Race in Retrospect

Four days ago I walked my first half marathon.  Had you asked me mid race, I would have probably said no way would I ever think of doing something like this again.   

 

The weather was beautiful, the scenery was spectacular and I had been working towards that day for about 4 ½ months.   I had walked in temperatures below zero in the beginning in Lake City and all over New Zealand.  But unfortunately, I hadn't walked my last scheduled long distance walk three weeks before the race, and for that I think I paid.   In training I'd been able to hit 8 and almost 9 miles in good stead.  On race day I hit mile six and was already feeling it.   So for the remaining 7.1 miles I felt it:  cramping in muscles that had never cramped before, blisters in spots that hadn't blistered before and a course that never ended!   The cramping I think was caused by the walking surface.  Although it was a beach with sand packed enough that you could drive on it, in walking on it, it was just different enough from pavement or trails that it meant different muscles were worked.   And the blisters are of my own doing.  I'd read a number of things that say "don't vary what you wear or do from training to race day".    Well, I varied my socks.  Duh!  Well, I ended up with blisters on the insides of my heels and under my middle toe on one food-but they weren't too bad.

 

The race course itself was on 90 Mile Beach which was wonderfully flat, very beautiful and looked the same for the whole way down until you reached the last kilometer before the finish.   While this is nice for a normal walk on the beach, for a distance event, it seemed like you weren't going anywhere.  The only indicator that I had made any progress was when I passed the distance markers every 3 kilometers.  

 

So when I was feeling the burn and watching folks pass me I had to remind the milliliter of competitiveness that was left in me that I was only racing the stopwatch, and not anyone else.   For all of my training I had maintained a pretty steady 15-minute mile.  But for the actual race, I wanted to do better.   I wanted to finish in under 3 hours.  This would mean stepping up the pace a bit.  Since all my training mindset was in miles, when all the markers were in kilometers, I had to re-think my strategy- enter my math degree.   I determined that if I could make each 3 km segment in 25 minutes I'd have 5 minutes to spare. (13.1 miles=21 km)  By kilometer 15, I was just hoping to finish.   By kilometer 18 I was almost on pace and headed to finish.  And by the time I crossed the finish, I was at 3:02:36 according to my stopwatch.   Official times have yet to post.

 

All my life I've said that I'm not athletic.  Then after chemo, I took up racquetball with friends in Durango and that claim was becoming a bit weak.  Now I don't think that claim will hold at all.  So now I've entered the insane realm or endurance athletes (although not quite as crazy as Geo- Emrys' brother) but   I'm glad to be here.  The race was great and I'm looking forward to doing another one in the fall.