*Spoiler Alert*

I DID IT!!!! I ran my first half marathon!

So here it is, my race recap, the good, the bad, the unhygienic, but none-the-less MY FIRST HALF!

Yesterday afternoon I took a train out to Long Island from NYC. I thought I would feel jittery from the second I woke up but I was pretty unfazed by the fact that I was traveling to Long Island to run 13.1 miles for the first time. I think the best part about packing for the trip was that it was so much easier than packing for vacation. Make up? Nope. Jewelry? Nope. Just lots and lots of spandex outfits and my running shoes…

I get picked up at the train station by Laura, Vicki and my good friend Sarah. Laura, Sarah and I ran the half marathon and Vicki ran her first 5k. We headed to the expo so I could pick up my bib and swag.

The actual expo was disappointingly tiny… not that I have anything to compare it to but there wasn’t that much to spend money on. Besides my race swag I bought a pink magnet that says 13.1 to put on my car in Westchester. Hopefully the back of my prius is actually magnetic….

We ended up having a lot of fun taking advantage of the photo opps at the expo.

Sarah trying on the amazeballs medals. Those things are HEAVY! But absolutely amazing.

A preview of what we would like like after we got out tiara and boas at mile 12!

We ended up leaving the expo pretty quickly since there wasn’t much to see or buy. All 4 of us were starving so we stopped at a nearby panera for some delicious soup, salads and carbs. There as an amazing mall next to the Panera so we walked around for a bit before heading over to the hotel to check in.

Just casually foam rolling in the lobby at the Marriott….

After check-in we had some time to chill out in the rooms

I love love love the bright pink race shirts. I’ve only ever run the Damon Runyon 5k before where they give you a cotton t-shirt at the end so getting a snazzy wicking diva half marathon shirt was pretty exciting. I may or may not be lounging around my apartment in this shirt at the moment….

Like the good little organized runners that we are Sarah and I laid out our outfits and accessories for the race

Adorable that our bibs say diva and our names.

Soon enough it was time to eat more carbs! We ended up going to the Cheesecake Factory which is ALWAYS a good choice.

As far as eating in preparation for the run I knew I wanted to avoid dairy at all costs. When I’m home making my own food it’s easy to be 100% dairy free– I don’t buy any dairy products and therefore never cook with them. When I’m eating out at restaurants I tend to be more lax and will order things with cheese (mmm nyc pizza!) and dairy based sauces (gahhh chicken korma, my favorite food ever!). I knew this weekend was not to time to end up with a dairy belly ache and I ordered the veggie burger. Seriously delicious burger, and I’ve had a lot of veggie burgers, but this one is definitely up there as one of the best.

Back at the hotel it was time to start winding down since we would be getting up at 5:30am to leave for the race by 6am. I still wasn’t feeling particularly nervous… which was honestly weird considering my longest training run was 10 miles and besides that I had only ever done 8 once. All I kept thinking about was how tired I felt after 10 miles… but I still would have to run another 5k after that. But still I was calm cool and collected and felt like I was at a sleep over with a couple of friends instead of in Long Island for a half marathon. I didn’t sleep very well but I think that was because of the pillows and an annoying buzzing sound from up above instead of thanks to nerves.

5:30am it was time to get up and ready! I decided to eat my usual pre-run breakfast of a luna bar and peanut butter on an english muffin. I know many people can’t eat much before they run, but I like have something in my belly so I’m not thinking about how hungry I am. I knew I would have at least an hour to digest whatever I ate.

Ready to go in my hot pink race outfit!

I decided to wear the same outfit I wore for my last long run last week– hot pink and black lululemon racer back tank + lulu speed shorts (I buy them long even though my legs are far from long). I also had a cheap throwaway from k-mart which I ditched before the race started.

Parking at Eisenhower was pretty easy and we had lots of time to use the real bathrooms and hang out before Vicki started her 5k at 7:45 and we started the half at 8:05

The start line was roughly 15 minutes away from where we parked. It wasn’t too too chilly out, even at 7am, but it was good to get my legs moving before the run.

I was still waiting for the nerves and “oh my god I’m running a half marathon” freakout to hit me… but it still hadn’t, even when I was standing at the starting line waiting for my turn to line up. This all felt really odd since I used to get SO nervous before every audition, my SAT, my roadtest, anything that could have a bad outcome. I think my attitude going into this was whatever happens happens. Obviously I didn’t want to get sick or injured or anything, but if I had to stop racing, whatevs I tried.

