Hook, Line & Sinker

I am hooked. Hooked on the half-marathon. Hooked on all that surrounds race day. I ran my first official half-marathon on Sunday in St. Louis, and i couldn't have been more scared/excited about the whole thing. I was just a little concerned since my right hip developed a mysterious bruise last week and has been having a reoccuring pain that kept flaring up. My hips seem to be a little off-kilter. Plus, walking around downtown STL probably wasn't the best idea, but we got a little disoriented on our way to packet pick-up. Still, i knew that a little hip pain wasn't going to keep me from running. No way, Jose.

Race day, I woke up before my alarm even went off at 4:45 am, well rested, wide awake and ready to run. Shoveled a Power Bar in my mouth, downed a Powerade and Crystal & I headed to the start line with some fellow TNT runners. After a last minute dash to the restroom (thank goodness for the indoor restrooms at the Hyatt; I avoided using a port-a-pottie all weekend), I found Crystal amidst the throng of runners right as the gun went off. As mentioned before, my goal was 2:15, so we started with the 4:30 marathon pace group. i think Crystal thought we were in the 3:30 pace group, because she led us through the stampede of runners at lightning speed. I was just so super excited I didn't even notice we were cruising along at an 8 min pace until we reached the first water stop, and I decided that it would probably be in my best interest to slow down for the sake of my hip/shins/heart/every other body part.

I sent Crystal on ahead as I slowed down to a 9 minute pace, much more comfortable for my hip. It was slightly painful for the first 3 miles, and then it just kinda disappeared as the pack headed into the Budweiser brewery around mile 4.
After that point, I felt pretty great and just settled into an 8:45 pace for a couple miles. I carried a disposable camera with me, so I was just out to enjoy the scenery and aim towards my 2:15 finish goal. Feeling good, I had the 4:00 marathon pace group in my sights and set my goal to pass them and stay in front of them the rest of the 7 miles. The remainder of the race felt great, despite a minor twinge in my left ankle and lack of foresight on my behalf to carry some Gu. thankfully, i was gifted some unknown type of gel at mile 10. From then on, it was pretty much all downhill from there, as i pushed myself on towards the finish with the Gateway Arch shining brightly in the Sunday morning sun ahead of me.

I sprinted across the finish line with a stellar first half-marathon time of 1:55, good enough for 1435th place out of about 6,500 half-marathoners, and an avg. 8:48 pace. Yippeee! you know what that means.....new sexy sandals for me. And since I ran a sub 2 hour, I think i'll buy myself a cool new pair of running shorts. Some with little mesh pockets, so I won't have any excuse in the future not to carry my own Gu.
Things I learned from my first official long distance race:
1. Always remember to pick up safety pins at the Expo....or just bring a bunch with me.
2. Make sure I have my own Gu with me.
3. Best t-shirt of the day award goes to this guy: How's my running? Call 1-800-LIMP.
4. I need to get myself a KitKat cheer squad.
5. above all, it's more about having fun than running fast.