First Half Marathon: Complete

First off, I apologize for the delay in this post! This is the busiest time of the year at work — gala season. But, that’s another story.

Next, I did it!!! A week ago Sunday, I completed the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon! It wasn’t easy, but I loved it! This definitely won’t be my last half marathon! I’m still a little unsure about a full marathon, but we shall see what the future holds…

My bib.

Now, I’ll take you through the day before and the day of the big race.

Saturday, I had a pretty busy day. Andrew (my boyfriend) and I volunteered at the Oklahoma City Arts Festival in a drink tent from 2:00pm – 6:00pm. When signing up for this, I didn’t really think much about the fact that I’d be standing the majority of the time. Luckily, we were able to drink whatever we wanted while we were working, so I drank a lot of water. I had read that hydration the day before your race is key. Normally, I probably would’ve opted for the free beer, but I knew that it would only dehydrate me, so I stuck with water.

Andrew & I at the Energy game.

After volunteering, we had to go straight to the Oklahoma City Energy’s first home game. The Oklahoma City Energy is OKC’s new professional soccer team and Andrew has season tickets! I would have liked to carbo-load with a pasta dinner, but since we had to be quick, my only food options were the various tents at the Arts Festival (which didn’t include pasta). I went with a brisket baked potato. As far as dinner before a race goes, I’d read so many contradicting suggestions. Some people suggested carbo-loading the whole week prior to your race, some said just have pasta for dinner the night before, and some said to just stick to your regular routine. I wouldn’t say a brisket potato is a staple in my diet, but it also isn’t something completely weird that I’d never order, so I guess I fell somewhere in the middle of all of these suggestions, which seemed to work well for me.

My BBQ brisket baked potato.

Andrew’s Energy tickets are in the “Fan Zone,” which was exciting, but also involved standing the entire game. My old neighbor is actually on the team, so it was pretty cool to see him score the Energy’s only goal of the night. Unfortunately, the Energy lost, but the game was really fun! By the time I got home that night, it was around 10:00pm, so I showered and went straight to bed. I was a little nervous about how badly my feet were hurting, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at that point.

The next morning, the race was scheduled to start at 6:30am. After reading several blogs with tips about running a half marathon, I decided to wake up at 4:30am to make breakfast and make sure I had plenty of time to get ready and go to the restroom and all that jazz. I wanted to eat a banana, but all of mine were frozen, so I opted for banana protein pancakes. (Recipe here.)

My dad, who ran the half with me, came to my apartment, which is just a couple of blocks from the start, and we walked over about 6:00am. We knew the weather forecast wasn’t good, but at this point it was just sprinkling on and off, so we headed over anyway. Right as we were getting to our designated corral, there was an announcement that the start was delayed until 7:00am because of weather. They weren’t worried so much about the possibility of hail (yes, there was a possibility of hail!), as they were about the lightning. Apparently, the policy is that the race cannot start if there is lightning within 10 miles of any part of the race route. This is when it came in handy that I live so close. We went back to my apartment and turned on the news, which was also giving updates about the status of the marathon. Around 6:45am I checked Twitter and found out that the race had been delayed to 7:15am. Around 7:00am, I checked again and it was delayed until 8:00am. At this point, we started to get a little nervous that they would cancel the race because on the news they said that after 8:00am there were concerns about being able to keep the roads closed long enough for everyone to finish.

Also, keep in mind that this was an hour and a half after the time we had been scheduled to start. This is when I started to get hungry. I continued to drink water, but tried not to over-do it because I didn’t want to have to stop running and wait in line for a porta-potty during the race. I also ate a piece of bread and 3 Clif Shot Bloks. Yes, these are the shot bloks I normally eat while running, so I figured it’d be okay to eat some prior to the race.

At 7:50am, we still hadn’t heard of further delay of the race, so we headed over, despite the lightning and rain. Right as we got into the corral, they announced it was delayed until 8:15am. We decided just to wait there, because the corrals were starting to fill up. Since we weren’t moving yet, the rain was pretty chilly. I began to wonder how miserable this race was going to be.

Pre-race selfie with dad in the rain. This pic makes me giggle.

It was at this point that I realized bringing my phone and headphones to listen to music was a bad idea. It would’ve been fine if I had like an arm band but normally I just carry my phone. So, my phone was getting wet AND my Pandora and Spotify weren’t working because there were so many people — over 26,000 runners, not to mention the spectators! I ended up just carrying my phone and not even listening to music, which was a little annoying. I will admit though, having my phone after the race made finding people much easier.

