first half marathon

I ran my first half marathon today - it was really a lot of fun. The half marathon wound its way through the city and some smaller neighborhoods, some of which did not look very urban at all. There were almost 1500 people running, and the weather was perfect-- about 60 degrees when we started out. I found one of my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society teammates and we decided to run together, which was great, because we talked the whole time. We ended up running faster than I'd planned, but I couldn't help it-- I had so much energy, carbo-loading really worked, and the weather was terrific. I tried gels for the first time too and was amazed at how much energy they gave me. So much easier than trying to chew a Snickers Marathon bar. Having Gatorade stops every two miles also seemed to help-- on our practice runs, the water stops are further apart.

My time was 2:03:15, after which I did another five miles to complete the 18 miles I was supposed to run today for marathon training. I didn't hit the wall this time, although my legs are pretty sore and tired. Not the achilles tendon, yet, although usually it doesn't hurt until the next day. I'm icing it just in case. Afterward, there was a beer garden with low carb beer, which struck me as funny. Distance runners are the last people who should be worried about their carb intakes.

The best thing about this race was the camaraderie I felt with the other runners. I had a great time running with someone I knew and motivating each other during the course of the run. I moved to Florida several months ago, and I remember doing a huge 5K this summer and realizing that I knew absolutely no one. Now I know several new runners through the Leukemia Society, and I expect that many of them will continue to race after we do our first marathon. I've also met a few other local runners, and a friend from work even came down to offer support.

I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment when I think about how 7 miles was the furthest I'd ever run, up until about two months ago. And now I have my first participation medal, and of course a new souvenir race t-shirt.