October 28, 2012

  • half-marathon success

    Last Sunday, on October 21, 2012, I ran my first ever half-marathon in 2:02:35 hours.

    Here is the before, during, and after journeys that I went through:
    Before --
    Over the summer was when I decided I wanted to run a half-marathon. Although a bunch of AAIV friends wanted to run it with me, only Katie Shi actually registered for it. Before Banff, I was really good about training for the half marathon. I got up to 7 miles at most and ran about 2-4 times a week at the gym (too hot to run outside in Vegas lol). But after Banff, I probably only ran 2-3 times for the remainder of the summer. And even once school started, it became even more difficult to run on a constant basis. I was already using up a lot of my physical and mental energy with piano and school, that if I wasted even more on running, I would be dead. I probably ran about 1-2 times a week every week leading up to the half marathon, which was definitely not enough. Katie and I ran our first 10 mile run two Saturdays before the race, and it took us a little over 2 and half hours. We walked for some time and had to stop because of Katie's knee. Even then, the ten mile run felt extremely long and I wasn't sure if I was even going to do so well during the actual race. 
    I had two goals coming into the race. When I first registered, my "dream" goal was to get in under 2 hours and 10 minutes. That would mean I would have to run at a 10 minute mile pace for all 13 miles to meet that goal. Back in the summer, I found out that I can run 6 miles in under an hour, but I wasn't sure if I could maintain that for another 7 miles. Therefore, I made a new, more reasonable goal: to finish the half-marathon in under 2 and a half hours. I was even skeptical of meeting this goal after seeing how long it took Katie and I to run ten miles. 
    The day before the race, Katie and I decided to spend the night over at her brother's place so that we wouldn't have to travel from Evanston early in the morning. I had a very busy Saturday which made me a little worried about the race because I wanted to be able to fully rest before. We had pasta at Cheesecake Factory to load up on carbs, and got about a good 7-8 hours of sleep that night. 
    The next morning, we dressed up in our costumes (yes, the Monster Dash race is unique because everyone gets to wear Halloween costumes while they run!) -- we were Mario and Luigi!! I am usually horrible at coming up with costume ideas, especially since I haven't dressed up since I was like... 7. So I am really proud of how our costumes turned out. We wore red and green long sleeve shirts, and red and green baseball caps and with a piece of paper we drew in the M and L and stuck it on the front of the cap. We wore our normal running shorts and shoes, and wore suspenders as a replacement of overalls (there's no way we would run 13 miles in overalls.... haha). We also had white gloves, but no mustaches. It worked out perfectly, it was like a runners edition! :D
    We left the house later than I expected, which I was worried about. I wanted us to have enough time at the park to stretch and check in any items that we had that we didn't want to carry. Unfortunately, we got there about ten minutes before the race. We had no time to stretch, and no time to check in our items. We were only carrying phones, thankfully. I was really worried -- how am I supposed to run 13.1 miles without stretching?!
    During --
    1st mile: There were so many runners and despite all of my worries, I became super excited that the actual race was finally happening. There were pacers spread out and holding up signs telling runners what the current pace was. For example, if they were holding up a 9:30 minute mile pace sign, runners who followed that sign will ensure that you keep that mile pace unless you fall back or decide to speed up. So for the first mile, I found the runner carrying the 10:30 mile pace and I was telling myself that would be a good pace to start off with. Unfortunately, I had lost Katie. I kept turning back to find her green Luigi outfit but there were too many runners. By then, I had told myself that although I really wanted to run the race with her, I still had my own goals that I want to meet. So I went off on my own pace.
    2nd-4th mile: These miles were relatively simple. I had one water break around the 3rd mile, even though I wasn't really thirsty. I didn't know when the next water break was, so to be on the safe side and not dehydrate, I took one cup. It was pretty easy to pass by the time by looking at other people's funny and awesome costumes. I wonder how bored I would've been if I was running a normal half-marathon.
    5th mile: By this point, I don't know why, but I was becoming a little exhausted. I guess I really wanted to hit the halfway point and I didn't know where that was. So the entire time, I was wondering, when will I ever turn around?! I was also scared that I wouldn't have enough energy and endurance to finish the last half, especially if I was already getting sort of tired by this point... Also, I began to see the fastest runners already heading back. I was so amazed by their speed. 
    6th-7th mile: Right before the turning point, there was another water station. Instead of getting water, I got a gel pack. I remembered Chanhan telling me about them and how it really helped to take some while he ran the full marathon. I was skeptical about taking one, but I had nothing to lose especially since I was feeling tired. I took the gel pack, but unfortunately, I didn't realize how dry my throat had become from taking it. It also didn't taste good, so I was kind of frustrated that it had made me feel more dehydrated. 
    7th-10th mile: Finally after I turned around, I caught up with the 9:30 mile pacers, which I was surprised by. Did I really speed up? I decided that I would follow and keep up with them so I can keep a better time. And to my surprise, for the next 3-4 miles, I was able to keep up with them. It was probably the 3-4 best miles of the entire race for me. I guess the gel pack really did help me, because for those miles I suddenly had an energy boost. It was also really fun hanging out with the pacers, because they had the most ridiculous conversation and would sing the most random songs. I felt like I was going on a journey with them.