Our view of downtown OKC waiting on the race to start.

I think it actually was closer to 8:20am when they finally let the first corral start the race. We were in the last corral, which didn’t start until probably closer to 8:35am or maybe a little after. The feeling of being in with over 26,000 other runners is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced! Like any race I’ve run, getting into your pace is a little tricky, especially at the beginning because you’re constantly dodging other runners and walkers. I enjoyed the music playing along various parts of the route and a bunch of the spectators were even handing out snacks, or spraying us with water, which was awesome! Of course, there were also the designated water stations that typically had water, powerade, and pretzels. A few of them also had soaked sponges, goos, oranges and bananas for the runners.

So many runners had signs pinned to the back of their shirt saying who they were running in honor of. It was a constant reminder that we were all running to remember the 168 that were lost on that tragic April day 19 years ago. There were also quite a few firefighters walking the route in their fire-fighting suits (I’m not really sure what the term for them is..) which I thought was pretty awesome.

At first, my dad and I stuck together, but around 2 miles in, we ended up separating. He generally runs a little faster than me anyway, but trying to dodge people and stay together proved to be quite challenging. You’d think that running that far without a buddy or music would be horrible, but I actually really enjoyed it. I was just another runner in the midst of the 26,000. All the other people were more than enough encouragement to keep me going.

Despite my concerns the day before and the morning of, the race actually went quite smoothly for me. It wasn’t until about the last mile and a half that I started wanting to walk. But, I took my friend Claire’s advise (mentioned here) and didn’t stop. I only slowed down through 3 of the water stations, because the first part of the race was pretty muggy and I realized I was sweating more than usual. One thing that I found a little challenging, was that I never knew what mile I was on or how far I had left. A couple of points had race clocks, but I wasn’t exactly sure what time the clocks were at when I started, so they weren’t much help. I based when I ate my shot bloks off of time. I ate 3 around 45 minutes in, which seemed to work out well for me.

I loved all of the people and volunteers along the route cheering us on. It was pretty cool to know that complete strangers were rooting for me. My favorite part of the race was the last leg on Broadway. Once you turn that corner, you could see the finish line. Everyone starts to speed up and there are crowds on both sides of the street yelling and cheering. I didn’t even see anyone I knew, but I loved it! Come to find out Andrew was along that leg and snapped this pic!

Almost to the finish line!

Right after I crossed the finish line, I was handed my medal. Then, there were tents with drinks and food. I grabbed a fruit cup and a water. I knew I was going to lunch with my parents so I wasn’t too concerned about eating a bunch at the tents. My dad didn’t have his phone so I was a little worried about finding him, but right after I got my food and water, I turned the corner and there he was! Then, since Andrew had seen me finish, he came over and found us.

Post-race with AP!

After a delicious, HUGE meal at Ted’s with my parents (of course margaritas were involved), I went home in an attempt to rest. I was pretty exhausted. This was when I started to not feel so hot. I had a pretty bad headache on top of the sore legs, which I expected. I later realized the headache was probably because I was dehydrated. In the future, I’d make sure to drink lots more water.

Dad and I after the race in front of the memorial.

To sum it all up, I loved running a half marathon and I would encourage everyone who has even slightly considered it to go for it! I am so proud of myself for completing it and can’t wait to do it again! Next I’m thinking maybe the Disney Princess Half… Who’s with me? 🙂

Half Marathon Training Update

I am now into the 8th week of my 10 week half marathon training program. I’ll give you a little recap of how training has been going.

The first 3 weeks of training went really well. The longer runs were hard, but I managed to get through them just fine.

Next, I made a big mistake… I missed the 4th and 5th weeks of training because of my Disney World trip and preparing for my Disney World trip. I was supposed to run 7 miles the Saturday after I returned from my trip, but after not running at all, I only managed 5 miles. The next day, I decided to try for 7 again. I made it 6 miles and immediately regretted it. Normally, after running, especially the longer runs, I feel great. Not in this case. Going from not running to running 11 miles in 2 days was too much for my body. My lower back hurt so bad immediately after the 6 mile run I began to think I had seriously injured myself and wouldn’t be able to run the race.

