run a half marathon

Well, it was a day of hellish heat, but I triumphed. If you call a time of 2:15:14:2 a triumph.

The race began at 10:15 AM, and the thermometer was already at 25 degrees Celcius. Add in some humidity, no wind, and the body heat of 7800 people, and you’ve got some uncomfortable conditions for running, baby!

My pace was steady, although slower than the 10K pace a ran a few weeks ago. I was fine, although extremely warm, and every cup of water was used as both interior fuel and outer coolant.

At around the 16K mark (my previous best), people began to fall by the wayside. I stopped to help a man sit down, as he was about to faint. I’ve never seen anyone so absolutely worn out. There were more and more bodies by the side of the road, and quite a few instances of vomit. Somehow, I managed to survive.

I was quite fascinated in the different body types. Some people looked scarily fit, yet dropped out. Others, you’d swear they’d never even heard of a treadmill, and they ran by me like I was standing still. Consider this a lesson, a warning, and a hopeful message: you can never judge a person’s abilities from outer appearance.

So, finally, exhausted yet weirdly happy (I crossed the finish with a huge grin on my face), I accomplished my goal. One more thing off my list.

Now, I have to put a full marathon on the list, but that can wait for a while, I think.

Well, I’m off. If I don’t make it through the run, be it known that my last thoughts were of all of you, hunting and killing the people who thought that marathons were fun.

We leave for Ottawa tomorrow morning, and run the following day. Unfortunately, the day is supposed to be very hot, and the half doesn’t start until 10:30 AM, so the sun will be at its highest for most of my sure-to-be-heat-stroke-laden run.

Yeesh.

Don’t feel ready. Just ran a steady 10 miles on the treadmill, but outside is always a different matter.

I thought I’d keep a log of how many total miles I’ve run, not including cooldown walks and cross-training.

Ran today – 10 milesNEW RECORD
So far – 157 miles

I thought I’d keep a log of how many total miles I’ve run, not including cooldown walks and cross-training.

Ran today – 4 miles
Ran Sunday – 6 Miles
So far – 147 miles

Ran a 10K race Yesterday as a pre-half-marathon warmup. Time was 53 minutes. However, looks dubious that I can do a half in two weeks. Extremely tired after. Can’t imagine doubling the length in only two weeks.

I thought I’d keep a log of how many total miles I’ve run, not including cooldown walks and cross-training.

Ran today – 5 miles

So far – 137 miles

I thought I’d keep a log of how many total miles I’ve run, not including cooldown walks and cross-training.

Ran today – 5 miles

So far – 132 miles

I thought I’d keep a log of how many total miles I’ve run, not including cooldown walks and cross-training.

Ran today – 8 miles

So far – 127 miles