Walkway Half Marathon

Half marathon #3 is in the books! The short: I crossed the finish line of the Walkway Half Marathon in one piece, smiling as always. It started off terrible but then I ended the race super strong.

Race day started at 4am. I’m convinced that part of the challenge of race day lies in the fact that it’s impossible to sleep a decent amount the night before. It just ain’t happening. I didn’t go to bed until around midnight and of course kept waking up paranoid that I missed my alarm. This seems to be a typical race day pattern of mine. It was nice to be sleeping at my parents’  house in my own bedroom instead of in a hotel room.

My parents were champs and endured the early wake up too so they could be by my side / my chauffeur for the race. Endless thanks to mom and dad for hanging out in Poughkeepsie with me on race day. A childhood of attending dance recitals and theater performances trained them well.

After getting dressed, eating a luna bar and foam rolling, we drove the hour to Poughkeepsie. I waited until the end of the car ride to eat my peanut butter sandwich since I alway get hungry during half marathons.

We got to the starting point at Marist College with plenty of time to spare, which also meant plenty of time to take gorgeous photos on the water.

This was the inaugural Walkway Marathon (half, full and 5k) and for a first time race things were pretty well organized at the start/ finish area. There were plenty of portapotties, water and nuun. I also loved that there was a whole area where I could do downward dogs and stretch by the water.

The “corrals” were a bit of a mess and everyone just kind of ended up gathering at the start where they felt like it instead of by starting time.

And soon enough we were off!

Mile 1

We were warned before the race that there were a few narrow passages– the first of which was literally right after the start and also a hugeeee hill. Guys, I’m from New York City, I don’t run hills on the Westside Highway.

I was told that the course would be pretty flat and definitely wasn’t prepared for the multiple hills in the first mile. You’ve got to be kidding me. The first mile sucked. My right calf started seriously aching, I was already taking walking breaks and I was on the verge of texting my parents to tell them I’m walking this whole damn race because my legs hurt so much.

I started thinking about this recap post I would eventually be writing. How I would talk about walking a half marathon. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I was so pissed off at myself, looking at the people around me. I kept telling myself “Kayla, get your shit together. You’re a personal trainer. You’re freaken strong. Get it together.”

 

Mile 2

And then I started feeling like I had to go to the bathroom. I literally felt like my body was failing me, I never go to the bathroom during long runs yet tend to make pit stops during half marathons apparently.

After a quick portapotty pee break I felt a million times better. My calf felt perfectly fine and I could finally run again. Magical pee break right there.

At this point we were running on a shady tree line trail for an out and back.

 

Mile 3-6

This whole portion took place on the flat (!!!) tree lined trail. It was beautiful and reminded me of the bike trail I run on near my parent’s house, but also kind of boring. I was feeling good after my rough start.

This whole portion was an out and back so we started seeing the speedy people on their way back. The thing with out and backs is they can get boring. This stretch was so long you couldn’t even see where the turnaround was in the distance and I was tempted to yell at the people on the other side “WHAT MILE ARE YOU ON?” to have a gauge of how much longer it would be until we turned around.

At mile 5 I took a walking break to slurp down some applesauce, my fuel of choice. Someone needs to teach me how to fuel and drink water while running because I seriously can’t. Since it was humid outside I also stopped at most of the hydration stops for water, nuun or both and only took sips from my handheld when necessary. I didn’t want to drink the whole thing and be left with nothing at the end on a hot day.

After the turnaround I had the realization that I am actually going to finish this race in one piece. I was past all my calf soreness from the hills, and my body finally kicked into gear. I knew I could do this.

 

Mile 7-9

The second we hit the walkway I felt this major boost of energy. Something about the sunshine, the wind and the stunning view was simply amazing. I was grateful for a change in scenery after running in the woods for 7 miles.

The wind on the walkway was WHIPPING to the point that I was scared I was going to hit someone in the head with a jelly bean when I took them out to eat some at mile 7.

Around mile 9 we turned around to do the walkway all over again.

 

Mile 10

Still on the walkway.

The mile markers throughout the race hadn’t been well positioned, I probably didn’t see 3 of them so I was grateful for my GPS app telling me what mile I was on. After the hitting the walkway at mile 7 my GPS went a bit wonky probably because it thought I was swimming in the middle of the hudson.

When I heard my Nike App say Mile 10 I got SO excited.

Mile 10 during a half marathon is always something special. It’s when you know you’re in the home stretch and there’s only a 5k left to go. While a lot can happen in 5k, it’s a distance I’m so familiar with and know I can push through.

I decided to kick it up a notch since I was feeling great and wanted to make up for some lost time from the beginning of the race. The thing is I still hadn’t seen the mile marker and was getting nervous that I was “emptying the tank” so to speak too soon and actually had more than a 5k left to go.

I finally saw a marker that said mile 10… and it was a few feet ahead of the mile marker for 11. Weird and incorrect. But who cares, less than 25 minutes left of running to go!

 

Mile 11-12

We were back on the main road looping our way back to Marist College. Throughout the race I had been disappointed about the lack of crowds, especially after running Nike in DC where the crowds were loud and there were bands all over the course. Being back on the roads meant we had a little bit of crowd support though which I always love.

Being back on the roads also meant return of the hills we had previously dealt with, oh joy. Most of them were downhill though. I was starting to get hungry and was ready to be done with running. I kept telling myself the faster I run, the faster I can get a chai latte at Starbucks. In case you’re wondering, I frequently think about Starbucks during a grueling workout.

 

Mile 13

SO CLOSE! I see my parents waiting nearby the finish line… and nearby a HUGE hill. My dad actually has a video where I go from cheering and waving my hands around because I’m happy to see them to saying “WHAT THE F*CK IS THIS HILL” when I notice the huge hill ahead. I’m probably a wimp and this course wasn’t actually that hilly, but it was certainly more hilly than my previous half marathons.

Seeing my parents was the exact boost I needed to push up that final hill. I channeled everything I’ve learned in Mile High Run Club classes about attacking hills. My legs were tired but I refused to slow down.

Approaching the finish line it hit me, I was going to cross the finish line of my third half marathon. I honestly didn’t think I’d get emotional at this race because been there, done that, but then it all hit me. That sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from conquering a distance you never thought you’d run because once upon a time you were that girl walking the mile run in gym class. Even though it was my third half, I had my doubts about this race thanks to the less than stellar beginning.

I crossed the finish line at 2:21:13. Slower than my previous 2 half marathons, but not terrible considering I walked a good chunk in the beginning, took a bathroom break and halfass trained.

Double fisting water and nuun like a boss. The black flecks all over me is because I forgot my headphones in the city and had to use a pair of old headphones that ended up leaving black flakes all over me. Better than running with no headphones.

This race was a friendly reminder that it honestly didn’t matter how slow or fast I ran during the race, or even that I took walking breaks. 13.1 miles is still 13.1 miles. It’s an accomplishment, no matter what way it takes you to get to that finish line. I may never truly feel like a runner, but my stamina and strength will get me over that finish line.