It's official! We both get to say that we are half-marathoners. 13.1 miles is no joke. There have been a few times that we have walked that equivalent throughout a day (though it is rare because that is a LOT of walking and you are hard pressed to randomly walk that amount in a day even if you are on a mission), but to purposely try to complete it in a set amount of time all at once... that is some serious stuff.
The week leading up to the race was nerve racking for me. I ended up having what I think was my plantar fascitis flare up the Sunday before the race after our last 6 mile training run. It was bad. I developed it a few years back when we lived in a house with almost all tile and it comes and goes randomly depending on activities I have done or shoes I have worn. It hasn't bothered me at all though during training until a week ago. Because of course it would show up a week out from race day. Why the heck not? Let's liven up the mood a little. Freaking heel. As a result, I decided to skip the last two 3 mile runs during the week leading up to the race to give my heel time to get better before tackling the race itself. In the grand scheme of things... I wasn't too worried about missing 6 total miles of training runs.
I dropped the kids off with my parents on Friday night and Steven and I ended up having a chill night at home after he got off of work finally and going to bed early to prep for the race. We were up and at it by 5:30 am or so. We made it downtown and parked the car by about 6:30. We prepped and headed out to the starting line. It was chilly and we were both sort of cold, but I told Steven I had a feeling I would regret my long sleeves by about mile 3 since the sun would be up before we even started. (Spoiler alert... I wasn't wrong, but I was generous. It happened at about mile 1 and a half.) The half and 5k were both starting together with the 5k splitting off from us around mile 1.5. That meant it was around 4400 people in the starting chute all at once. I lined up at the 12 minute mile mark and Steven headed up closer to the 10. I knew a lot of people around me were talking about running intervals or were 5k racers so it would clear out pretty quickly once we got started as people settled into intervals or headed back for the rest of the 5k course.
I felt like even with the half and 5k starting together, my area wasn't too crowded and I didn't weave at all once we started. The first bit was run along Robinson towards Orange. We had a long stretch down Orange and they only had one lane of the road blocked off since it is a busy road, but it wasn't too bad as far as crowd goes. The stretch down Orange seemed like one of the longest stretches just because it was straight and I knew I was waiting for the turn so we could split from the 5k, but it flew by. We went under 408 and I liked knowing where I was. I know this area because I have a doc with an office down there. I kept up with the 2:45 pacer for the first 1.5 or so miles but lost them when we turned onto Gore and the 5k and half split. My intervals finally ended up pushing me far enough behind them that I was no longer "with" them. Steven was super worried about making the wrong turn and going back with the 5k, but there were so many signs and people waving you one way or the other that it was definitely not a problem. We had both prepped ourselves before the race though too so we knew which way we turned (right) at the split. I finished Mile 1 at under a 13 minute mile and was feeling pretty good. My heel was hurting some but wasn't too bad and I knew I could easily run through it (the ibuprofen I popped before starting was helping, too). I started with my 1:1 intervals so I wasn't really tired or anything. Plus, adrenaline always kicks in on race days and more so when I am doing something I don't do as often or haven't done before. I don't get much adrenaline related to racing 5ks anymore... but I was nervous and excited about this so I was feeling pretty good.
Mile 1.5 had the split and I headed right with all my half marathon friends. We turned onto Delaney Ave at that point and I knew a bit of the area from when I worked closer to downtown but we were heading into more residential neighborhoods at that point and I didn't recognize nearly as much. This was good and bad. Bad because I didn't like not really knowing where I was but good because not knowing helped me not think about where I would be by the time I hit a certain mile. Running in our neighborhood sometimes got the best of me because I knew how far I had to go to hit my next mile and you can easily get inside your head thinking about things like that. We turned onto another small road I didn't know and then made a turn onto Summerlin. Another road I know... but I know it closer to 50 and at this point we were well South of the 408 still so while I recognized the name of the road, I didn't know it well enough to worry about how much farther we had to go.
We hit the 5k mark on Summerlin before heading around Lake Davis. Prior to the race, I had signed up for real time updates for Steven so I knew he hit the 5k ahead of me by about 10 minutes. He had notifications set for me, too. He said it was good because he knew I was behind him and it made him feel better to know I was still making my way towards the finish (albeit slower) and didn't have to stop for any reason. I liked knowing how he was doing. I knew he was smashing goals left and right so that was exciting. At the 5k mark, I started doing some math in my head. I was on track to finish around 3 hours and knew I had traveled almost a quarter of the way at that point. I was still feeling good and using my 1:1 intervals. At water stops (and at this point we had a couple), I was taking water only. I accidentally took gatorade at the first stop because I wasn't paying attention but I only had a sip and then took water, too. There were lines at the port-a-potties so I was thankful that I didn't have to go.
