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My First Half Marathon - Completed

A little over three months ago I started training for the Country Music Half Marathon and am happy to post (finally) I finished it!

I ran in 2:25:37 finishing overall: 10,202 out of 22,277 runners (Division: 881 out of 1,330 runners and in my Gender: 4,912 out of 8,088 runners [Link]). All of my photos are here on Flickr

The training plan on I used from Runkeeper pushed me beyond the 13.1 miles which I was very happy to have since it was something I wanted to make sure I mentally and physically could do. If you are looking for a good training program, I highly recommend it.

What it did not train me for was running with 31,000 other runners. I have never ran in a race with more then 5,000 (My First 5K) and this was something that challenged me mentally upon starting. It took 3 miles for me to settle down and get into a pace of running around runners.

With that said, the City of Nashville put on a fantastic race. Many residents were out in their driveways supporting the runners in all different ways. Some had signs, oranges, or just high-fives. It made the grueling 13 miles easier to deal with.

The weather was cool, but muggy which made for lots of sweaty runners. I felt my preparation for the race (hydration and nutrition) was perfect. Thanks to Jenny for suffering through Italian for 4 straight nights I was loaded with carbs and properly hydrated. The course itself was tough. Three large hills with a decent elevation gain for the entire 12th mile - which made me dig deep.

A few things I did learn that I will share with other first time half marathoners

Bring hand sanitizer. 31,000 people using 300 porta-potties results in a need to feel clean - so dont forget this.
Have your family on the course - not try to see you at the finish line. My wife, daughter, and mom never got a chance to see me running because the finish line area was total chaos. In hindsight they could have setup on the course at set mile marker and cheered me on (and got a picture).
I have to wear tighter fitting clothes. As you can see in my pictures, I had some “chaffing” on two psoriasis patches on either side of my stomach that bleed. I did not notice it until mile 11, but after the race I learned that tighter clothes can prevent this.

All in all it was a life accomplishment that I never thought would ever occur. In January of 2010 when i set out to change my life I never thought in 2 years & 4 months I would cross the finish line of a 13.1 mile race.

Thanks to all my friends and family for your support. Jenny was a trooper during my training. Many nights and weekends I was gone for countless hours putting in long runs and she never once complained. Thanks babe for your endless support.

Another special Thanks to Tasha. Through two tough training ruts your spot on encouragement helped me get through it, as always.

On to the next race…..

Half Marathon Training Begins Today

I caught the running bug in 2010 during my life style change and it has truly been something that I have come to love. Running (unlike anything else in my life) yields a great amount of satisfaction after a defeating a grueling challenge. I accomplish a short term goal during each run (usually just trying to make it home) while at the same time checking off a workout that is getting me closer and closer to my overall goal.

The next goal for me is the Country Music Half Marathon. Today will start my training program to not only finish the half marathon but do so in less then 2 hours 30 minutes.

I would be telling a lie if I did not say that I have my doubts. Psychologically I cannot get myself to think my body can endure a 13.1 mile run. Then again, I could never visualize myself losing over 100 pounds when I began my journey to change my life in 2010.

I will be sacrificing a few things along the way, the biggest being training time (AKA time away from the family). I will be running much longer during my workouts and away from the family during this start of a new chapter in our family life. Also, I will be monitoring much closer what I am putting into my body for maximum output. This means zero alcohol intake. I am social drinker, so it will be difficult when I am out with friends and co-workers. Small scarifie though for an awesome payoff.

As always, I ask for your support. Encouragement throughout the way from my friends and family wil be the only way I can make it through this new challenge.

My First 5K in Review

Start of the 5K This weekend I accomplished a major goal in my life by participating and finishing my first ever 5K.

I participated in the Susan G. Kormen Race for the Cure this past weekend in Birmingham and enjoyed it more then I thought it would - but in the same breath I must say it was harder then I thought it would be. I also learned a few things I wanted to share:

Never ever switch to new ear buds the day of your first (or any for that matter) 5K Race. I switched to my new custom ear mold Etymotic ear buds and they were useless (another blog post coming on them). They failed to stay in my ears causing me to run for the first time in my life without any music and having to listen to myself running which was not pleasant.
Running in a group of people is tough. At the conclusion of my first mile I noticed my pace was extremely quick (for me). This caused me to tire more quickly and slow my overall pace. I ended up walking 4 times total and finished in or around 32 minutes. But…
I have no idea if I finished at 32 minutes. Due to the ear buds issue I mentioned above my time got screwed up on my iPhone App and when I finished there was no method for me to check in at the finish line. My mom informed me that I finished at that time as she saw a small clock that read that at the finish line. I have been told there are better electronic ways to track a start/finish to a race and hopefully the next race I participate in will have a better tracking system.

Overall the race was awesome and has inspired me to do it again, this time running the entire thing.