Luckily for me (and my bank account), my dad is an orthopedist. Driving home from the gym, I called my dad. He knows that I am the queen of complaining and whining, so he said I probably just strained my back. He advised me to take a couple of days off, take some ibuprofen and do some core and back strengthening in the mean time. The next night, I was complaining to my boyfriend because my back was still really hurting, despite following my dad’s instructions. It even hurt to walk. He also gets sick of my complaining, so he suggested I call his dad, who is a physical therapist (double win for my bank account). His dad walked me through some stretches over the phone and then suggested icing my back. Since I never really got injured growing up, I was pretty unfamiliar with icing body parts and the idea of it wasn’t so appealing. Nevertheless, I did the stretches and then laid on an ice pack and it was actually wonderful! I continued doing the stretches throughout the week and then decided I should ease back into my training.

That Wednesday, after taking 2 days off, I decided to give running another go. I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and felt fine. I was still having minor back pain but it was mostly gone — nothing like before. I went ahead and took Thursday (and accidentally Friday) off. Saturday I ran 5 miles without any trouble.

The following Monday, I ran 8 miles. I had been nervous about this run because it was my first outdoor run by myself, not to mention the fact that the furthest I had run thus far was only 6 and it had been a while. Yes, I had been running on the treadmill at the gym prior to this. This was partially because it had been cold and getting dark early, but partially because I didn’t have anyone to go with and the idea of running outdoors alone freaked me out. I thought if I didn’t have the treadmill or a buddy to keep me going, that I couldn’t do it. As I’ve mentioned before, running is completely a mental thing. The only reason you can’t do it is because you don’t think you can.

Well, I’ll be honest. This 8 mile run was pretty hard. The first couple of miles were the worst. I kept thinking I wouldn’t be able to run the half, and that I should just quit and pay my dad back for the registration fee. About 2 miles in, I had to stop to wait for a light to turn so that I could cross the street. It was then that I told myself, ‘you know what, you can do this!’ I thought of the 5K I ran on Thanksgiving and how so many people, both much older and much younger than me, do it. I thought of all of my friends that would say ‘told you so’ if I quit. This was the perfect motivation. Instead of all of those negative thoughts. I started focusing on where I was going and how beautiful the area was on that sunny evening. I didn’t stop again until I had completed the 8 miles. It was the best feeling in the world! I had finally experienced the runner’s high! I know people hate when other people post about working out or fitness on social media all the time, but I just felt so great and was so proud of myself that I wanted to share it with others, so I tweeted about it. Sorry everyone, I guess that makes me that girl. Oh well!

It was that 8 mile run, when I knew I could run the half. I also realized that I really love running. I had been toying with the idea of other races in the future, but kept thinking I’d have to wait and see how my first half went. This run was pretty much the deciding factor for me. My first half most likely won’t be my last. This run also opened my eyes to how much better running outside is than on a treadmill.

That week I was able to catch up to where I should have been in my training. That Saturday, which was this past weekend, I ran 9 miles. The best part about it was that I felt like I could’ve kept going. The 3 mile recovery run I did Sunday was honestly harder than the 9 miles on Saturday (mostly because my legs were sore).

So this is where I am now: back on schedule in my 8th week. I’m actually starting to get excited for the half. I just really hope it isn’t freezing or rainy… I’m a wuss when it comes to the elements.

I almost forgot, I have a couple of tips to share for fellow runners training for a half! My older sister, Megan, who has done a million races (okay, I’m elaborating, but she has done a bunch), told me that I needed to start thinking about what kind of energy/food thing I was going to use during the race. This had not even crossed my mind. She said that I need to try some out while I’m training so I find one I like and can use it for the race. I had heard of the goos and nothing about them sounded appealing to me — especially the texture. Yuck! Megan told me her favorite are Shot Bloks, which are made by the Cliff Bar company. I found them at Target and bought a pack. One pack has 6 bloks and Megan said to eat 3 about 40-45 minutes into a long run. The first run I tried this on was the 8 mile run. I bought the strawberry flavor and they were actually pretty good! They are essentially big gummies, so they’re easy to eat while you’re running. The only thing I didn’t like, which would be the same for any of these energy things I guess, was that I had to carry them with me. Megan suggested a running belt to hold them, but that’s basically a glorified fanny pack, which I’m not crazy about. I used the second half of my pack of Shot Bloks on the 9 mile run and decided that they are what I will use on race day. I still haven’t resolved the issue of carrying them, but I still have a little time to figure that out…

My other tip came from my friend Claire. She has completed a half marathon and prior to that, to my knowledge, hadn’t been a big runner, so I really valued what she had to say since I’m in a similar position. Now that I’m thinking about it, she may have done cross country in high school, but I don’t really remember her running much in college. Anyway, Claire said no matter what you do, or how slow you have to go, don’t stop running. She said when you start walking, it is so much harder to run again. I think this is true, just from my long runs. I’m not a fast runner by any means, in fact sometimes I feel like I’m barely moving. Every time I feel like stopping I just think of Claire telling me to keep going. It really does make it easier! When I say I’m slow that is no exaggeration. I run a pretty consistent 10-minute mile. In the future I hope to get faster, but for my first half, I just hope to run the whole thing without stopping.