    10th mile: By then, I decided to ditch the pacers... I actually went ahead of them and eventually lost them. However, I started to lose a lot of my energy from before. I found one water station which really helped me out, but I was still feeling dehydrated. My whole body, especially my face because really hot and heavy. I knew this feeling all too well from my cross country days in high school. Even though I was able to keep my pace going, I was beginning to struggle mentally. So I started to give myself motivational pep talk, LOL. 
    "Sherry! You think THIS weather is hot? It's probably only 70 degrees at the max. Remember your high school days, when you had to run in the 110 degree weather? THAT was bad. This is nothing!!"
    Reminding myself of all that I went through in my past actually helped me stay strong.
    11th-13th mile: These were probably the two hardest miles EVER. I didn't realize how much I would struggle with these last few miles, especially since the furthest I had ever ran prior to the race was ten miles. Thankfully, my knees never had a problem throughout the entire race (which is actually, REALLY amazing), but I developed minor cramps and I was really dehydrated. My pacing became very spontaneous. I would have random bursts of energy, and then I would have to slow down for a bit. 
    By this point, not only was my physical ability draining but my mental capacity was also going down by the minute. The one thing that saved me was giving myself more pep talk. I started to reminisce on more high school cross country memories. Of all the times I suffered with shin splints, all the races that I ran, doing stupid exercises on the track (bleachers, squats, sprints, etc.). I tried to remember everything that my coach told me. And I started to picture them being right next to me as I ran the half-marathon, barking at me to pass more runners, to keep a steady pace, and more. 
    I also thought about the role of the costume I was wearing. I was Mario for the day. I had so many random people, both runners and spectators, shout out "TEAM MARIO!" or "GO MARIO!' when they saw me and my costume. And I remembered of all the times I spent as a kid playing the Super Mario Bros. games, and how Mario never loses in the end....... I couldn't lose. I couldn't give up on this race. Mario never loses... therefore, I am going to keep on running and make it to the finish line. 
    Finish line: The last half mile was probably the most brutal thing ever. I didn't know where the finish line was. As a result, I didn't know when I could start speeding up my pace to cross the finish line. My pace had drastically slowed down and I was in so much pain. Then finally, I saw a glimpse of the finish line up ahead. I kicked up my speed and dashed to the finish line confidently. As I walked down the chute, I felt so dazed and shocked that I had just finished an entire half-marathon without stopping or walking. I grabbed my medal and downed two whole water bottles because I had been so thirsty. 
    After -- 
    I waited for Katie to cross the finish line, so I waited at the sidelines and cheered her on when she finally showed up. Her parents were there for her, and after we finished stretching, we all headed back to her brother's place and took a shower and ate lunch. 
    Sadly, I didn't get to recover properly after running the half marathon. I had to immediately go to work and teach for five hours straight. When I went back, I finally got to eat dinner and I had to start and finish my stupid 5-6 page English paper due the next morning. That's when I realized that I agreed to have a 10 AM make-up lesson, meaning that I would have to finish my paper some time before then to be able to warm up for my lesson. I ended up taking a two hour nap that night. I bsed through my paper, turned it in, and only had time to warm up for ten minutes. My lesson turned out fine though. I had my English class right after, and it finally I was able to nap for a few more hours afterwards. Sadly, the following night, I didn't get rest either because I had to wake up early to study for my one and only midterm. I was super sore and super exhausted for not being able to recover. It wasn't until Tuesday night when I finally got a solid 8 hour sleep that helped me rejuvenate my body and mind. 
    And that marks my super crazy journey of running my first half-marathon. I was able to run it in 2:02:35 hours.... which I was completely shocked by. I beat my reasonable goal by 28 minutes, and I even beat my dream goal by 8 minutes! If I had actually trained properly, I would've been able to get it under two hours. But perhaps that shall be a goal for another time. Maybe it was because I was on an adrenaline high, but I never imagined that I would be able to run 13 miles nonstop and still keep a 9:22 minute average mile pace. 
    I eventually sent a message to my former cross country coaches via facebook about my recent achievement. I thanked them for teaching me valuable lessons throughout my high school years and that they have made an impact on my running. I would've never imagined that I would continue with running long distance -- heck, I never imagined that I would ever join a cross country team in high school, especially coming from someone who absolutely hated running when we were forced to in middle school. Here are their responses from them:

    From Coach Billings 

    That is excellent!

    Just this morning I was looking at my 9th Grade English class (which is averaging a 55%) thinking WHY AM I WASTING MY TIME DOING THIS?

    You just reaffirmed that, occasionally, we do make a difference.

    Thank YOU.

    From Coach Reagh
    Thanks Sherrie!!! That really means a lot that you took the time to write this. Billings is right, it can be discouraging sometimes, but knowing that I made an impact somewhere means so much!!!!!! And I am so proud of you for running a marathon. That's amazing! Keep it up.
    Just to be able to hear those words from my coaches really made me smile. For the longest time, I didn't like my coaches because I thought they were pushing me TOO hard. They definitely did give me a hard time especially when I was bumped up to the varsity team. There were times I even cried out of frustration because of their harsh words. But after all that I went through and looking back, I knew all that they wanted was the best for me, and I finally truly appreciate that. 
    I've definitely come from a very long way. I can only imagine where running will take me next.