

I ate my way through the rest of Sunday, ending the day with a celebration dinner with my whole family, including my older sister Jess and her family.  It was a great finish to a wonderful but challenging day!

Running a Half for the First Time

All of my spring 2011 training was in preparation for the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 21, 2011.    My longest training run before the race was 12 miles.  While I thought 13.1 would be manageable,  I wasn't completely sure.

The race started with two laps around Prospect Park then went down Ocean Parkway to finish at Coney Island.  The first two laps were no problem.  There were people cheering in the park, that made running really exciting.  Exiting the park took me up to mile 7.  Immediately after the route took the runners down a highway ramp that was closed for the race.  I'll admit, I thought that running down a highway ramp was pretty damn cool.  However the stretch down Ocean Parkway was difficult.  There weren't as many spectators cheering and it felt like it went on forever.  Around mile 10, I started running with another woman who had noticed that I'd slowed down.  She helped me through the last 3 miles by encouraging me to walk a short distance so that I could finish strong.  By the time we got to the boardwalk, the crowds were back and I was able to cross the finish line with a smile.  My parents, Rebecca, and Alek were there waiting for me.  Sharing the excitement of my first half marathon with loved ones made it feel much more special.

My goal had been to finish in 2:30, and I just made it with a finish time of 2:29:22!

Its worth mentioning that I made some mistakes during the half marathon.  I hadn't been training with any sort of gels, so I didn't use any for the race.  I also avoided the Gatorade at the fluid stations in favor of water.  Later I learned that after about an hour and a half of activity your muscles need some sort of fuel to keep going.  For the rest of the day, every time I sat down to do something I dozed off.  A lot of that had to do with improper nutrition, but more on that later.

Nearly finished (I'm on the left)!  

2011 Colon Cancer Challenge 15k

My first race of 2011 was the New York Colon Cancer Challenge 15k.  It fit nicely into my half marathon training plan, being the right distance at the right point in time.  It was the second race I ever ran, and it would be the longest distance that I had run to that date.

Prior to the race, I had been training on the indoor track at the McBurney YMCA.  My training did not prepare me for Central Park's hills.  The first lap of the race felt all right but the second lap was pretty tough.  Around mile 8 another runner encouraged me, helping me get through the final stretch.  When I finished I was excited to see that my sister, Rebecca, had come to cheer me on.

I finished in 1:54:53 with an average mile of 12:21.  I was pleased with myself with the distance but incredibly tired.  Finishing 9.3 miles at the end of March gave me confidence that I could work up to 13.1 in time for the Brooklyn Half Marathon at the end of May!  Afterwards I went for a celebratory breakfast with Alek and Rebecca.