As my legs took their first step on the road to 13.1, I felt a wave of excitement rush through my body. I ran my first half marathon in May 2010 at the Capital City half in Columbus and I swore I would never do another one again. It wasn’t because I didn’t love the hard-work it took to get to race day, the sweat and effort that was put into all of those training runs. However, it was because I doubted my own abilities. Running my first half was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, mostly due to the fact that I had no idea what to expect and wasn’t sure if it was even possible for me to finish. Turns out though, it was possible and I pushed my mind and body to the limits to succeed. Following that race and for days, weeks, months after I thought it would be the only half marathon I would ever run. I knew how difficult it was and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put myself back through the pain and sacrifice my time to train. However, at this point in my life I needed a fitness goal, I needed something to work toward, and proving to myself that I could run another half marathon seemed like just the ticket. That’s right, the racing bug had bitten me again, but this time in a city south of my alma mater. This time I was in Cincinnati.
My husband gave me a quick kiss and wished me good luck. We had decided before the race that we would stick together and pace each other during the run, hoping to finish at the same time. However, if either of us fell behind (ahem, if I fell behind), the other person would keep going and we would meet at the finish line. Although we had trained together, we also realized that finishing was an individual goal as well. We both wanted the best for each other, so if that meant running at our own pace, then that was how it was going to be.
The sun was continuing to rise in the sky as I took my first steps across that starting line. The crowd was full, but at least where I was standing, was nothing as cramped as the Capital City was, or even the local ‘Turkey Trot’ we do every year. I expected it to take a couple miles for the crowds to wean out and for us to really pick up our pace, but we were running at our pace goal within seconds of beginning. I looked up at the clock and we were about 6 minutes or so behind the first runners. We started down the street and ran past Great American Ball Park where the Cincinnati Reds play. The last time I was roaming this city was for one of those games last July. I remembered it was hot, humid and sticky, so seeing it in the morning’s light with temps in the 60’s felt like such a blessing.
Before I knew it, we were at our first bridge, maintaining about a 9:20 second mile. This was a little faster than our training runs, but I knew that the first few miles of the race were likely to be my fastest. I knew about those hills that would be coming later on, but I tried to put them out of my mind and run my little heart out at the start. I couldn’t believe what a beautiful morning we were given: bright blue skies, not a cloud in sight, and bright sparkle coming off of the Ohio River, a reflection from the sun that was slowly climbing higher and higher into the sky.
At this point we were coming to the end of the bridge and I spotted Newport on the Levee, a place that I celebrated my 22nd birthday, only days before I would become engaged. Last time I was there I had no clue what the future had in store, but this time I knew and had him running right next to me.
Before I knew it we were coming off the bridge and were now in Kentucky. It’s not everyday you can say you ran from ‘Ohio to Kentucky’ then back from ‘Kentucky to Ohio’ and not be telling a tall-tale. We kept our speed up as we crossed mile 1, and then mile 2. It was about this time that my stomach started to feel a little rough and I could feel the cramps slowly sneaking up on me. I decided to push it out of my mind at this time, but I couldn’t help but know it would possibly be making its appearance again.
The first few miles weren’t bad at all. I grabbed a water at every stop, (there was a water station at almost every mile, which was awesome), and kept up the pace. We had to go uphill on the bridge that headed back to Ohio, and although it was a difficult hill, it was definitely doable. About this time, Meghan branched off from us and it was just Tim and I. My stomach was killing me, but I was hoping a few sips of water here and there would help. I tried to focus on my music and my pace as we headed off the bridge and back into the city. We were so blessed the race started as early as it did for the sun had not quite rose high enough yet and the buildings were blocking a lot of the heavy rays. The mile long stretch between three and four was filled with spectators, which helped keep the momentum up. There were signs being held, cowbells being rang, and children reaching out for high fives, offering some of the best encouragement of the day.