That’s all for now! I’m sure I’ll post again soon with another update since the race is coming up so quickly!

So I’m running a half marathon…

I’ve always been a pretty healthy person. I tend to like healthy food and I enjoy working out from time to time. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how important it is to take care of your body. As my mom always says, you only get one!

I grew up dancing, which I loved, but this isn’t really something you can continue throughout your life. The only way to keep dancing is basically if you become a professional, which wasn’t ever something I was interested in pursuing.

In college, I would go through phases of working out a lot and then not at all. Junior year, my older sister, Megan, who is a runner and what I like to call a “workoutaholic,” convinced my family to all run in our town’s Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning. I downloaded a “Couch to 5K” training app on my phone and started the program. I realize it sounds silly to train for a 5K, but I hadn’t really run before. A few weeks went by and my desire to continue with the training app fizzled. Next thing I knew, it was time for the Turkey Trot. I completed it, but probably walked close to half of it. Even though I wasn’t thrilled with how I did, I loved the race environment and that everyone was out there doing it together.

Over the years, the Turkey Trot has become a Thanksgiving family tradition. Since the original Turkey Trot, my dad has taken up running. A few years ago, Megan talked him into running a half marathon in San Antonio with her. He continues to run on a pretty regular basis.

My whole family is athletic and has no problem running a random 5K, like said Turkey Trot. I already mentioned that Megan runs all of the time, but she also competes in triathlons! Rachel, my younger sister, has always been athletic and even more so, determined. She played soccer when she was younger, and then moved on to cheerleading and golf. Scott, my little brother, picked up swimming his sophomore year of high school and by senior year, he made state! My dad played sports all throughout his childhood, and as I mentioned now runs all the time. The only one who can’t run the Turkey Trot is my mom. She used to run all of the time until she got really bad bersitis in her hip. After a stint filled with painful shots that required extremely long needles and the ugliest hip brace you have ever seen, she was forced to give up running forever. Being the competitive person I am, I decided this year that I wasn’t going to be the only one in my family (mom excluded) not to run the entire Turkey Trot. This, combined with my desire to take care of my body, lead me to start running.

I went to the gym two or three times a week and ran a mile or two each time, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Before I knew it, it was the week before the race and the furthest I had run was 2 miles. Thursday, exactly a week prior to the Turkey Trot, I told myself it was the day to run 3 miles. Up until then, I didn’t know if I could do it. That day, I ran 3 miles without a problem and I realized that I was completely capable. This is when it occurred to me how much of a mental thing running is. The only thing holding me back was all of the negative thoughts in my head — that I was bored or tired, or that I just couldn’t do it.

This year, I ran the entire Turkey Trot. I may not be fast, but I ran all 3.1 miles of it. I was so proud of myself. It felt so good to succeed at something that I didn’t used to think I could do. This is when I realized that I enjoy running. It doesn’t hurt that it is also a great stress reliever and good for my body. The “runner’s high” afterward isn’t too bad either!

Clearly my dad picked up on this. A week or two later I got a text from him asking me to do the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon with him in April. At first I was hesitant. The most I had ever run was 3.1 miles! How could I commit to 13.1 miles?! The more I thought about it, the more I realized how awesome it would be to be able to say I ran a half marathon. I remembered that race atmosphere that was so inspiring at the Turkey Trot. If that was how I felt at a little 5K, how awesome would a half marathon be?! Needless to say, I gave in. My dad and I are signed up to run the Memorial Half on April 27th.

When I told some of my friends, the response was “Oh Jackie…” or “You mean you’re going to do it again, huh?” or even just laughter. You may think this is mean, but they’re right. I was signed up to run the half several years ago. I piddled around and never trained for it. As the race got closer, I ended up saying that I had an injury, which allowed me to defer my registration to the following year. I did not run it that year either. Basically, I was lazy and that is exactly my motivation this go-round. I am going to prove to everyone, and more importantly myself, that I can do it.

Training for a half definitely won’t be easy. It is going to be a journey. I’m sure there will be days when I want to quit training and just give up. I’m hoping that sharing my experiences publicly will get me through those hard days and keep me motivated. We’ll see how it goes! I guess this is just the first of many new adventures for me in 2014!