Talena and I after the race...see we are still smiling
Last weekend I ran my first ever half marathon. Or should I say walked (I'll get to that in a minute). I have been training for the SLC Marathon which is next month so I have actually run a 13 mile length or longer 3 times now in my training. This was a bonus because come race day I was able to stay really calm. Even though it was a race, it was just another training run for me.
10AM the race started. Talena and I stayed together for the first 4 miles and I really liked the pace we were setting. I felt really strong and had good energy. Just before mile 4 my right hamstring started to hurt so I decided to walk for a minute. Talena and I separated and I wouldn't see her for the next 2 hours. I walked for a couple minutes then started to run again. My leg was still hurting so I shortened my stride and slowed down, but tried to keep moving. By mile 6 I felt a big pull in my hamstring. I continued a walk/run for the next 2 miles until finally I gave in to the pain and walked the final 5 miles to the finsihline. I finished with a time of 3 hrs and 5 mins. SAD and PATHETIC but oh well I finished.
The worst thing about the race (or at least my race) were all the people cheering you on when all you want to do is crawl your sad butt to the finish and go home and hide under the covers. I guess for those people that didn't expect better than a 3 hour finish it was encouraging to hear "you can do it", "you're doing great", "keep it up", "you're almost there." But for me I wanted to slap them.
After getting a doctor check up and talking to runners I am recovering from what is most likely a strained hamstring with lots of Ibuprofen, ice and rest. I have not given up on the marathon, but I will be taking it easy so that I can recover for the race.
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