We spent the next mile and a half or so traveling residential roads I didn't know. There were a ton of people in front of their houses cheering us on. That was pretty fun. I got a power up from a cute little guy and got a laugh in at the adorable little girl holding a "Worst Parade Ever" sign with a look on her face that pretty much said her mom made her go outside and hold this sign but she probably wanted to be inside watching Disney+ or something. It was fun having so many people outside cheering you on. This is something we don't typically see as much on 5k courses. There were also random groups set out at specific places that were cheering people on. The high school doing the Island of Misfit Toys was one of my favorite water stops. They were fun. Also, I learned that having my name on my bib throws me off. Everyone knew my name. I got called out by quite a few groups by name and told I was doing great. It was nice but kept throwing me off when I would forget how they knew my name.
We made a turn onto Ferncreek and passed Kaley Elementary School. I was back to being somewhat familiar with my surroundings. We passed the first med station at Mile 5. I didn't need to stop for anything though I did take a glance to see if they had any ibuprofen (I didn't think they did because there was a post earlier in the week with what they would have) because my heel was definitely bothering me more at that point. We passed the Florida Army National Guard station at one point which I didn't even know existed but they were waving and cheering us on, too. We turned off Ferncreek and onto Raeford (which is a road I didn't know) and hit the 10k mark. At this point I knew that Steven was about 20 minutes ahead of me. I was slowing down. I was keeping my 1:1 intervals but my overall run and walk paces were both slowing some. I expected that. I did the math again and knew that I was going to likely be close to or slightly over 3 hours to finish. That didn't surprise me, either. At that point I knew I was nearing halfway. I appreciated the sign at that halfway mark telling me I was halfway because I also knew my watch was telling me my distance was off as usual. I was reading about a .05 mile farther at this point. Doesn't seem like a lot... but it felt like it at that point. We crossed over Bumby on that stretch of road and I knew where I was again. My legs were getting really tired by this point but I knew I was more than halfway and there was no stopping now (barring something serious).
At Mile 7 there was a water stop and I watched a woman come out of a port-a-potty without a line so I knew it was open. I decided to stop for a second to use it. Plus, my pants were doing something weird and I wanted to fix them so I didn't even up uncomfortable for the rest of the race. I knew I was feeling the miles when I stopped moving for a minute and I could feel tingling in my lower calves and feet. When I came out, I tried to resume my normal intervals but I was having a hard time getting back into them. I tried to run as much as I could, but stopped paying too much attention to the actual time and intervals any longer. I would try to run each time my watch vibrated (which happened every minute thanks to my 1:1 and I would run for about 20-30 seconds each time. That meant I was almost getting in the same 1 minute run, 1 minute walk... just not straight. We made a turn onto Conway Gardens and then Grant. All roads I knew the name of, but it was a lot of residential again and I didn't know the area too well.
By the time I hit Mile 8, I knew I had transitioned to walking more than running. Mile 8 was the first time my pace per mile went over 14. I had successfully kept every mile below 14 prior to that. I did Mile 8 in 14:22 but I kept moving. At that point, I was good with that. That was my goal. I spent a lot of time doing math in my head regarding how much distance I had to go and how fast I needed to try to be. And it happened at Mile 8. I got too much inside my head. I heard about mental blocks at some of the higher miles. Everyone told me Mile 10 is rough because you know you have a full 5k left... but I wasn't even there yet and I was feeling the mental block. I was also just trying to push through it. We turned onto a road called Peel Avenue at Mile 8 and this was the longest stretch of our run on one straight road. It was a 2 mile stretch... but my mental state made it feel like 5. We crossed back under 408 which was interesting. 408 had to be 6 lanes across right there. Maybe not that many... but it seemed like it. It was LOUD, too. And a lot of cars. I was far enough back in the race that the police officers were directing traffic in between runners so if you had a big gap ahead of or behind you, there was likely a car traveling the intersection right in front of or behind you. Not a huge deal and I'm thankful for all the officers that came out to direct that traffic so we were all safe. While on this road, we hit the 15k mark. Steven was about 25 minutes ahead of me at that point. Meaning I was figuring he was around 2 miles ahead of me.