About mile four and a half is when the hills started. At first it was a low incline, but as you came around the corner, the huge hills couldn’t be missed. Now I knew they were coming, but I didn’t expect them to be quite so high, and quite so many. I thought I had ‘trained hills’ in my neighborhood, but no, they were nothing like these. We started up the hill and I could already feel my stomach cramping up worse. This is when things start to get a little blurry and my memory gets a little foggy. All I could think about was that I was only at mile five, and I was already looking for the finish line. Suddenly all of those great feelings I felt for the first five miles went away and I was stuck worrying about the next five. I knew we had been speedy initially, so I thought the best bet for myself at that time would be to walk up the hills and then make up for the time in the last downward stretch. I told Tim to go on ahead and at this point he took off, and I realized I was suddenly alone. I was alone with my thoughts, and even with thousands of people around me, I felt alone in the race.
I started to doubt my capability of finishing as my stomach began feeling worse and worse. I was truly disappointed for I had hoped not to walk at all, but I tried to push these negative thoughts out of my head. I knew my body, and part of my deal with myself was that I would not only listen to it while training, but also during the race. I said my prayers for positive thoughts and help when I needed it the most, and kept pushing ahead. I think a lot of runners probably wage a battle like this inside their heads. Running is so much more than physically crossing that finish line, it’s the mental aspect that can be the hardest feat of all to accomplish.
Miles six and seven were all hills, but I kept with my walk-run strategy. It seemed to be working fairly well, but my stomach pain would not stop. I passed rest stop after rest stop, but as I finally came around mile eight, I knew I needed to stop. I didn’t want to, but I was sick and knew I had to take care of myself. Afterwards, I felt better, but still not great. I felt dehydrated and light headed, even though I had been drinking water at every stop. I had ran quite a few long runs and had never been sick and felt upset that it happened for the first time during the race, but as mile nine came around I tried to push the negative aside again. I may be feeling sick, and I may not end in the time I had hoped, but I was going to finish this race and I was going to finish strong.
By mile ten, we had started the downhill run back into the city. When I say downhill, I mean that the incline was as low as the hill incline was high. I had to be careful not to go down too fast for fear of falling. The end of the run was a welcome relief though. I knew I was going to finish and I wanted to make up a little of the time I had lost during my mile five through eight struggle. I looked down at my Garmin and I was keeping a steady running pace between an 8:50 and a 9:10 mile. At this point, I had never been so happy to see mile twelve in my life. ‘Only one mile to go,’ I reminded myself as I began a silent countdown in my head: 9 minutes to go, 8 minutes to go, etc. etc.
Crossing that finish line was obviously a wave of happiness and relief all rolled into one. Tim found me in the crowd of runners immediately and gave me a big congratulatory hug. We walked toward the recovery stations where I got my medal, quickly chugged two bottles of water, and grabbed a cup of gatorade, a banana, and a recovery protein bar. My legs felt tight, but they were no where near as sore as they had been my first half. And you know what? I had PR’d this race. Definitely a little slower than what I had hoped, but I still beat my original time by two minutes. I finished in 2:14 and I couldn’t have been more proud of myself. This was a tough race, and my body didn’t feel as great as expected, but I had finished and finished strong, which is all I could really hope.
Although I was feeling rough, I was smiling from ear-to-ear. There is nothing like that post-run high, which I hadn’t truly believed existed until I first felt it myself. So will I run another half marathon someday? I am not ready to answer that question, for I have proclaimed no before and here I stand today just completing my second. I know initially I am planning on cutting back on the running and trying some other exercises that have fell to the side, but maybe someday I will be crossing that finish line again. Only time will tell!
Congrats again, Jana! Such an awesome accomplishment!
Aww thanks girl, I appreciate it! 🙂
Congrats on your finish!! That’s so great that you stuck with it (that’s my only goal 🙂 ). I love each paragraph about what the buildings and areas reminded you of. Great post!
Thanks Laurie! I totally agree that finishing was my main goal. It may not have been pretty, but I still received a medal at the end just like everyone else who crossed that finish line!
