My First Half Marathon

In early October, my employer offered a "train for a 10k" class at the company's fitness center sponsored by RunTex. At the time, I weighed about 225 lbs and generally felt disgusted with myself. So I thought, what the hell. It was convenient, got my fat arse out of bed early, taught me valuable stretching exercises, and really pushed me to the limits, especially on the interval training days (and all for $25). Some days I thought to myself, "Am I actually paying for this" and had recollections of military school. This class ultimately culminated in my Turkey Trot run on Thanksgiving. I originally thought this was a 5k, but (to my dismay) later found out it was 5 miles and was a little apprehensive. However, I finished the race in 55 minutes which I thought was pretty good since I really only started running about 6 weeks earlier (thanks to my coach, Donnie); it was definitely a confidence booster.

Soon thereafter I happened to exchange an email with an old friend, Patrick, who lives in Houston. I hadn't seen him in a couple of years since I moved back from Houston to Austin. Patrick sent me a link to his blog which was entitled "Musings on the Marathon." Had Patrick run a marathon? I immediately emailed him to ask all of the questions that were running through my head. He said that he decided to run a marathon on his birthday and had pictures of himself on his blog. He looked great and mentioned that he had lost nearly 50 lbs. I immediately decided that I wanted to continue to run, and he was my inspiration (by the way, we are the same age...actually he's 3 days older). In late November, I was in Houston for my brother's engagement party, and I met up with Patrick for dinner. He looked like he did in high school, and later, when we went to Baker St. Pub, he got carded!! It was like running erased several years off of his face and body (which further solidified my resolve to run). Shortly thereafter, during a telephone conversation, Patrick suggested that we run the Freescale Half Marathon in Austin in mid-February.

Fast forward to Saturday, February 12th, the day before the half marathon. I had dinner with Patrick and his family, strategically parked the car near the finish line (San Jacinto and 18th street), and then watched The Notebook with my brother and his fiance. I was hoping that this "chick flick" would sufficiently bore me into a lethargic stupor so that I would go to sleep. Unfortunately, it didn't work, not because the movie was riveting (although it wasn't bad), but rather because I was extremely anxious. I literally did not sleep all night long, and at about 5:30 a.m. I started to hear heavy rain and thunder outside by bedroom window. Cynically (insert evil laugh or JMVC's Krusty imitation here), I was actually hoping that they would cancel the marathon; I felt awful.

At 6:30 a.m., as I waited for my friend Sara to pick me up (she ran with me...at least at the beginning), I found myself cutting holes in trashbags as disposable, makeshift raincoats. All the while, I was getting more anxious since she was running late, and the race started in 30 short minutes. I contemplated borrowing my brother's truck and driving myself, but soon I reached her on her cell phone. When she arrived, she forgot to put on deodorant and needed to borrow mine, she needed to pin her bib on her shirt, and needed to attach her time chip to her shoe. Normally she is very prepared and organized, but this really annoyed me because I was so tense and we were running so late.

Luckily, the horn for the start of the wheelchair racers blasted as we were walking through the parking lot to the starting line. We made it with 5 minutes to spare, but then, of course, Sara had to go to the bathroom. In retrospect, I don't know what would have been worse, stressing while waiting for Sara or being early and anxiously waiting in a crowd of 11,000 nervous runners...besides we missed the rain.

As we started the run, I immediately shed my garbage bag due to the heat and humidity. I am used to running my long runs in 40-50 degree weather, and it was already about 69 degrees with 100% humidity; I knew I was in for a long run, literally. Sara ran with me for about the first mile, but then resumed her normal 10 minute/mile pace leaving me to fend for myself. I turned up the volume on my Dell DJ and did some people watching as runners passed me by while trying to keep my mind on anything but how tired I was due to the lack of sleep.

Before I knew it, I was at mile 4. Because I was so far back and so many runners had hit the mile 4 water station before me, it was annihilated. The workers couldn't pour water fast enough into the paper cups. One woman just grabbed the gallon jug and started drinking out of it; I was amazed, appalled, and amused all at once. It was also about this time that I decided to have my first and only Clif shot that Patrick gave me. I couldn't open the damn package and had to pull over and walk while I opened it with my teeth. It was pretty thick, and I almost gagged so I am really glad Patrick told me to take it with water.

My Polar s625x showed my heart rate at nearly 180 bpm which was about 20 beats higher than normal at this distance. Was it due to the heat, lack of sleep, adrenaline and anxiety, or the caffeine in the Clif Shot? I didn't know, but what I did know is that I can normally only sustain 180+ heart rates for a limited time, and I was only barely passed mile 4. So at mile 5, I started to walk consistently every time my heart rate approached 180. I would walk for 45-60 seconds until my heart rate recovered to the 155-160 range and then would resume running. One other thing about my Polar s625x. At mile 1, it showed .95 miles, and, by the end of the race, was about half a mile behind. I guess I need to manually calibrate it.

The crowds that lined the course shouting for family members and generally cheering runners on, were extremely helpful and motivating. It was difficult to walk while someone was cheering for you (although I succeeded). Some people would even yell out my name which initially shocked me, but then I realized my name was printed on the race bib. Before I knew it, I had run down Shoal Creek and 45th street. As I passed Avenue B on 45th street, I looked down the street and eyed the house that I lived in during college. The dull yellow two-story house looked exactly as I remembered it as if time stays still near campus. I couldn't help thinking that that place must be a sh*thole on the inside due to over a decade's worth of partying college students living in it; if those walls could talk (but I digress).

As I turned on Duval from 45th street I passed two casualties: one had bloodied nipples which were bleeding through his white tanktop and the other was sitting on the curb as the safety patrols took her pulse at her wrist. I could see the 11 mile sign and knew that I only had 2.1 miles left to go, but instead of wishing it were over, I tried to soak it all in. I tried to live in the present and realize that this was the moment that I had trained for over 4 months, and that it was fleeting. It would be over soon enough whether I liked it or not.

Physically, I felt pretty good. My legs felt strong, and I had no aches, pains, or blisters. My only concern was my elevated heart rate. I decided that I was going to run the rest of the way without walking, then at about 11.8 miles I had to rethink that plan, decided to walk for .2 miles and run the final 1.1 miles. I could see Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and knew I was close; one of the crowd yelled "you can smell the finish line from here." Suddenly, my cell phone that I had in my pocket rang, and it was Patrick's wife. She asked if I was with Patrick, and I told her that he was probably about an hour in front of me and that I could see the mile 13 marker. As I approached the finish line, I saw Patrick's wife and sister cheering me on as I kicked it up a notch for the remaining 50 yards.

As I crossed the finish line 2 hours and 37 minutes after I began this journey and they placed the finisher's medal over my head, I realized that I had done it. I had set a seemingly impossible goal (at least 4 months ago it seemed impossible) and had accomplished it. I created my own "peak life experience" and can now say that I have run a half marathon...I am a half-marathoner!! What's next? The possibilies are limitless.