Running... my first Half Marathon

I signed up for the Charlotte RaceFest 1/2 Marathon in April. And I trained... really hard for this race. I was diligent with my mileage and made sure to stick to my schedule, even on days I really didn't want to. 9 miles was my longest pre-race run... and I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating on that run. All I could think about was a lemon-lime gatorade....

literally... if I could just have ONE SIP of that gatorade, I could have kept running... for miles even. It was terrible. I thought I was going to vomit when I got home. I remember laying down on the hardwood floors and thinking how I would never be able to do 13.1 miles. 

Fast forward a few weeks to race day... which was also the day that tornadoes ravaged the state of North Carolina and it rained and stormed through the race. I woke up at 5 am to thunderstorms and decided then that I wouldn't be participating. Kudos to the many runners that did... and finished but I didn't want my first half to be in the rain.. or to get struck by lightning. 

So along with my friend Liz and boyfriend's sister, I signed up for the Myrtle Beach Mini half marathon in October. I didn't train as much or often as I had previously ... as I was now in classes and it also happened to be football season (GO VT!) So Race day came and I was NERVOUS to say the least. We agreed to run together, the whole time, and to keep running. No walking allowed. I typically maintained a 8-9 minute mile during my training but in the race we ran between 12-12:30 the whole way. We didn't walk. We didn't stop. And honestly... it wasn't that bad. I felt relieved as I crossed the finish line, but it's a different feeling than a 5k. Your body is being pushed in a different way. 

Now... about 2 hours after the race, the real misery set in when my WHOLE BODY began to ache. But that's another story. 

The course is great for the Myrtle Beach Mini... totally flat. They could have used more bands and more fans to cheer the runners on but it was a good first half and now I'm thinking of where my next one will be.