You are AMAZING!!! Awesome job, and great post! I can’t even imagine those hills…. My course was fairly flat (besides two bridges), and I don’t think I would have dealt well with more hills. I’m so impressed!!! Congrats girl 🙂
Aww thank you so much! Definitely the hilliest course I have ever been on! Don’t sell your run short though, hills or no hills, 13.1 miles is tough!
Congratulations! Hills are the worst, so that’s great that you were able to push through them! I just signed up for my first half marathon yesterday. It’s not until November, so I still have plenty of time to train. I’m really nervous already though!
Ahh that is awesome! Don’t be nervous, you are going to do amazing! I can’t wait to read about your training!
Thank you!
Congrats Jana! I had a similar experience during my first half – a whole lot of cramping and a stomach that felt like a brick the whole time. I had never experienced it before so I was a little weirded out by how bad my body felt. Great job for pushing through!
Thank you! Isn’t that strange that stomachs can be fine during training, but act up right at race time? I am sure nerves don’t help with that issue! lol
Congrats, that is AMAZING!!!! The fact that you PR’d with a ton of hills and feeling sick is definitely something to be proud of:)
Thanks Brittany! 🙂
girl i am SO proud of you!!! sometimes the more challenging experiences in life make us THAT much more proud when we push through and conquer them. congratulations! 🙂
Aww thanks lady! I appreciate it so much! I agree with you, if the race was easy it wouldn’t have felt as good to cross that finish line! 🙂
Congrats!!!! That’s such an amazing accomplishment! You have to be so proud 🙂
I’m heading to Columbus on Friday to visit my family! That’s cool that you ran the Turkey Trot there! I did the Flying Feather 4 miler instead (over in Dublin.)
Have fun in Columbus, I will be there in just a couple of weeks! I actually ran the Turkey Trot in Dayton, OH, but I know they hold them everywhere! I always look forward to it, because it is a family run and then I can rest all day after.. and eat yummy food of course!
You are such a talented writer!
You earned that amazing PR and I’m so glad you shared this journey with us!
Aww thank you! It was fun to practice writing in a more literary way than I usually do on the blog. I wanted my readers to feel like they finished right there with me! 🙂
I used to live in Cincy, and I really enjoyed reading this! How fun, and most importantly- CONGRATS! You did it! 🙂
Oh that is awesome! I don’t live directly in the Cincy area, but it is always fun to go visit! It is an old city, but there is definitely a lot to do!
CONGRATS!!! A PR by 2 mins on a half is something to be dang proud of. 🙂
Thank you Tina! That means so much to me! I am pretty darn proud too! 🙂
Congratulations! A PR by any standard is fantastic, though I’m sorry it wasn’t a particularly ‘comfortable’ (if ever it can be) race.
Thank you Sam! I agree, it doesn’t matter how it looked when I PR’d lol I still did! 🙂
Congratulations!! Sounds like yours was just as tough as my Nashville one! You should be very proud of yourself! :):):)
Ahh thanks girl! Tough races make us stronger I think.. 🙂 I loved reading your race recap too and would love to run Nashville someday. I just obviously need to work on the hills though! ha
Congrats girl!! Next year, I’ll come cheer you on! I only live 1.5 hrs from Cinci!
Ha ha thanks Brittany! Ahh I didn’t realize that you live so close to me! 🙂
Girl, you are awesome! Congratulations! I’m not planning on doing another race anytime soon, but I know that the urge might get me sometime 🙂
Aww thanks Michelle! You are awesome too, and I feel that same way! I need time to recover from this run, but I have a feeling I may want to run another race someday! 😉
Congrats girly!!! While it sounds like you had a bit of a rough race because of your stomach…you were amazing and pulled through! YAY!! 😀
Thank you girl! I really appreciate it! 🙂 All I really wanted to do was finish, so I can’t be upset with the outcome!