Minutiae

The original goal - set way back on Thanksgiving of last year - of this whole training endeavor was to run a half-marathon on March 27. Much has gone on in the interim. Plans made, plans changed, plans remade. But yesterday, I accomplished that original goal. I ran in the Raleigh Rocks half-marathon and indeed ran the entire 13.1. Even at around mile 6 when I felt the need to shed my fleece and readjust my ipod armband, I did not break my pace. Even on the mega hills around the art museum, I may have run reeeally really slow, but I ran. In the end, I mustered the energy to sprint across the finish line at about 2 hours 12 minutes. The race website still hasn't posted the official results, so I don't yet know my chip time, or where I fell in my age group. But none of that really matters. I met my goal and I have to say I am quite proud of myself. And my husband, who dutifully got up at 6:15 with me on a Saturday and had to find things to occupy the >2 hours between start and finish, was there to capture the moment and give me a celebratory hug at the finish line.

So, since I will be repeating this effort in a couple of months, and doubling it a week later, I figured it might be good to reflect on the little things and lessons learned from this event:

• Carb-loading with pasta the night before was well-intended, but I should consider choosing a less greasy, less cheesy option in future.
• Breakfast of an english muffin w/ almond butter, banana and green tea (about an hour and a half before the race) was perfect.
• Decision to use the restroom one last time at the convention center (where registration was held) was not the best idea, but worth the wait in the insanely long line.
  
• Clif margarita flavored shot bloks were great! The forethought of putting them in a sandwich bag so I didn't have to fight with packaging as I ran, made them even better.
• I now know that I will spill most of the water/sports drinks from the hydration stations ON me, so I need to avoid those stations serving RED anything!
• The knee band I wore worked better on my ITB issues than the conventional brace I had been wearing.
• My $10 orthotics proved they were worth every penny and not a cent more.
  
• Must invest in sunglasses that don't slip down my nose as I run - but not those ugly sporty wrap around kind. Ugh.
  
• Sunscreen - brilliant! (I still can't believe I remembered to put any on.)
• When layering, don't safety pin the number to any under layers. This makes it far more difficult than necessary to shed that outer layer. (I didn't break pace, but it took me at least five whole minutes to get it off and get everything readjusted.)
• Playlist was spot on, but barely long enough to last the whole race with a few skipped songs and no repeats. (And, I'll have to double it for the full marathon - argh!)
  
• Identify a few runners to pace with during the first 2/3 of the race, and then focus the last 1/3 on passing them. ;-)

My next races on the calendar: 10K on April 18, half-marathon 5/16, full marathon 5/22.