My First 1/2 Marathon!

I know it's been a while.....I've been crazy busy with work, my hubby coming home, new car, getting ready to move and training for my first 1/2 Marathon and of course doing P90X!  From here on out, I'm going to make this not only my blog for Beachbody, but more personal as well.

I want to say, I have been doing my P90X and I should just be getting done with month 2 BUT I took two weeks off to really concentrate on my 1/2.  I wanted to finish under 2:30....did it pay off?  You'll have to read on to find out ;-)  I will be starting month 2 of P90X over again, as to not cheat myself of doing the full program.

Now on to the good stuff!!  My hubby finally came home from his last patrol......probably not his last patrol ever, actually I can bet my life that it won't be his last patrol LOL, but it was his last patrol on the Steadfast.  Below is a picture of them coming home from my window.  It's so exciting watching them come home, but it was the worst watching them leave!  Oh wait, I'm sure this isn't the "good stuff" you were waiting for, huh?  Okay, on to my half marathon!!

I don't even know where to begin!  The Monday before the race, I started to drink a gallon of water a day, much to my co-workers delight (think potty breaks every half hour)  I really think this helped me out big time for the actual race day.  I did a few training runs and P90X's Core Synergistics during the week.  I was a little nervous because I tried for a "last long run" on Monday (8 miles, but ended up doing 3.5) and it was all messed up, felt gross, sluggish, just not into it, crampy.  I had felt like that on a couple of runs before my last "long run" and although I felt good on a previous run of 11.6 miles, my upper legs also felt like they were going to fall off.  It also had been a good 2 weeks since that run as well, so I felt a little defeated already!  So I decided to do a couple of hill training runs during the week....well, that didn't pan out so well, the Wednesday and Thursday runs didn't happen.  I ended up dreaming that I couldn't run up hills Thursday night, and it bugged me all of Friday, so I ran a hilly 6.5 miles.....and it was surprisingly easy!  It felt amazing, but then I quickly realized, my race is on Sunday!!!  Was the hilly 6.5 a mistake?  It went by so fast I didn't even realize I went that far!  I made sure I stretched out really well after that run.  Just a side note,  I have one of those amazing NordicTrack Incline treadmills that you can plug in your running course.  It downloads into the machine, and it'll adjust the hills for you, so I know exactly what I'm getting into!!  LOVE THIS MACHINE!!!  One of the BEST purchases I've made!  It inclines to 40% and declines -6%.  This bit of info will help later on in my super long 1/2 marathon post. ANYWAYS:

So here comes Saturday!!!  I packed my super cute outfit the night before along with everything else, and off I went to pick up my running partner Jill!  We always stay the night in Portland so we don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn (I'm NOT a morning person) to drive 2 hours in our dress up outfits (because dressing up is a must) to the early morning races.  Instead we hop out of bed, get all ready with our mad cuteness and walk a few blocks to the start.  SOOOO easy!!!  *Another side note: I never started doing races until I moved to Oregon.  Before that I was just running to run!  My first race was actually the Ragnar Relay, and the rest I've been with my girl Jill!!  She's really pushed me in a good way to become active in these races!  I would have never signed up for my first solo race without her!!*    Off we went at noon to the Portland Expo Center to pick up our packets!

