Geist Half Marathon Race Report

It's been a while, but I know you all still want to read this (at least, that's what I tell myself).

So, as a refresher, this is my first half marathon. Back at the end of 2009, I wrote:

I don't want to put this one on the goal list, because I'm not sure it's really possible right now... but I MAY possibly consider trying for a half marathon this year.

Well, it's crazy how quickly a far-off dream can turn into a reality.

So I ran the Geist Half Marathon... a lovely run around a large reservoir outside of Indianapolis. Here are the stats:

Overall place: 2060/3191
Age Group: 86/146
5 Mile: 53:46 (10:46 pace)
10 Miles: 1:49:16 (10:56 pace)
Last 5K: 35:50 (11:34 pace)
Total: 2:25:05 (11:05 pace)

My main goal was the finish the race without walking. Check! My secondary goal was to finish in 2:15, which I knew was a little lofty.

Now onto the pictures!

I had to work until 11pm the night before, and the race was 2 hours away, so "exhausted" doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling.

We left the house at 4:30 in the morning.
We met up at packet pickup with my college roommate, Jess, and her boyfriend, Ben. They were apparently exhausted too...

Ryan acted as photographer and gear-check.

I was a little nervous, but mostly just excited to finally do this and get it over with.

Jess and I were rearing to go!

This is how we practice...

At 7:30am, we were off!

The first 3 miles went really fast. I spent most of that time just concentrating on running around all those people! I've never been in a race with that many people before, and it was a challenge to pass groups of people when you're running with someone.

At the 3 mile mark, we ran past Ryan and Ben. Feeling good!

About a half a mile later, Jess decided to start walking. I had told her before the race that my only goal was to finish without walking, so she told me to go ahead and keep running. It was hard leaving her, but I knew it would be better for both of us. I didn't want her to feel pressured to run harder than she felt comfortable.

The next 5 miles were great. The only problem I encountered was some ridiculous sports bra chafing. I had to stop for a moment and apply my spare bandaid. Oh, that, and I got REALLY hungry! All the nutrition tips I had read said to eat 2 hours before the race, so that's what I did. But somewhere around mile 4 or 5, my stomach started to growl. I feared an epic nutrition fail, so I started downing sport beans, hoping the 100 calories would tide me over until the end of the race.

My legs held up for the most part until mile 8. At that point, my left foot started to hurt... a shooting pain with every step I took. I stopped to stretch it once, but stretching just gave me a charlie horse. Ouch!

A little bit later, my knee started hurting. Miles 9-12 were rough. I was just limping along, wishing it would be over sooner. I was frustrated, because I had my 2:15 goal in mind, and I REALLY wanted to go faster... I knew I had more in me, but my legs just wouldn't cooperate.

Meanwhile, this is what Ryan and Ben were doing...

After 13.1 long and painful miles, I finally neared the finish line.

Jess finished a little bit later.

After I got over the PAIN and EXHAUSTION (and hunger!), I was very pleased with my time and how I did overall.

Ryan and I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Noodles (we don't have one in Fort Wayne, and it's my favorite!), then we drove the 2 hours home.

I was so proud to have accomplished this goal. Just 2 years ago, I couldn't even run a quarter mile! My fiance was amazingly supportive. There were times when he even drove out and met me in the middle of my long runs to bring me cold water. Now THAT is husband material!

I'll leave you with a photo of how I spent Saturday afternoon...

Happy Sunday, everyone!