Jeez. It’s been several weeks since I ran the damn thing, but I still haven’t done my “Exactly How I Screwed Everything Up” entry regarding how poorly I ran the race. Since my Tucson half-marathon is on Sunday (SHIT!) and I’m hoping to run that one the right way, I figured I’d better document how I ran the last one the wrong way while it’s fresh in my mind.
I’m just going to do this bullet-style: Things That Sucked About my First Half-Marathon
- It was cold and rainy. It actually got colder throughout the morning, which was awesome since I was getting wetter. When I croseed the finish line, I was nothing more than a Popsicle in black tights.
- My pacing. I always try to find someone first thing to pace myself with. My long distance pace is a 12-minute mile, and I found someone that I felt was running about that. I heard the first mile split was 11:34 and I was a tad-bit concerned that might be too fast. Then, I got to mile 2 and realized I heard the first mile wrong, they had said 10:34, not 11. That meant I was running 1.5 min/mile faster than I needed to be to keep from burning out. BAD MOVE. I ended up running the last 6 miles at 13+min/mile because I was so drained.
- I didn’t walk. The novice marathon training program encourages you to walk through the aid stations to preserve energy. You only walk for a few seconds while you re-hydrate, but its what a novice may need. I skipped walking the first station because my energy felt too high to stop. Then, it was three miles before the next station and because of my pacing issues I was dying. I should have walked even if I didn’t need it.
- The course backtracked on itself. At the 8-mile mark, the course turned around. So, from mile 6 to mile 8, I was running opposite of the people ahead of me. I essentially watched 400 people ahead of me and the entire 2 miles was dreadful. Watching person after person run passed you in the opposite direction, ahead of you, does not do much for your ego. By the time I hit the turn-around at the 8-mile mark, my spirit was incredibly broken. That is one of my biggest flaws in running: spending too much time thinking about the other people.
- Not bringing food/nourishment. I didn’t bring anything to eat along the way. They tell you if you run 45 minutes, you need to re-nourish yourself in order not to run out of energy - which I did. I ran out of energy to the point that there was a small portion of my mind thinking about taking a nap while running - that’s how exhausted I was. I believe it is called “bonking” and it is an ugly thing to experience. “Bonking” actually makes it sound fun. So, you’ll have to trust me: IT’S NOT.
I don’t know. The race was just bad. I screwed up so many things on it that when I saw MrZ at the 10-mile mark, I wanted nothing more than to jump in the car and demand he drive me home. My blisters were killing me and I was cold and exhausted. I had no desire to even finish, I was so emotionally drained having just watched 400 people run ahead of me. It was just bad. BAD. BAD.
Sunday should go better. I’m going to force myself to walk for a few seconds at each aid station, I’m going to stay at the 12-minute mile pace no matter what, and I’m going to do what I can to keep from worrying about everyone else. There will be a lot of walkers on Sundays race, so I won’t feel like I’m in the back of the pack, which will hopefully help. I need to find a way to convince myself that it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing. There are millions of people still in bed when I’m doing my race, why don’t I think about them and how I’m beating them to the finish-line instead of worrying about the people in front of me.
Here’s to learning from your mistakes. And to tripping the faster runners as they run past you.
OMG. I think I’m first. WooHoo!
Seriously …. YOU GO ZOOT! You are running a damn HALF marathon. Christ. That is totally awesome. I will be in bed when you are running … so just think, you are being totally more healthy than me. But, since this is my big moving weekend, I’ll have been lifting and schleping boxes all day, so I DESERVE to be in bed. I’ll be sending you good running vibes. And P.S you are slightly inspiring me to get out and run. You make it look fun! And easy! And not at all painful!
GO ZOOT!
Part of me is thinking “She cares how many people are faster?? Dude! I can’t run 100 feet without getting a stitch in my side!” but then part of me totally understands too. I’m sure I’d be doing the same thing. You can do this. Remember how you were looking for your “thing” - to me, this is it. I find myself thinking of you (beyond your family) as “the girl who runs.” 400 people be hanged. You are doing this because you can and you rock!
And yeah, you do make it look fun and easy. I’ve half thought of trying to run. Then I go back to bed.
Good luck on Sunday!!
Happy thoughts! You’ll do MUCH better this time. Can’t wait to see pictures!
I have to say, I admire you so much for starting this. I really want to try (um, TRY) to run a 5k (which I have done before) by March. This hit me in August, when, there were Hood to Coast Runners (I live in Oregon, and this is a big fat deal here) running right in front of my house. What was I doing? Eating a big burrito and drinking wine (not saying it’s a bad thing, but it made me feel lazy).
Anyway, it’s hard to start something when you’re an adult and set in your ways, so YAY! Zoot!!
I’m so glad you finally said this at the end because it was EXACTLY what I was thinking: You beat the rest of us home in bed!
Stay positive and remember your only gain is in beating yourself. In other words, a baseball bat to their shins should do it.
those turnarounds are THE WORST. and it’s hard not to focus on everyone else especially when they are right in your face like that.
it’s amazing the innerstrength we can find in ourselves though, to complete what seems impossible and often unduable.
Good luck Sunday.
Good luck! Can’t wait to hear how it went. And, most importantly, enjoy the warmer Arizona weather. I’m pretty jealous, I have to admit. I love it there.
I am so impressed and I am definitely taking notes. I think racing can be good for your ego and it can be bad for your ego- and not every race is the same and you are never the same for every race. It’s all a matter of perspective and acceptance.
Having said that- go, girlfriend…
I’m not a runner, but I did walk a marathon once with Team in Training. One thing they recommended was that for your food, you break up a Luna bar or whatever kind of snack you are having into bite-sized pieces, so that it’s easy to just pop a piece in your mouth as you’re moving. Also have you tried Gu or anything like that? I found that was just what I needed for an extra burst of energy at one point. But don’t use it too early on, because the sugar/caffeine crash will make you more tired. I think I took mine around Mile 23.
I’m sure your brother has much more expert advice than I can offer, but I thought I would tell you what helped one novice!
Good luck at the half! I am sure this will be a more positive experience than the first one because you have obviously learned from your mistakes. Not caring about all the fast people in front of you is difficult, but necessary. Have fun!
Good luck!