Half Marathon

Wow so this time last year I had just finished up my 2nd round of the couch to 5K program where I ran about 2-3 5K's then went into hibernation/gain weight mode for the rest of the year. I had NO IDEA that a year from then (now) that I would be running my first half marathon and thinking that it was no biggie to run such a distance.

It was easy, and yet it was hard.

Easy because I had the physical strength and endurance to do it no problem. If you can do an Olympic distance triathlon in under 3 hours, you can do a 2 hour Marathon no sweat. That I learned today.

I came in at 2:02:05 for today which I am very proud of. Breaking 2 hours would have been icing on the cake, but I still have to remind myself over and over again that this running thing is still brand new to me!

The coolest part of the day was the hills. I freaking powered up the hills and was perfectly fine at the top of them. In fact it hurt MORE on the downhills then the uphills. I guess its because I am a sick hill loving freak?

Now for why running a half marathon is hard: My feet and knees freaking hurt at the end. Last week's 10 miler proved that my knees were going to hurt today. What I didn't know was that the balls of my feet were gonna hurt so badly. Funny how when my knees hurt, I would concentrate on the pain of my feet, then switch. No relief from pain, just the location.

Now going forward from a half to full marathon? Totally do-able, but its a totally different game. This is where I realize that I will need another year or two to harden my joints and feet up to withstand that kinda of punishment. I know that I could possibly put in a sub 4 hour marathon on a first try because I am pretty good shape now, but I also know that I have a LOT more potential in terms of running. So maybe a marathon in 2 years would be good.

I will do this race again. Absolutely perfect course up and down the Bronx River Parkway. Perfect weather today as well.