I followed this training program. I’ve never used a training program before a run before, so it was nice to have that “structured” feel. I felt prepared and somewhat confident when going into the race.

I ate a lot of spaghetti the night before (the “carbloading” that other runners know and love) but I had a problem – It didn’t come out the other end. 10 minutes before the race starts, I run to the port-a-potties in a desperate attempt to make a bowel movement. I knew that if I didn’t do this, I would have some serious problems during the race. I was able to make a little progress in there, but the run started while I was inside… Thank god for the race tags.

I didn’t have time to stretch – I ran right out of the port-a-potty and crossed the starting line.

I was in a bit of a panic, but after the first mile or so, I relaxed. I was, however, still a bit worried about the lack of stretching. I went through some weird pain during my training, and that was with a lot of stretching.

Anyway, I made it about 5 miles before I had to use another port-a-potty. I didn’t want to stop, but there was no way I was gonna be able to hold it in.

Back to the race! I felt like I had a pretty good pace going, and the running music I was rocking out to (The Disco Biscuits) was really helping – It matched my stride pretty well, and kept me thinking about the music as opposed to the bathroom or the pain in my knee that I was beginning to feel.

I think it was around mile 8 that the course turned around. I continued to slowly, but surely, pass people by.

By about mile 9, I was exhausted. The pain in my left knee became too much to ignore, and I seriously considered stopping to stretch. But I decided against it, I had to keep moving. I already made a “pit stop” and that was more time than I would have liked to waste.

By mile 12, I was really hurting. I knew that I shouldn’t continue running through this kind of pain, but I kept going. When you get close to the finish line, more and more people are lined up on the sides cheering you on. I knew I was close, and the adrenaline started kicking in. With about half a mile left, the adrenaline became almost too much to bear.

In the last 30 seconds of the race, I took off. I ran faster than I have in a long time, and I passed 10 people or so. It felt amazing. I finished in 1:57:49. I wanted to finish in under 2 hours, so I met that goal. I also limped around for the following week or so… I definitely put a hurting on my knees.

Anyway, I’m not sure if my knees just can’t handle that kind of distance, or if the lack of stretching is what did it. It may be a combination of the two. Either way, I’m gonna keep running. I don’t have anymore half marathons scheduled, but I’m more than willing to give it another shot.

Running My First Half Marathon is a featured post by John Vantine from A Runner's Blog.

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Oh yeah, and there should be no feelings of shame here, I just thought it sounded cool as an opening sentence. I admire what this guy did, but I run for my own personal benefit and not normally to compete with others.

Runner in LA Logs His 100,000th Mile is a featured post by John Vantine from A Runner's Blog.

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