Nationwide Half Marathon and My So-called Love Life

This post is long overdue but I did it!!! I ran the Nationwide Half Marathon and finished in 2:07:15. My goal was 2 hours but I can live with my time. I shaved off 23 minutes from my time in May and that’s a big accomplishment. I trained really hard for 12-13 weeks and I’m proud of myself.

I stayed at Jeff and Marti’s the night before to ensure I had a good night’s sleep and parked at Dawn’s house since she lives downtown. When I arrived at Dawn’s house it was an hour before the race and I wanted to be at the start line at that point. So I did my warm up jog for ten minutes on the way to the start line. There was a band at the start line and they had fireworks to start the race (awesome!). I was grouped in Corral 3 (of 4) and the 4:15 marathon pace team was in Corral 2. I had to make sure I ran a good first mile, not too slow, so I could keep the right pace throughout the race.

There were bands along the way, every mile or so, which was awesome. I kept a good pace throughout the race, about 9:43 or so. I walked for about 30 seconds after I ran for 14 minutes, the first time I started walking one guy was like ‘keep going, you’re doing great’, I said 30 seconds, that’s all I need! I finished the first half in under an hour which was on track for my goal but I had a feeling the second half would be questionable. The last mile or two my right knee started hurting but I ran through the pain. When I realized I would be over my goal time I kept going. I raised my arms when I crossed the finish line hoping for a good race photo but that didn’t happen. No one takes good race photos fyi.

After I crossed the finish line I received my medal and ate a well deserved Krispy Kreme donut. I called Dawn and gave her a big, sweat filled hug when I saw her. We went back to her place and I showered for the Steelers-Browns game.

It’s Here!! Nationwide Half Marathon!!

I am SO pumped for tomorrow! 12 weeks of training and it’s here: Nationwide Half Marathon! I was kind of worried last week because I was sick the week before. I didn’t run for an entire week and I was so sick it didn’t bother me I wasn’t running. I started training again last week first with a short run for about 30 min and ran my longest run Saturday before I started tapering. I ran 6 miles Saturday in 55 minutes and 15 seconds. My goal for the half is to finish in 2 hours. It didn’t feel like I was running hard Saturday so I was surprised when I finished my run in 55 minutes. After I saw my time, my worries flew out the door because I know I’m ready. I’ve trained really hard for this and it was definitely better for me to get sick 3 weeks before the race rather than this week.

I picked up my race packet today; I’m bib # 13799. The race is sold out; 5000 marathon runners and 10000 half marathon runners. The tech shirt is pink-my favorite color! I’ve been eating healthy all week, plenty of protein, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. I’m staying at Marti’s house tonight to ensure a good night’s sleep because of my asshole neighbor (who I called the cops on Wednesday night). Marti has decided to run the half, not the whole thing but the majority. My insanity must be contagious. I ran my last run Friday, an easy 30 minute run on the nature trail at Highbanks with hills.

I don’t have any more races planned for this year and I was planning on taking a break for the next three months because of the bitter cold weather in winter. I told Dawn this on Sunday and she said ‘You’re still going to run, you won’t take 3 months off.’ She’s probably right. I’ll go crazy if I don’t run for 3 months straight, which is why I started running January 15. I’m considering the Buckeye Classic 10K November 14, it’s the Sunday during my weekend after my birthday which is when I plan on celebrating my birthday. I’ll probably make my decision next month and it’s looking like a yes right now.

Next year’s races (so far): Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon May 1 (yay hills!); Pittsburgh Marathon May 15 (yay hills!); Nationwide Marathon Oct. 16; Triathlon: TBA.