The 2011 Lead Strong Half-Marathon (Final Update)

     Half-marathon...completed! As of right now the unofficial time is around 2 hours and 8 minutes. My goal was to get as close to two hours as possible so I'm pleased with the result. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day to do this and I also couldn't have asked for a nicer group of people to share the experience with.

     My day started at 6:30 this morning. I made sure to drink as much water as possible to rehydrate myself, ate a banana, and began stretching. I met the other graduate students that were running with me and we drove to the trail head. Upon arrival we went to check-in, were greeted by event organizers, got a free t-shirt, and I began to loosen up again. The purpose of the event was to raise money for Maggie's Light, a Maryland based non-profit that helps families with special needs children and young adults. It was at the check-in that we were informed that over $5,000 was raised for the Maggie's Light charity. Not too shabby.

    At 9:30 it was race time. The group gathered and the race was on. I started off feeling great. I felt strong, hydrated, and my breathing was slow. I had to work my way through the crowd a little and then I just calmed myself, started humming the song "Grounds for Divorce" by the greatest band in the world "Elbow", and lost myself in the scenery. The trail was beautiful. The entire NCR trail is situated inside the Gunpowder Falls State Park so there were plenty of streams to admire and various forms of wildlife scurrying around.

     Honestly, I haven't felt that great while running in a few weeks so I knew right then that I was going to finish this thing. I felt well prepared. I had a comfortable pace and didn't feel tired at all until mile 9. Nine miles is the longest I had ever ran so from this point on I was trekking through new territory. At 9 miles my legs started to feel very heavy. My cardio was still strong but my legs were giving out. I decided to walk to a point in the trail up ahead and begin running again. I passed a water station where volunteers hand out water, Gatorade, and these performance jelly beans called Sports Beans. I opted for a drink of Gatorade but wouldn't you know it...it was orange flavored. Yuck! I thus spent the next quarter mile trying to get the taste of orange flavored Gatorade out of my mouth. I want to make it clear that Lemon-Lime is the only flavor of Gatorade worth drinking.

     I pass mile 10, and it was at this point that I knew I had to run/walk the rest of the way. My legs were getting way too stiff to maintain a running pace no matter how much I wanted. Run/walk, run/walk, run/walk. It was around mile 11 that I began to experience a runner's high. I've felt the runner's high before, usually after every run to some extent, but I have never felt it during an actual run. It was strange. I was running, feeling great, and I honestly didn't care about my 2 hour goal anymore. I didn't care about much of anything. I felt completely relaxed and at peace. But, I was in a race after all! I picked up my pace.

     Mile 12 went by and then just out of the blue, I saw a crowd of people. I saw the finish line. I picked up my pace and went into a full sprint. As I got closer to the finish line I saw a timer slowly ticking away with the time 2 hours, 8 minutes, and some change. I had gotten pretty close to my goal and had a huge smile on my face. There was a professional photographer at the finish line. I hope he got my picture.

     So, this is the end of a journey. I'm a little sad that it's over honestly. I worked hard for a long time. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this. I never thought I would run in any sort of race and I've done two in less than a year. Not bad for a guy who couldn't complete the Presidential Fitness mile run in school. Now...on to the next adventure.