I Did It - My First Half Marathon!

So Happy To Finish!

I can't begin to describe the sheer happiness I felt finishing my first half marathon

The race was run in Central Park NY, and required runners to complete 2 loops of the park, plus another mile or so to the finish line. As I completed the 1st loop, I realized that I felt really good and there was no way that I wasn't going to complete the second loop.

I may have been the only person who had tears in her eyes after the 1st loop

With this realization, I also relaxed. The second half of the race just felt so much better. I was smiling and enjoying the beautiful park and city and was clearly enjoying a runners high!

Performance I'm proud of!

In my prior blog, I took a detailed look at my training history, and asked friends and fellow runners to guess the pace I might achieve for the actual race. It turns out that my sister, who has been following my training progress all the way from Australia, was closest in her estimate. She thought I would reach an approximately 11 minute mile and finish in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. Here is what I achieved:

Although I ran a little longer than the official race distance, probably because I didn't run the most efficient tangents, I still achieved an 11:10 pace and finished the race in 2 hours, 28 minutes. This pace includes lots of hydration stops and an unfortunate potty break!

I felt strong and comfortable throughout the race. I was worried about overdoing it early in the race, and finishing weak. However, when I finished the race, I realized I had more to give. For the last 7 miles of the race, my pace was under 11 minutes a mile and every mile was within 5 seconds of the previous mile. I was rock solid!

Heading to the finish line

BAM! #WomenRunTheWorld!

So what next?

For now I'm reveling in the accomplishment. Prior to the race, I thought this might be my first and last half. Now? I am certain I'll run more 5K's and 10K's. However now that I know I can do it, I might even take on another half  later in the year....we'll see :-)

Novice Half Marathoner Runs 235 Miles in 101 days - Bring On The Race and Guess My Pace!

Happy 10K Face!

A Look Back On My Runs

When you are training for a half marathon, we all know the run didn't really happen if you didn't measure it! I'm even beginning to doubt if I can even run without a GPS watch on my wrist. With all this data, I thought I'd take a look back at my runs and see what I could see.

Insight # 1 - I ran a lot of miles in winter!

235 miles in 101 days to be exact! I officially started my training on January 1. Prior to training for this race, I had only run one 5K in April last year, and one 10K in November last year. My plan was to keep my long run base to about 8 miles once a week, then add a mile to the base every two weeks or so until I eventually hit a long run of 12 miles. I sort of kept to my plan, but I have a bad tendency to over train and pushed too far forward on the long runs in March. Thankfully I realized and pulled back before I burned out completely!

Insight #2 - My pace modestly improved over time. 

Not perfectly, but I can see a trend to improved pace over time. I've included here a few tables as evidence that I'm not just kidding myself. I can see real improvements over the shorter distances, and maybe some improvement, though inconsistent, on the long runs.

Three Mile Progression - From the 11's to the 10's

Six Mile Progression - From the Upper 11's to the Lower 11's

Long Run Progression - Maybe a slight pace improvement?

Insight #3 - Hill Training Has helped Improve My Confidence

My earlier training runs - through January and February were on flat courses. I experienced a setback in my pace in March when I took on runs with hills that mimic the hills of the half marathon I'm training for. Every time I conquered the "big hill" I felt more confident that I can do it on race day. I even developed a little habit where I slapped a light pole at the bottom of the hill before turning around to run up it. For some reason, that little move said:

"I'm in charge, I'm going to make it up this hill - it won't take me down!"

Insight #4 - The 10K Is The Sweet Spot Between Endurance & Pace

I've enjoyed training for a half marathon for many reasons, not the least of them being that I wanted to see if I have it in me. That remains to be seen on race day! However, I've gained a lot more enjoyment than I thought I would in seeing how fast I can go for the 5K and 10K runs. 5K's feel a little short, but the 10K is just the right balance of speed and endurance. I'm thinking about focusing on 10K's as my preferred race length once I get through the half marathon. We'll see!

So wish me luck! The run is a week from tomorrow! 

Based on what I've shown you in data - can you predict my pace?