2011 Columbia, SC Half Marathon

Soooooo.  I turn forty one month from today.  I wanted to do something big before turning forty, so a couple of months ago I set my sights on running my first-ever half marathon.  That was today, so here’s the run-down.  After a fitful night’s sleep, I got up at 5am.  Dressed, ate breakfast and left the house at 5:45am.  Those of you who know me well know that THAT was an accomplishment in and of itself!  After a 90 minute drive to Columbia, SC, I parked and headed for the park where the race would start.  Lots of people milling around, stretching, talking and fiddling with iPods.  I had my Nike + iPod thingy with me, but I had had to get a new sensor recently and for some reason, the receiver wasn’t picking up the new sensor.  Frustrating.  A cold drizzle started as we waited for the 8am start time.  Yay.  Rain.  Started out feeling apprehensive, but after the first mile, realized I was actually feeling really good.  I was in the back of the pack and I intended to stay there.  Slow and steady finishes the race.  Following my dear friend Becky Belnap’s advice (She’s a seasoned marathoner training to qualify for Boston.  Her husband is Karl’s cousin.) I stopped at each table with Gatorade/water, which were positioned every two miles.  30 seconds to drink up and I was running again.  She also said to eat something (she recommended Shot Bloks, a kind of energy gummy) every half hour whether I felt like I needed it or not, so I did.  I’m sure her advice helped me to keep on truckin’.  Rain stopped at about mile 4.

The first 6 miles were relatively flat, slightly rolling, running through the part of Columbia that sits on the east side of the Broad River.  Past the Governor’s mansion, district of historic homes, USC campus, and State House.  Then we headed down to the river, across and up the other side.  The west side of Columbia was hilly.  That, to put it mildly, really sucked.  But I still felt good for the first 11 – that’s ELEVEN – miles.  I was so proud of myself.  I started to flag a bit, but made it back across the river to the mile 12 marker.  Which is when I found myself staring up a monster hill.  I started trying to run up that hill, but found that I was running so slowly I might as well be walking.  And I was expending more energy trying to RUN up that hill than it would take to walk fast.  So that’s what I did.  After about 3/4 of a mile, I made it to the cross street and started to run again.  And…?

And I did it!  I finished!  My training was derailed for the past month due to illnesses, etc., so I was sure I was just going to die and not be able to finish the race.  When I went into it this morning, my goal was simply to finish without having to walk a lot, and finish in under three hours.  And I met my goal.  I finished in 2:48:20.  I ran the whole way except for miles 12 – 12.75, which was that long steep hill heading up from the river.  And seriously???  What kind of course designer puts all the massive hills in the last half of the race, with the WORST one at mile 12???  A sadistic course designer, that’s what kind.  I grabbed my finisher’s medal, a bottle of water and a banana and headed back to the parking garage.  90 minutes later I was standing in Sam’s Club (very smelly, I might add), back to the daily grind.

So now what?  Well, I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but wanted to see how today went before I made my decision.  Now it’s official, though:  to “bookend” turning forty, I’m going to run the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, TN on Saturday, April 30, 2011.  I just registered and paid my fees, so there’s no backing out.  Hopefully, Karl will be able to take a couple of days off work and we can go up there as a family.  It would be great to have him and the boys there to cheer me on.  I’ll admit, today was a little lonely.  But if Karl and the boys can’t come, my brother Carl and his family will be there waiting for me at the finish line.  (They live in Murfreesboro, near Nashville.)

Here’s a link to the course I ran today (if you click on the “Climbs” tab, you can get a visual on the monster hill at the end of the race):  http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/29132598

And here’s a link to the race in Nashville: http://nashville.competitor.com/event-info/

And here’s me, post-race and proud as all get out:

 

(But I’m not really that skinny right now.  I just did a good job of sucking in my gut for the picture.)

P.S.  I couldn’t have done it without all the love and support I’ve gotten from my family and friends over the last couple of months, especially the Facebook crowd.  You guys really, REALLY rock.  Love you.

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