Being a classy flasher waiting for the race…

The race didn’t have a waved start so we just lined up according to our mile pacing. Sarah and I hung with the 10-10:59 crew. I had been running solid 10:40 miles for my long runs but she’s recently been a little speedster running in the 9’s. We both knew that running together most likely wouldn’t happen and I wanted to her go go go and run her best half marathon possible and not worry about me slogging behind. Isn’t that the unofficial agreement runner friends have?

One of my favorite things about this race was the sea of pink that followed you the whole time. I wasn’t too particular about having my first half be an all female race, but I’m kind of happy it was a race that encouraged pink outfits. One of the things my parents commented on as they stood at the finish line was how people of all shapes and sizes were running this race, both the 5k and half. I loved that it was a fun race for people like me… not competitive about running and only competing with themselves to prove they could. Anyone I talked to or encountered throughout the weekend was just lovely.

And then the pre-race jitters hit me with only 5 minutes to go before the race. I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but my heart started racing and I had that “holy sh*t I’m going to be running for over 2 hours” realization. This was really happening, this half marathon that I spent all summer training for and therefore whining about to anyone who would listen. There were many times when I was positive I was going to quit and this race wasn’t going to happen. But here I was, minutes away from attempting to run a half marathon.

At 8:06am we were off!

Mile 1-4

The race started slow as expected since the starting line was very narrow. I wasn’t sure what my race strategy would be… during 5k’s I just kind of do it without paying attention to the people around me. Sarah broke away from me almost immediately which is good because I wanted her to run her own race and not be held back by this slow poke.

Around the end of mile 1 I found my “bunny”… you know that thing that race horses follow to keep them running? I was determined to stay right behind her and stick to her pace. I’m awares that this could be a silly method in case she stops or slows down or for all I know she could run out of gas at mile 3, but having this person in front of me kept me going. I spent the beginning of the race going between getting weepy about the fact that I was running my first half marathon and thinking oh dear god there’s still so much running to do. There was this big out and back that covered roughly miles 3-5 and I was pretty tempted to just cheat and cross over where the speedy ladies were already on their way back. Guys, don’t worry I didn’t…. but I did spot Speedy McSpeedsters Laura and Sarah kicking butt on their way back from the U-Turn.

At some point during these miles I got a text from my mom saying that her and my dad were at the finish line. I knew I still had a ways to go, but knowing they were already there crossed one worry off my list. Whenever I had a moment of doubt while running I looked down at that text from my mom and thought about how excited I was to see them at the end.

Mile 5-6.5

At this point we were long out of Eisenhower Park where the race was starting and ending and doing this huge loop near Nassau Coliseum which lasted FOREVER. The scenery was meh.

I told myself  before starting that I could take a walk break to eat some life saver gummies, drink water and recuperate at mile 5. The thing was, I didn’t want to, I was still behind my bunny, feeling awesome. According to my GPS I was going way faster than I had anticipated yet I still felt pretty awesome. So I kept going and had some gummies at mile 6 but promptly went back to running after.

But then my stomach started hurting. Considering all my usual stomach ailments I deal with in real life I’ve always been fine during my runs, most likely because the idea of going to the bathroom while running made me nervous (ew public NYC bathrooms or porta potties).

I was so uncomfortable though and trying to figure out what I did differently for this run to make my belly hurt. Was it the different brand of peanut butter I used this morning? It can’t be the distance, I’m pretty comfortable with 5 mile runs. Whatever it was I knew I was going to have suck it up and use a port-a-potty if I was going to make it to the finish line with an, er, accident. So I started looking for porta potties… which of course once I was looking for it I had to wait FOREVER for the next one. I think the moment I saw some in the distance might’ve been the happiest moment of the race.

I did my best to breath in through my mouth, out through my nose… which is incredibly difficult when your huffing and puffing after running 6.5 miles, but I felt a million times better after. Classy race recap, Kayla. But hey, it’s the truth and I’m sure I’m not the first person to deal with stomach issues while running a long race.

I was sad to say goodbye to my bunny thanks to my potty break, but she provided me with the motivation I needed in the beginning to stick to my pace.