The parking was insane, and we had to walk quite a way from the lot to the center and it was pouring out....okay, it wasn't really that bad, but when you know you're going to be running 13.1 miles the next day, you want to preserve.....or maybe I'm just lazy ;-P  We got inside the expo and it was AMAZING and well organized.  It took Jill and I about a minute to pick up our packets, get our picture taken with a mannequin holding the race medal, get our t-shirts and our little grab bag......not bad really!  Then they shuffle you off to another area where you can buy Rock 'n Roll Portland T-shirts and other memorabilia.  They also had another area with games that you could play, and a gait analysis area, which I did.  It was super interesting.  I found out that my left leg is normal and I have a slight pronate and swing on my right leg.  Totally explains why I sometimes get cramping in my right toes while I run!!  Once we were set with the games, we went on to the real fun stuff.....free samples!! HAHAHA  We got free mini Chobani Greek yogurts, I had the Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chip and Jill had the Coffee Dark Chocolate chips and they were soo good!  We got to sample energy bars, goo's, jelly beans, Nuun water, and a ton of other neat things!  BUT THE BEST was our amazing discovery of the Handband!!!!!  I was just thinking, about two weeks ago, how I can NEVER find an arm band that fits and if they do fit, it cuts my circulation off and gives me weird cramps and shooting pains in my arm while I run.  Jill and I first walked by because I think we were totally stunned by this magnificent invention, we both stopped, looked at each other and headed back to the stand.  I'm telling you, this product was everything I dreamed of and more!  I usually run with my phone in my hand, but this is sooo much better!!!  I forgot I had it on.  The model I have you can fit your ID in, and also if you want to ride a bike or need your hands, it comes with an extra band for the arm, and it FITS!!!  Got it for $20 and I'm pretty sure it's the best $20 I've spent in a long time!!  I could go on and on about this product, but I'll spare you all.

After the Expo, Jill and I headed to our hotel in Downtown Portland, where we carb loaded, drank water, and relaxed.....oh and of course took a few silly pictures.  I don't have any of me, because I wasn't feeling really well after my mega carb load........:-(  Good think Jill knows how to make me laugh.  I'm sure going to miss here when I move.......

We fell asleep about 10:30ish and I felt like a million bucks when I woke up at 6am.  This is VERY RARE, because I hate mornings with a passion.  I hardly ever feel refreshed when I wake up.  Maybe it was all the spooning with Jill.....TOTALLY KIDDING!! HAHAAHAA  Anyways.....I had a few bites of a yogurt parfait and about 15oz of water while I was dressing in my amazing dress up exaggerated '80's outfit.  You need to exaggerate these things to make them more fun!!!  Here's the end result:

Once we dressed, we were ready to ROCK N ROLL!!!  I mean, they don't call it a Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon for 'nuthing.  Our excitement was obvious as we made our way to the Waterfront......along the way we were stopped by paparazzi  camera men for the event, and of course we willingly posed, for all 5 of them.....we felt so special!!!!  Once we got to the event, we beelined it to marker C to meet up with my long lost friend Katie and her BFF Dani (check her funny, amazing blog Run Daniella Run out!!)  It was so nice to FINALLY meet Dani!  I've known her through FB for a little while, and she's just as sweet and sassy as her blog!!  LOVED meeting up with them, although it was way to short :-(  After our "good lucks" we went to our corrals, and waited.......

I think I remember hearing there were 23 corrals.  We were #16.  It took about 15 minutes to get to the starting line, but it was enough time to really pump me up!  I kept thinking in my head...."this is my first half!!!  I'm going to ROCK IT!!"  Positive thinking always wins :-)  Off we went!!!!!  I wanted to keep my pace relatively slow because I knew I would be doing some massive hills and I needed my energy for that.  I was also going to try and stay hydrated by doing a "run by" at all the water stations (and there where plenty!!) and eat a non caffeinated Gu Chomp every 2-3 miles.  The first 2 miles went by super fast, and my first real water station came up.......I sucked.......I tried keeping my pace while drinking and it went up my nose, all over my face and on my shirt (that part actually felt good).  I've practiced on the treadmill with my water bottle.......should have known it would be completely different.  I hardly got any water, but I still felt hydrated.  I was thinking of a game plan for the next station, and that quickly came up, maybe it was all my planning but WOW mile 4-4.25ish was already here with my next water station.  Like I said, I sucked...and my new plan to slow it down didn't work either, and I ended up with more water up my nose than anywhere else.  So I figured, I would have to actually stop, which was not what I wanted, but something I had to do.  Shortly after mile 5 was my next water station......yes, this is really all I thought about for the first 5 miles, how I was going to conquer the water stations, oh and also how great the bands and cheerleaders where, and how fast it was all going.  THIS water station was a success and of course my lucky number (5) so off I went with a new found joy of stopping for a second for water, because if you're stopping for water, you're not really stopping, right?  I'll keep practicing on those water stations.........

