So yeah, the 1/2 Marathon

So as promised here is my complete recap of the Hyannis Half Marathon I ran on Sunday.

The half was my third real race as a "runner." Sure I ran some track in high school and played "chase" in 3rd grade, but I've really only had three real big girl races and I'm starting to figure out the good, the bad and the ugly about racing.

One thing I really noticed is that no matter what you are always going to be nervous. Whether you're prepared, unprepared, going for a PR, focusing on just finishing, running alone or running with a friend, pre-race jitters just cannot be avoided. So as you can imagine Sunday morning started just like my other two races, I woke up early on a weekend and started begging the photog to let me skip the race. I "wasn't ready," "didn't train enough," "felt like I was gonna vom," but in the end he and I both knew that this had to be done.

First stop was to collect my number and check out the race expo - which was amazing FYI. It was INSIDE (SOOO GREAT) at a huge convention center and they had a ton of vendors, running clubs etc. I check out some shoes and running clothes and the photog grabbed some free donuts and cheese (he later got an O-water at the finish, so I think he would give the Hyannis 1/2 good marks as well).

Then I did the ritual "ok now I gotta pee" right after we got there. Being a female, peeing of course became a social event so I started chatting with two other girls in line. One had run this half marathon 3 years in a row, another had run a half before, and I was the weirdo who ran a full, but never a half. We gabbed, talked about being nervous, not wanting to be cold and started checking out the hat of another girl in line "I run so I can drink" seriously so amazing. If I wasn't so nervous I totally would have asked her where I could get one, but alas my jitters kept me admiring from afar.

Before I knew it, it was time to line up. This is when the freak out started. I to distract started playing with my ipod and made the photog take pictures for the blog. (I put some of my faves at the end of this post). This is also when I started my favorite pre-race ritual, eaves dropping. Seriously so amazing, lined up right by me was a group of friends 3 girls and their guy friend who were running their first race together, 3 high school kids, a really cute couple and various others. All very fun to stalk.

When the race started, I did my best to keep my own pace and focus on me. On my first race I really tried to run to fast and got really sick (probably not from the fast running, but I'm not ready to test that). Anyway, I started as slow as possible and tried to let go of the "omg that guy is passing me thoughts" I tend to have when running around others. Before I knew it I eased into a pace and took off.

I don't remember much about the course, it was pretty, kinda uneventful, and I spent most of my time looking at other runners or people cheering, but I definitely had a nice run. By mile 8 I started to get a little tired and by mile 10 my feet started to seriously blister. Luckily I pushed through and even sprinted the last .1 miles to the finish line which was pretty awesome.

There was a full marathon as well as a 10k at the race, and surprisingly I didn't get runners envy too badly when I saw the marathoners go on their second loop of the course. In fact, it was so inspirational to see them all, and I realized one of my favorite things about runners in general is the support they give to one another - no matter how tired we are we always cheer on those around us.

Ok it's getting late so I might as well wrap this up with some photos. I'm taking some time off for a few days to heal my feet and maybe buy some new shoes, but I'll be back in action soon!

Pictures!!
Crossing the finish


Post Race


Pre Race -- clearly I was ignoring the photog