At Mile 10, I cried. Not for long but it actually made me feel better overall. Cathartic maybe. It was a mixture of things. I was feeling bad about all my walking, my heel was really bothering me, I knew I had that 5k to go... and I knew I was so close. I only had that 5k to go. It made me realize I could do this. I could walk and do this. I was still running some at Mile 10... but not all that much. Just before Mile 11 or so I paused briefly to say hi to Kenzie's SRO from her school. I recognized her and asked if she was from WLE then told her my daughter was in second grade there and thanked her for coming out to help. It made me feel a bit of a boost seeing someone I "knew". (Sidenote: I always try to thank as many of the officers I pass for blocking traffic and helping to keep us safe. There are some that are so encouraging. They are awesome.) Anyway, by Mile 11, I was walking almost entirely. I would run a few seconds here or there but my heel wasn't having it much more than that. By about the time I hit Mile 11, I got the text that Steven had finished the half. I might have teared up again but this time because I was happy for him. I pulled out my phone and shot off a text letting him know I was about 2 miles out but was walking so I would be a bit. I knew there was no other timing point along the course so he wouldn't know where I was and wanted him to have an idea of when I would finish.
We turned on Livingston and crossed Bumby again. I admit, I entertained the idea of stopping at the Chick Fil A I knew was nearby and just calling Steven to pick me up. Despite the fact that I was walking and barely running, my paces stayed pretty good in the 15 minute per mile range for the rest of the race. We made a turn onto South which is an area I know pretty well and I knew I was about to head back towards Lake Eola very soon and was nearing the end so I was feeling okay. I did pull my headphones out around 11.5 miles. I didn't want to hear any more voices in my ears. I was done with that. I had podcasts going until that point because I find it easier to zone out than with music and I tend to be able to forget more about the fact that I'm running because I'm paying attention to the podcast. But at 11.5 miles and almost 3 hours, I was done listening to anyone talk right into my ears. That's where I was at mentally.
At Mile 11.5 we hit my absolute favorite cheering group of the course. There was a troop of drag queens and they were absolutely the best motivators out there. I wish I could have taken this group (and the Misfit Toys from earlier too because they were amazing) with me to the end. I was making friends with some of the other runners around me and we were trying to encourage one another. Although I was walking, I tend to walk fairly fast so I would chat with people for a few minutes and then pull ahead just a bit and make friends with a new group.
Just after Mile 12 we made the turn onto Rosalind. A girl behind me told her friend that this was the second to last turn. A right onto Rosalind and a right onto Robinson. I knew the area and knew we were close but wasn't thinking enough to realize that was it. We were almost there. We traveled back along the side of Lake Eola and I could hear the MC from the finish line.
We made the final turn onto Robinson and I could see the finish line. We hit 13 miles just after the turn and I knew I had .1 to go. I'm tearing up now thinking about it. I'm a crier if no one has noticed. I was so excited. Steven was waiting right where the chute started, wearing his medal, and he managed to snag a pic of me. I was walking but once I knew I could run without passing out and cross the finish line I broke into a run. It wasn't far but I was going to cross that finish line running. A girl along the side called me out by name (thanks bib with my name on it) and that made me smile.
Then I crossed the finish line and broke down. The girl that handed me my medal had to ask if I was okay. I was more than okay. I was a half-marathoner.
I finished the race in 3:07:30 at an overall pace of 14:19 min/mile (and I stopped in the bathroom for about a minute... though that didn't change a whole lot in the grand scheme of things). Steven finished in 2:37:02 at an overall pace of 11:59 min/mile. We went over to the finish line party and took some pics before heading out to get some lunch.
I was nauseous off and on for a few hours after the race throughout the afternoon... but I was so hungry. It was an interesting feeling. I just wanted to eat but any bite I took made me feel gross. That lasted a while and it took me quite some time to get lunch down. By dinner though, I was ridiculously hungry. I knew my heel was going to be bad. I limped around a lot of the day. Sunday my heel was so bad I couldn't walk first thing in the morning. Once I got going though, it got better. Mid-afternoon my hips started to hurt. Not sure why that one took so long to show up. It is now Monday and my heel was better this morning than yesterday... but it is still pretty bad. I'm taking some time off. I'm figuring at least two weeks just because I know from last week that one wasn't enough. And no more running on concrete if I an avoid it because I think that is what set it off during the 6 mile run. My hips are still feeling iffy today but I know that pain doesn't last. It just reminds me that I did what I set out to do some 3+ months ago.
Steven and I think that we both want to make a half marathon an annual thing. Next time though we will likely choose different ones so we aren't full on training at the same time. That was probably the hardest part about all of this. Planning out our schedules along the way. We both also decided that this is our limit. We aren't going to shoot for 26.2 any time soon.... but bring on the next 13.1!
Total Training Miles: 161.94
Distance Run During Half: 13.23
Total Time Training: 36 Hours, 44 Minutes
Total Time for Half: 3 hours, 7 Minutes
If you have any sort of interest in weekly updates as far as training went for the last 13 weeks, you can go back in this blog and you will find each week. It's probably super boring and was mostly so I could look back on it when I train for my next race.
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