A Half-Marathon by the Numbers
It's finally over! I now have my Sunday mornings back to lounge in bed and no need to abstain from drinking any longer. In fact, all runners and cyclists were offered free beer after the race. I was too tired to walk to the beer, but I appreciated the effort on Michelob's part.
Here's how it broke down on the route to Long Beach today:
13.1 mile event
28 weeks spent training
180 miles run over that time
2 pairs of running shoes purchased
9 weeks spent battling repetitive stress pain in legs
1 toenail lost
2200 dollars raised for charity
38 donors
4 friends and family members cheering me on
5:15 am wake-up call
6:00 am meeting time in the Westin lobby
6:57 am official sunrise
7:30 am official start time
7:33 am when I crossed the start line
12.5 minutes to first mile
2 minutes faster than my average time
56.5 minutes to mile 4
4.5 miles till breakfast, courtesy of my parents (Power bars and bananas - breakfast of champions)
7th mile snack missed by 3 minutes (my brother ran late, or I ran too quickly)
9th mile marked when my feet started to hurt
10th mile was where mom & dad fed us again
11th mile the hardest of the entire day (the mile marker was missing)
12.9 miles before running into my coach, who pointed out we were less than a quarter mile from the finish line
.2 miles sprinted harder than I've ever run in my life
3h:20m:48s my official time
38m:12s faster than I anticipated
8 minutes faster than I'd hoped
I made my goal! Though I'd given myself a full four hours to finish, I secretly hoped to make it in less than three and a half. Which I did, amazingly enough. That alone was really gratifying.
Many thanks to my countless supporters over these last 6 months, especially the friends who sent well wishes all weekend long. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my parents for racing from miles 4 to 10 to feed us along the way. I really couldn't have kept going without that.
And finally, an extra special thanks to Nahm & the Princess for being my mile 11 and the only ones who volunteered to cheer me on in person (I didn't realize you watched me cross the finish line too!). You guys are my heroes.
Now, we start counting down to the LA Marathon in March, which has no half option. 20 weeks to train for 26.2 miles!
That will, eventually, be cake too.
11 comments:
good on ya exo
Like I said just know I'll always be cheering you on. and March 4th is marked on my calendar and if I have to rent a motor scooter to be at whatever mile marker you need me at I'll do it. And you know what I'll even get myself up and running so I can run that last mile with you. I would have run 11-12 with you but I didn't have on the greatest shoes. You know I love you.
Wahoo! :)
You did it!
Yay!!!! Congratulations, just fucking incredible :)
Thanks guys. It was a very fun day. And I just got back from celebrating with my drinking buddy and a team mate, which was mucho fun as well.
It's nice to be able to drink tequila again!!
Congratulations, I can never see myself managing that kind of distance. Unless I could drive the first 12 miles then maybe.
Congrats! You've inspired me to get off my ass and fight my post-marital settling. Why are numbers so exciting? I love your by the numbers posts, and that's my second favorite part of reading Maxim.
Will: laziness has its place too.
JTS: it's almost like you're an engineer, you numbers nerd. So, how are you going to fight the marriage rut?
Awesome!
Congratulations! I was thinking about you.
Haven't decided yet. Either run, swim or join a boxing club. Putting in my backyard has got me started - never realized how hard moving dirt around was. I knew it was time to do something when I got winded carrying the shovel from the garage to the back of the house. :)
Congratulations, this is great! While it will undoubtedly be about hot cars when you move on to international spy action, this training should come in handy.
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