Mile 6 came up and I realized that the hills that my treadmill showed in the first half, were not as bad as they were on my treadmill!  Did I even run any hills??????  Should I pick it up?  Then I remembered there was this part, at about mile 6.75 that was basically running almost straight up a hill for a little less than a mile.  So I stayed at the pace I was at (about 10:20)  Good thing, because it was a monster!!  There was this girl, I could tell she was slightly faster than me, that was edging ahead of me.  I took that as a sign and made myself stay with her the whole way until the hill was done (almost to mile 8) I felt elated that I pushed myself, but started to worry about how I would feel for the next 5.1 miles, the good news was, I was already more than half way there!!  Then I got nervous due to the fact that there were more big hills on the way (per my treadmill) so I kept the pace I had while doing the hill (10:30ish) I felt pretty good, and not sore, or tired at all so I picked it up a bit after I had my Gu Gel (they handed them out around mile 8, and I thought, why not) but still held back.  I kept thinking in my head, once I hit mile 12 I'm golden.  The farthest I've run was 11.6 miles, so for some reason mile 12 was like the Holy Grail to me.  The miles went by faster than I though, and before I knew it, I headed into mile 10.5 and a hill...here it was 20 something incline on my treadmill........the other big one that I had been saving my energy for.......ended up being a dud!  Easier than the hill at mile 6.75ish!!  I knew there was one more coming the end of mile 11, was it going to be this lame?  Should I push myself?  I did pick up my pace a little more, but was still a little nervous to really go with it.  Not sure what I was so afraid of really.  Maybe that it seemed to "easy"? BY NO MEANS am I saying a 1/2 Marathon is EASY....but for some reason I just really thought it would be more of a mental game for me, more pushing myself to not stop, I thought I would be exhausted and hurting like my last run of 11.6 about 3 weeks ago.  But for some reason my body was enjoying it??????  It was too good to be true!!!  2+ hours flashed by, and mile 12 was here!  I was at my Holy Grail and was ALMOST DONE!!  I started to get a little teary eyed, my longest run ever!  If something happened to me at this point, at least I had my longest run under me! HAHAH.  I picked it up a bit, I felt great, I had energy still but at this point, I remember saying to myself, I will NEVER do a Full Marathon.  I don't know why, but I just don't think I will.  Everyone says, "you never know", "don't ever say never" but I'm pretty sure I like half marathons and below :-)  Props definitely go out to those that have done a full!!

So into mile 13 I come, and the crowd is amazing!!  The energy at the finish was electric, and I crossed the finish line in 2:17:24!!!!  Way better than my 2:30 prediction!  I figured it was my first 1/2 and I wanted to savor it, so I gave myself a very reasonable first time "time frame", but I enjoyed it at the 10:29 pace as well, and like I said, I feel like I did hold back some, and I really regret that.  My treadmill is usually dead on, but this time, it made some of these hills look like mountains and that scared me to go a little slower.  Lesson learned.  But hey, I'm not in it to win it, I'm in it to get the free bling!!  Oh and of course because these races are fun and addicting!  Actually, I'm pretty sure I'll be running the Rock 'n Roll half in Vegas come November.....This is breaking news because as I was typing this, my amazing girl Jill text me this bit of info ;-)  She asked if I was in, and I said F*CK YEAH!!  So I'll be running a half in October if my group gets picked for the Nike Women's half OR the November Rock 'n Roll Race in Vegas!

The finish line was crazy, free chocolate milk, water, Jamba Juice, protein bars, bagels, Gator Aid and of course my medal.  I finally got out of the mess, and back out to the finish line to cheer my girl Jill on, who came in shortly after I did!!  It was amazing to feel so accomplished, we totally did it!  Our first 1/2 Marathons!

Sorry this was so long, I wanted to get it all down so I'll always remember the amazing experience!  The actual race was really put together well, the spectators where fired up, the cheerleaders every 1/2 mile helped, the bands every mile made me smile,  the volunteers always had great words of encouragement and big smiles on their faces, the police department kept us safe and cheered us on as well.

And if you got this far thank you for reading and here's a final pic: