My First Half Marathon

On Sunday November 7th I ran a half marathon with a cold and probably not enough training. That is 13.1 miles. I trained for about 5 weeks with a great group of woman from the fitness class I teach on weekday mornings and my husband. It was so inspiring so see them commit to it and then finish the race. We weren’t going for the fastest times or glory. We just wanted to do it. On my bucket list is a full marathon (see my about page). So this is something I wanted to do so I could work up to the full. A full marathon is about 26 miles, twice what I did on Sunday. And now I know I need a heck of a lot more training if I want to run 26 miles.

The weekend of the race I came down with a cold. But I decided to do it anyway since we had worked so hard as a group. I relied on the adrenaline from the race and a dose of cold medicine.

At the beginning of the race I felt amazing. The energy from the crowd was there and I was happy to have finally made it to the big day. I had my iPod rocking my favorite tunes and I could see my girls running their big race and feel their excitement. Around mile 7 I saw a runner go down and start seizing. I yelled, “Call 911, runner down!” Immediately there was a crowd around him and people where on their cell phones. At mile 9 I started to feel nauseated and saw another runner go down from leg cramps. I am not sure if it was the cold and my body telling me I was over my limit or if it was the yellow Gatorade I decided to drink at one station instead of water. The nausea continued off and on. For the last few miles I walked and ran off and on depending on the nausea. At mile 11 I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew there would only be 2 miles left and that I could do it. I could finish. I thought of my two year old daughter waiting for me at the finish line. I found my favorite song on my iPod and pushed through every aching bone in my body. I sprinted through the finish line. They handed me a medal for finishing. I had a time of 2 hours and 35 minutes. My husband finished in 2 hours and 19 minutes.

The rest of the day I was done for. Exhausted, sick, and my knees ached like they were bashed in with a baseball bat. Sorry if that is graphic, but that is literally how it felt. The second day my muscles were so sore I couldn’t walk up or down the stairs in my house, or walk for that matter. The third day was better. The pain was easing up. And here we are at day 4. I am still sore but I am much better off.

So would I do it again? In a heartbeat! . But give me a few more days. LOL.

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2 Responses to “My First Half Marathon”

1. Melissa says:

   April 10, 2011 at 9:16 am

   Congrats!!!
   That is so awesome that you finished a half marathon!
   ~Melissa
2. Amanda says:

   April 10, 2011 at 12:26 pm

   Thanks Melissa!