And then I was more than halfway there!

Mile 7-10

I completed nixed my “Run 5 without stopping and then walk every 2 miles” plan and was only walking to eat something or sip water (running and sipping is for the far more coordinated. Not this girl).

At this point I was realizing that this half marathon was in the bag. Yes, I still had to run a whole lot more, but I just felt so dang good and my entire body was cooperating. These miles is when my terrible math skills became helpful because I TOTALLY convinced myself at mile 7 that we only had 5 more to do. I was pretty disappointed when I reached mile 8 and remembered that 8+5 equals 13. Guys, it’s really hard to count when you’re running.

And then I found my bunny! Despite the potty break I caught up to her once again!

Mile 10

Mile 10 was what I feared all along. This is when I entered uncharted territory. During my previous training runs my body always started crapping out right before the run was over, so last week it was just before mile 9 that my body started losing steam.

 

Mile 10 was my favorite for a bunch a reasons. One, I knew anything after this point was an accomplishment since I had never done it befre. Two, the above sign. I was already thinking it, but that sign was the push I needed. A 5k? That’s only 30ish more minutes of running YAHOO! And then there were the amazing spectators. The crew that gave us twizzlers and tissues, the inspirational signs, the “high five for good luck” signs, I loved it all. Oh and someone was blasting Katy Perry’s Roar, which made me weepy, again.

This is also when I started getting HUNGRY. I mean, not the dizzy kind of hungry or hit the wall kind of hungry, but just the kind of hunger that made me wish there was bananas at the water stations because sport jelly beans were not cutting it. I began to dream about how gooooood the bagel my parents brought me was going to taste.

And then I passed my bunny. I was feeling good, feeling fast, and knew I wouldn’t be tempted to slow down. I wish I would’ve had the chance to thank her at the finish line for basically pushing me to keep running.

Mile 11-12

The uncharted territory continued. I started skipping songs on my playlist since getting to these miles took a lot less time then I had anticipated. I’m slightly crazy when it comes to playlists and like to time out what mile I will be on for certain songs. I kept waiting for Green Day’s Homecoming to come on since it’s a 9+ minute song, which is great since it makes a mile go by fast. I skipped ahead to get to it since I knew the race was winding down and started mouthing the words.

And then I saw it, girls in tiaras and boas! It sounds lame but I spent all race looking forward to mile 12 when I would get my diva accessories– a boa and tiara.

Grabbing them wasn’t an issue but getting them to stay on proved to be really difficult… especially while running. I began to fiddle with the boa… and then my phone slipped out of my hand and hit the ground hard shattering the screen. Oh god. I picked it up, cursing, praying that it still worked. Luckily Green Day was still playing, even though the screen is in bad shape. And so I kept on running…

Mile 13

 

My GPS (I used Nike+ on my phone) told me I was at mile 13. Since mile 4 or so the mile markers were way off from my GPS so I knew not to believe the GPS. And it felt like the longest mile EVER because I was pissed about my phone and kind of bored with running.

Finally I saw the finish line in the way distance. The crowd of spectators got bigger and louder. With Green Day’s “Waiting” blasting on my phone I began weeping thinking about how I never thought this day was going to happen, I never thought I was actually going to run a half marathon, I never thought I would feel this good at the end of a half marathon. I never thought this was going to actually happen.

And I crossed that finish line with my tiara, boa, shattered iPhone, tears in my eyes, screaming and with my hands up.

I glimpsed at the clock as I crossed the finish line and saw it say roughly 2:21:00, which means I beat my unofficial goal of running it in under 2:30.

official time:

2:20:30

Say WHATTTT? Um, not to shabby for taking a potty break in the middle of the race.

After picking up my gigantic medal I quickly found my fellow diva’s Sarah and Laura plus my amazing parents.

I have never been so happy to eat a banana and drink water. But I did what I came  here to do, I ran a half marathon, didn’t get injured, and crossed the finish line in one piece. Happiest girl, ever.

I hobbled back to Laura’s car to get my stuff with the parentals and then headed back to the city munching on an NYC bagel and sipping a soy chai latte from starbucks.

My legs are a wee (okay a lot) sore, and my foam roller is currently my BFF, but I’m feeling freaken awesome after running my first half marathon. I did it!