Beginners and Beyond

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My First Half [Illinois Half Marathon RR] (Read 88 times)

TennisKid1192


Kevin

    I started running last June/July and finally got around to running my first Half Marathon at the Christie Clinic Half Marathon!

     

    I go to school at the University of Illinois, so I knew that I needed to run the race for sure, so I signed up back in November when I had never run longer than a 5k. Started training in February using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 plan for Half Marathons. My initial goal was to hit under 2:00. That was going good until the beginning of April when I injured my knee after a 10 mile run. I decided to cut back a lot during the next few weeks and only ran a few 3 and 2 mile runs.

     

    At the same time, I had gotten my friend into running and convinced her to sign up for the 5k the night before the half. And of course, I decided I would sign up for that too! [You get another medal for completing the "Half I-Challenge!]. So of course I was extremely nervous going into the Friday night race. I told my friend that she would set the pace for us since it was her first race, and I didn't want to push her/push myself too much. We finished in 32:13 which was great for her first race, picked up our medals and went to Olive Garden so I could get some food in me before the half the next morning.

     

    Sitting in Olive Garden, I didn't know how to feel. I knew that the 5k felt really good, though I regretted sprinting that fast into the finish. I was also glad my knee was fine. So I decided the next day I would aim for ~10min/miles for the first ~9/10 miles, assess how I felt, then kick it up if I needed to.

     

    The morning of, I walked over with a friend (who I honestly thought would make me late), dropped my stuff at gear check, went to the bathroom, and made it to the start right as the first corral went off. I found a pace group for the 4:20 marathon which was a 9:55 pace. We eventually got to the start and we were off.

     

    The course itself is pretty simple. Run through campus, run through neighborhoods, run through a park, run through neighborhoods, run into campus, finish on the 50yd line of our football stadium. My only major complaint was that when we ran through the park, it was extremely narrow and runners were bunched up ~4/5 row. That, especially combined with the fact that it was at the 7-9 mile point meant that it was also the place where a lot of people started walking the route.

     

    Luckily, we made it out of there, and the pace was still pretty much spot on give or take 5 seconds at each mile. At the 10 mile mark, I felt good and knew that I could keep going and faster. I thanked my pacer [Nancy!] for the help, and started running to catch up to people. At Mile 11, I thought, "Hmm... maybe I kicked too early... I feel like I might die before the finish." But as we started getting closer to campus, I knew that I just had to keep running. Mile 12 was where we split off from the full marathon and it was also conveniently where most of my friends were cheering me on. My last 3 miles ended up being ~9min/mile.

     

    I was a bit confused as to how we were running into the stadium since it looked like it was a different path than we had used during the 5k, but once I hit the turf, I sprinted to the finish again. Looked at my Garmin and got 13.17 miles in 2:07:30. Not under 2 at all, but with the small amount of running, and the fact that I had done the 5k the day before, I was very happy.

     

    Sorry that this was so long, but I thought I'd share =]

     

    Takeaways:

    1. If you can run 10, you can run 13. Even if the 10 was a month ago. 

    2. If you think you're going to die, look towards the spectators for a boost!

    3. Everyone says, "The adrenaline will get you through it." It does.

    4. Someone running with my pace group said this as we discussed Boston: "We have our legs. We have our bodies. We are blessed to run."

     

    I know I'll definitely do many more halfs and will hopefully finish under 2 before long!

     

    Race photos aren't up yet, but here's a pic of me once I finished!

    2013 Goals: 1000 Miles | 5k: Sub 25 | HM: Sub 2:00 | 1 Race/Month 

     

      Nicely done,congratulations on finishing and almost getting your goal. I want to shoot for this half next year.

      First Race

      Hot Chocolate 5K Chicago November 4, 2012 30:17

      Second Race

      Penguin in the Park 5K Decatur Illinois March 23,2013 27:08

      Scott


      Don't call me Buttercup!

        Congrats on your first half!

        Slow and steady wins the....  wait a second! I've been lied to! 

        hog4life


          Congrats!

          Zelanie


            Congrats on finishing your first half!  It sounds like you paced it really well!  Great job!

            JerryInIL


            Return To Racing

              Way to go Kevin.  I would love to do that race sometime and see where all my money went.  (Both DD's went there).

                  

              redrum


              Caretaker/Overlook Hotel

                Congrats!  The half is a serious challenge.  And, yes, mile 11 can be death.

                 

                Curious, did you figure out what you had done your knee?

                 Randy

                Docket_Rocket


                  Great job, Kevin.  Congrats on your first.

                  Damaris

                   

                  As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                  Fundraising Page

                  Just B.S.


                    Great job! Congrats Kevin!

                    Crew_Dawg


                      Congrats!  That area in the park was a sore spot for me also a few years ago, I wished they had changed the route to avoid that but it sounds like they didn't.

                      -- Ice, I could ice for hours

                      happylily


                        Congratulations on your first half! You did great! And that's an awesome picture of you!

                        PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                                Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                        18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                        workinprogress11


                          Congratulations on your first half!  You did great and you haven't even been running for a year yet.  Isn't it fun coming into the stadium?  On the one hand, you're thrilled to be done, but on the other hand you wish it would last longer so you can soak it up more.  You must have done a better job of running tangents than I did because my Garmin came up with 13.26.

                           

                          Congratulations again!  I bet it won't be long at all before you finish sub 2.


                          Hip Redux

                            Ha, you look so happy!!  I love it.

                             

                            TennisKid1192


                            Kevin

                              Congratulations on your first half!  You did great and you haven't even been running for a year yet.  Isn't it fun coming into the stadium?  On the one hand, you're thrilled to be done, but on the other hand you wish it would last longer so you can soak it up more.  You must have done a better job of running tangents than I did because my Garmin came up with 13.26.

                               

                              Congratulations again!  I bet it won't be long at all before you finish sub 2.

                               

                              Running into the stadium is amazing (and I got to do it twice this weekend!). Granted my sprint at the end of the half, was nothing compared to how fast I went for the 5k, but it was still great finishing on the 50.

                               

                              And yeah, I wish real life didn't come back so fast, now I have to deal with finals and stuff =P

                              2013 Goals: 1000 Miles | 5k: Sub 25 | HM: Sub 2:00 | 1 Race/Month 

                               


                              Ms Chenandler Bong

                                Congrats on your first half!  Whens the next one?  Wink

                                 

                                I ran the same one (IChallange and HM) 2 years ago and really enjoyed it.

                                Marathon and ultra marathon runner.  Sour Patch Kid addict.

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