2013 Borgess Half Marathon

On Sunday I ran my first half marathon. I'm still having a hard time believing that about 2 years ago I was starting the Couch to 5k program, and now I have completed a half marathon! Get ready, because here is a loooong race report.

Course map, race shirt, and bib.

My race outfit.

 I woke up around 6 a.m. to start getting ready. I ate 1/2 of a bagel with cream cheese and drank a Starbuck's iced coffee that I had bought from a gas station the night before. I was still hungry, but my nerves were getting the best of me and I didn't think I could stomach the rest of my bagel. I got dressed and double checked that I had all my gear and we drove across town to pick up my friend Helen who was also running the half marathon. Chris dropped us off at the race site and then went home to get more sleep and Helen and I people watched and found my friend Christie (who I ran my birthday trail 5k with) and her friend Britney near the bag check. Christie and I were planning on running together and trying for a 2:30:00 time and Helen and Britney were trying for 2:00:00. We all walked around a little, used the porta potties (gag!) which thankfully were still all fully stocked with toilet paper, found a nice tree to stretch under and then watched the marathoners start after the national anthem was sung. After that we found our pace groups and waited another 15 minutes for our race to start. I decided to wear my Nathan fuel belt that holds 2 water bottles for the race, because I can drink out of water bottles while I run, but I can't drink the cups of water from the water stations without stopping to walk and then still spilling it all over myself. I also had 3 GUs (2 vanilla and one espresso love) my iPhone and headphones in the pocket of the fuel belt.

Me and Christie waiting for the race to start.

Finally 8:20 rolled around and we were off! I actually remembered to start my Garmin right as we went over the timing mats, and for the first mile Christie and I chatted a bit, but it was actually very quiet around us as everyone settled into their pace. Mile 2 was pretty much all downhill and was fun as we started talking to the people around us and our pacers (I can't remember their names for the life of me). Christie and I had watched this video a few days before the race and bits of it became a joke throughout the race. Especially the Rob Thomas/Santana song, which we must have sang and acted out at least 3 or 4 times.

 

I had my first GU at mile 4 and was still feeling great. Our pace was actually slower than I have been running lately on my short runs by about a minute, but I figured if I pushed too much at the beginning of the race it would come back to bite me later. We ran through the downtown area where there were tons of spectators. I was so impressed at how many people came out to support all of the runners for this race, it was really overwhelming!


Mile 6-7 were on a paved trail that runs around our city. The route was diverted a little bit due to the river being so high and us not being able to run on the trail under a bridge that was flooded. There was a live band and a gummy bear station where Christie and I both grabbed a dixie cup full of gummy bears. I ate 2 and decided to save the rest for a friend's son who was waiting to cheer us on.

Mile 8-9 were kind of crazy! I ate my 2nd GU which I had to choke down and drank quite a bit of water. This was officially the farthest I had ever run without taking a walk break. I have run 13.1 miles in training, but I stopped every couple of miles to walk for at least a few seconds. I wasn't sore anywhere and my body was feeling good, but mentally I was feeling a little drained and knew that we had 2 steep hills coming up. Since I had made it this far without walking I was determined to run the rest of the race without walking too. We saw our friend Brandi and her 2 kids waiting for us, so we yelled "Hi!" and then I said "Here's some gummy bears!" and we chucked them at her. She looked a little confused, but told me later her son loved it was kept asking if other runners were bringing him gummy bears too. I popped in my headphones and stared my half marathon playlist and we headed up the first hill. Our pacers were so supportive and told us to keep our heads down and shorten our strides and before I knew it we were up the hill. I didn't realize that this was "popsicle hill" and at the top there was a troop of boy scouts handing out popsicles to runners who wanted one. I took a red one and it was delicious! Just the little boost I needed to keep going.

Mile 10-12 Were a little rough. We ran down a hill which was a nice change and then around a lake. I tried to eat my 3rd Gu, but it was staring to get hot out and I only ate about 1/4 of it before tossing it. I just couldn't get it down and figured if it was that hard I probably really didn't need it. Around 11.5 miles Christie and I both were just really ready to be done running. We started talking more with our pacers and looked around us and realized we were the only 2 people left of our pace group! I don't know where we lost everyone else, but it was kind of funny. We got to the last hill and our pacers told us we couldn't run with them anymore. They pulled back from us and basically yelled us up the hill. These guys were the most awesome motivation I could have ever asked for! We got to the top of the hill and they yelled to us that we were doing great and to wait for them after we finished. We kept going and Christie told me that if I needed to I should leave her and pull ahead, so without saying anything I did. I was in the zone and just wanted to be done with this race!

Mile 13 was the longest mile of my life. Looking at my mile splits I ran it 1:20 faster than I ran mile 12, so I was really booking it! About 1/2 mile from the finish there was a lady handing out soaking wet sponges, so I grabbed one and wiped it down both my arms and my forehead and then squeezed it over my head. It was ice cold and amazing. I kept running and finally turned the corner and crossed the finish line! I RAN the whole half marathon and didn't walk a single step. I even came in under the 2:30:00 time I was shooting for with a chip time of 2:28:26!

Still amazed that I ran a half-marathon!

After I crossed I kind of wasn't sure what to do, so I got my medal, then got a space blanket, then took off the space blanket, then got a water and remembered to stop my Garmin, then got a chocolate milk and turned around and realized I should probably watch for Christie to finish. I found her and we walked to the side to find our husbands and stretch out a little. Then we took a few pictures and headed home.

Me and Christie post-race.

I had such a wonderful time running this race and couldn't have asked for a better course/weather conditions/pacers/running friend. I can see why the half marathon is a favorite for so many runners.

I have already been looking at other half marathons and half-joked with Chris that we should take a trip to Vancouver next year...so I can run the SeaWheeze half haha. Christie is planning on continuing her training and running the Grand Rapids Marathon in October. I don't know if I will ever run a full marathon, but I definitely think I have a few more halfs in my future.