So, as my first post since moving to California I must say that it will be a long post. Mostly because I have upped my gear and also significantly improved my run training. For starters, I joined an office that does a lot of half-marathons and thankfully I go suckered into one on August 13th. If if was not for my boss and another co-worker telling me that I would be fine and that I could walk it within the three hour time limit, my mental block for running long distance would still hinder me.
I ended up racing in the Oakland Town's Hal-Marathon in downtown Oakland. I literally only ran one time within the month before this race. How far was that ONE run??? 2.42 miles. That's it! I was so freaking nervous the day before and the morning of the race because I knew I did not properly train for this type of race. Hell, I have never ran more than 4 miles in my ENTIRE LIFE! I could do sprints and hurdles all day.but distance running, I cannot stand. Yes, I am a triathlete and yes, I know it includes distance running but I DON'T LIKE IT! The morning of the race I kept waking up every couple of hours. I hardly slept due to thinking I wasn’t going to wake up in time. Luckily my aunt let me stay at her place in Berkeley which was awesome because instead of a 45 minute drive to Oakland, it was only 15. I ate a plain English muffin and had some water before I left the house and kept sipping on water til about 30 minutes before the race. Once my aunt dropped me off I had to find my boss and her wife who were running with me. After I found them, my nerves calmed a little because I didn’t feel so isolated. Everyone around me was stretching, talking to their friends, or even just sleeping on the ground. Those calming nerves soon faded far, far away….
My boss B and her wife V started walking toward the starting line. As I followed them I realized how lost we were in this huge sea of people. I have never been part of a race of this size before and as my first half-marathon I was purely amazed. Well…amazed and terrified. The runners were almost 2-3 blocks down the road from the start line and as the starting clock kept ticking closer to race time, my heart pounded harder in my chest. I kept telling myself to just follow B and V until I decide to slow my pace. Once that happened I knew I would be on my own. On my own with a sea of people in front and behind me.
The race started and everyone started a slow jog which became quicker as the people thinned out from the crowd. I followed my boss and let them stay about 3-5ft in front of me just so I would not burn myself out. After about a half mile, I stopped trying to keep up with them because I knew that I could not keep that pace for the rest of the race. Instead I decided to take everything in. From the views, the music people had playing in their car or their camelbaks, to the people on the sidewalks cheering everyone on. This race was way better than any triathlon I have been a part of simply for the kindness of the participants, volunteers, and especially the crowd. I thought I would not make it to mile 2 before I had to walk. Each time I even though about walking, someone would start cheering or someone would come up by me and just jog very slowly, so I kept running. My run was probably as fast as a walker but I knew if I stopped it would only feed into the fact I am not a distance runner.
At mile 4 I was still running. In fact I think it was either here or mile 5 where I briefly stopped running just so I could use the bathroom really quick. After that there was a slight hill that I walked up and then ran down. I kept jogging around the hill all the way to mile 6 and that is when I ran into a very nice couple. The woman, Sarah had a bag with music blasting out of it and it was just the right kind of music to play for a long run. It pumped me up and I told her I was going to run with them simply for the awesome music. We started chatting and I found out it was her husband’s first HM too. Perfect! Not only do I get to listen to awesome music but I also have someone that knows a great pace for a beginner. Her husband, Perry also did not train for the race so I knew as long as they finished I would be good to go.
Mile 8-9 was the damn hill that I hated. Sarah told us we could walk up the hill which was almost the best thing to be told all day. We ran down the hill and came across the lake…The lake was toward the end of the race so I kept telling myself we were almost done. The 10 mile marker wrapped around the edge of the lake and even though I told myself I could swim to the other side faster than running, I kept trucking along. It wasn’t until mile 11 I realized I was in pain. My quads and calves started cramping up a little but nothing like a Charlie horse. My left toes kept spasaming which was weird but they didn’t cramp up. But the worst pain of all was the ball of my right foot and my second toe. The bottom of my foot felt like I was hitting glass every time my foot made contact with the ground. My toe kept tingling and shooting pain throughout my foot. I was miserable….
At this point the three of us walked because about 10 secs after I stopped having cramps, Perry had one so bad he couldn’t even run. It was the 11.5 mark and we knew we were almost done. We started jogging after a few minutes and at about the 12.5 mile marker I told them to keep going. I needed a break for my foot briefly because I knew I had to have a good finish. I walked to around 12.90 and then I took off. It was a dead sprint to the end where the pretty lime green finish line was. As I came down toward the finish line I remember hearing the announcer say, “Elizabeth Yarbrough from Team RWB” and everyone was cheering. It was truly the best moment in racing I have had in a long time! After the volunteer put my medal around my neck I grabbed some water where I ran into Sarah and Perry and thanked them for helping me run and letting me listen to their awesome music.
As I started walking I could feel the lactic acid start to build up but I had to find my boss. I found her and MV hanging out by the beer truck and told them how glad I was that they suckered me into the race. I was so proud of myself and then realized that this was a huge accomplishment for me. I am no longer afraid of half-marathon distances! I do know that I need to properly train for them but I walked away from this race A) a finisher B) without serious injuries and C) full of pride and re-motivation to get back into training mode.
My first half-marathon and without training I finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes.
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