Running the Illinois half marathon on April 28th was one of the coolest experiences of my life. It was my first half marathon, so I had no idea what to expect. Here’s how that went:
Race began at 7 a.m., so I was up at 4:45 to eat half a banana with peanut butter, and to drink a cup of coffee and glass of water. Left for campus at 6, thinking that, with race day traffic, I’d be walking to the start line by 6:30 at the latest. Well, no. I live about 3 miles from where the race was starting, and traffic was so horrible that by 6:40, we still hadn’t made it to campus. Ryan was in town and driving my car, so I hopped out in the middle of traffic (like so many other runners were doing at this point) and walked about 10 minutes to the start line. Made it in time, but sheesh, too much worrying to have to do before the big event! Next year, I’ll be taking the back route to campus.
There were about 15,000 people running the half marathon, full marathon, and marathon relay that morning; to avoid road congestion, the runners were released in waves every other minute or so. My wave was released a little before 7:15. And, we’re off! Oh, I should probably mention that the weather was perfect for running – At the start, it was around 50 degrees and the skies were cloudy. No sun beating down on me = A very good thing.
Okay, and now, we’re really off. The route began on campus and, of course, one of the first things we ran past was a row of frat houses…Which meant that there were groups of frat guys on their front lawns cheering us on. And still drinking from the night before. “What are you doing?! Go to bed!!!!” I wanted to scream that to them, but keeping my breathing under control was more important than offering unsolicited sleep advice.
The first five miles or so were pretty boring – that’s not to say that they weren’t enjoyable, because they were, just that it’s so early in the race that nothing was challenging at that point. After the first mile or so, the route took us off campus and through the town and neighborhoods of Urbana. And this was fantastic. Tons of people came out of their houses to either stand in their driveways with signs cheering on the runners, to sit in lawn chairs with their kids/dogs/insert-dependent-being-here swaddled in blankets on their laps, and to line the sides of the streets with their coffees. Seeing so many people of the community come out in support of the runners was one of my favorite parts of the race because it was something that was constant throughout all of the 13 miles. Still, I must say that I was a little put off by the fact that people were watching us in the same manner that you or I might watch a Little League baseball game. “I AM NOT A SPECTACLE!!!!” definitely went through my head multiple times, but that creates more of a dramatic effect than necessary. Oh, and did I mention that there were bands set up on various front porches along the route? So cool to run past live folk music.
It’s hard for me to drink water while running because it usually doesn’t settle well in my stomach, but after mile 5, I try to take a few sips every 10/15 minutes or so. There were a lot of water stops along the way, but I waited until I made it to mile 7 and had a side of water with my *Gu.* Gu is amazing – it’s a 100-calorie packet of icing-like, well, goo, that is made up of carbs and sugars. It takes about 15 minutes to be absorbed into your system, and when it does, it’s like you’ve just been injected with rocket fuel (or something). I love it because it gives me a noticeable burst of energy at a time when the body is starting to get tired. It really helps you push through.
If I had to pinpoint a time during the race that was most difficult, I would say miles 8-9. The Gu hadn’t set in yet, I had been running for about 90 minutes, and there was still over 45 minutes to go. But, you just have to keep going, so I did.
By the time I came up to the 11th mile marker, the thought that went through my head was, “Oh, no! I’m not ready for it to be over yet!” Seriously, who thinks that?! Most people are probably thankful that they only have two miles to go, and there I was wishing that the run would last a little longer. I really don’t know what’s wrong with me.
The last mile brought us back on campus. We made our way to the football stadium, and there is just nothing like the feeling of being mere tenths of a mile from the finish line. Any tiredness that you may have been feeling disappears, and, if you’re me, all you’re thinking about is how much of a badass you are. The last steps of the race took us into the stadium and we got to run on the field and cross the finish line at the 50 yard line. The stands were filled with people waiting for their friends and family to finish the race, tons of people were cheering, and it was just plain awesome.
Once I crossed the finish line, there was a race volunteer who put a medal around my neck. A medal! My first! And then, I walked a few steps away and dropped to the turf – not out of pain or exhaustion, but to give my loyal legs a nice stretch. Thirteen miles necessitates a good stretch, I suppose.
All in all, the half marathon was the best birthday present I could have given to myself – and yes, that is in fact why I signed up for it in January. It was a heck of a way to spend two hours and fifteen minutes of a Saturday morning. And seriously, how cool is it to be able to say at 9:30 a.m. that you’ve already run a half marathon that day?
There are a lot of things that I didn’t mention in this post, but you get a sense of what my experience was kind of like. Here are some of my biggest takeaways from this race that will inform future races:
I was not aiming for a specific time – I just wanted to run the run and enjoy it. More seasoned runners aim for PRs, or personal records, with long races like these. I, on the other hand, had no such goal. I approached race day with an attitude of, “I want this race to be enjoyable, not miserable.” For me, that meant not pushing myself beyond what was comfortable. I stuck with the pace that I had been training with for four months, and actually slowed a bit during certain miles to accommodate fatigue and breathing. The half marathon was not difficult because I didn’t try to be a superhero; rather, I embraced it as a fun run and, more importantly, listened to and respected my body.
I got lost in my surroundings. And no, this doesn’t mean that I ran off course and got lost in a cornfield. It means that time goes by quickly for me when I’m not paying attention to the actual running, but instead pay attention to all of the things that I’m running past. It’s kind of like watching reality TV, minus all of the ostentatiousness and debauchery.
I dressed for warm weather. I know that I get hot pretty quickly, so even if it’s 40 degrees outside, I dress as if it’s 60+. There is nothing that sucks more than running and being overheated because you’re wearing too many layers (or layers that are too heavy). One of the most useful things I learned during my training with Second Wind is that when dressing for a run, dress for 15-20 degrees warmer than what it actually is outside. That has been a lifesaver for me.
I didn’t start off fast. Though I wanted to, I know by now that beginning the race too fast will only lead to your downfall and burnout. It’s hard to not be swept away by the sea of runners and adrenaline that’s pumping at the beginning of the race, but I made a conscious effort to slow down to my normal pace so that I wouldn’t be hating myself later.
“Just get to the Gu.” That kept going through my head during the first 7 miles. Gu and water at 7 makes the last 6 much more bearable.
Enjoy the ride. When there were moments of, “OMG, seriously, I’m tired of running,” I quickly reminded myself of what I was doing. You’re running a half marathon. And that’s awesome. So remember that, and shut up. Positive reinforcement all the way. It kept me going and it kept me strong.
