My First 1/2 Marathon or why I still prefer triathons over running

So I'm repurposing this race report which most of you have already seen...in your e-mail boxes but I'm preserving it on the blog...for posterity. Thanks to you all who have seen me through my progression from a 6 mile max runner to the 13 miler I did on Saturday....the taunting and cajoling did the trick.

I'll start this off by saying that I missed doing all three sports and there are way too many people who do running events. Total participation on Saturday in Baltimore (between the marathon, 1/2 marath, 5k and kids run) was 10,000. Incredible but a HUGE field of competitors.

My stats wound up in the Overall Male division...that's what I get for having an ambiguous name and not checking my registration carefully.

Stats: 2:06:06 (Goal was 2:15)
Pace: 9:42
Gender Place: 427/1900
Age Place: 68/299

I did this race to prove that yes, I can run 13.1 miles before I attempt to do a 1/2 Ironman next year. Figured if I couldn't do the run, it would be a tough race overall. As it turned out, I confirmed that I indeed hate to run but I will endure it to finish a race.

I chose Baltimore so that my mom could come spectate as well as having a chance to cruise around a city I haven't really taken a close look at since I moved a way more than 10 years ago.
In preparation for this race, I made several friends drag me out on longer runs (Jen, Kristi, Meghan, Lisa) and getting over the mental hump of the barrier of 6 miles did a lot for my confidence. I still wouldn't consider it 'fun' but its always easier to endure with good company. I was racing this one alone and that's what made me most uneasy...no running partner on this one.

Friday came and I was mentally/physically prepared and started collecting gear. It's strange to only have to run as opposed to all three sports and I felt as though I was forgetting a bunch of things. List consisted of: Shoes, good socks, comfortable shorts, high vis shirt (to be seen by mom), body glide, hat, sunglasses, water bottle, iPod.

The 1/2 marathon didn't start until 1:45 past the marathon so I didn't have to be at the start until 9:45...what a luxury. I took the light rail in from my mom's house...great not to have to fight traffic and worry about parking. Hop on, hop off...walk 3 blocks to the start of the race [by the Science Center at mile 13 for the marathon]. So different from a triathlon...

I made a last minute decision to take my iPod with me and run with the music in my head for motivation. I know its against the "rules" but I was going for a goal time of 2:15 and just wanted to get through it comfortably. The weather was a bit warmer than I expected but dry, sunny, and breezy. Still much better than running in the rain and cold or the humid heat.

As we're waiting for the start of the race, the marathoners (head of the pack) passed us and it was great to see the diversity of runners.

Finally it was time to start running. I'd been warned to keep miles 1 and 2 slow and when the gun went off, I tried to heed the warning. At mile 1 I had done a 9:12 [not where I'd trained] and thought...hey, somehow I'm going to have to slow down...but I was comfortable so I just ran my own race. We headed down Fayette to Broadway on our way to Fells Point [between miles 1 and 2] and I took a look to my right as we crossed Fayette and saw the mass of people behind me...what a boost. I was mentally composing my race report thinking of all the people who got me to this point (Nate, Meghan, Lisa, Jen, and countless others) and just keeping my eye on the finish line...with many hills to come.

Highlights of the run included running all the hills, enjoying the flair and colorful folks in the neighborhoods of Baltimore who all came out to support the runners (the Eye of the Tiger folks, the Balmore Huns, and all those who stood out and made us smile) and I now have my first finishers medal and its got a fabulous blue crab on it (you have to be from Maryland to get the significance).

As the race came Eutaw Street past Lexington Market, I was ready to be done...

Running into the area behind Camden Yards made me want to finish that much more...there were crowds on both sides, it was shaded and I knew I had exceeded my time goal and still felt okay. A few hundred yards from the finish, I decided to sprint to the end and 'raced' a woman next to me to cross the line and at that moment, I heard my mom...but was too focused to really look for her.

I finished, waded through the mass of bodies and their shiny metal 'blankets' and got my medal!! [which I wore for the rest of the day]. I'd had a GU 1 hr into the race, and some gummy bears, water and gatorade but was feeling the onset of dehydration...so post race I had loads of water, 2 bananas, and crab soup.

It was done, over, finished, mission accomplished!! After stretching and walking a bit, we headed home, back on the Lightrail. Post race, I set about replenishing my caloric deficit, which I'm sure I did 2x over [the best crab cakes in the world from G&Ms in North Linthicum, home made ice cream for my chocolate banana malted milkshake...the list goes on].

So one challenge down, next in line is a 1/2 Ironman...which somehow doesn't seem so daunting now.

Thanks for reading, this was much longer than I expected...

Cory