Half Marathon Training

We had an informational meeting tonight for the Baltimore half marathon.  Just talking about the Baltimore half marathon makes me nervous.  What an experience it was!  I was not prepared for how hilly the course was...even though I had trained on the Assateague Bridge...I still felt very unprepared for the hills.

I ran the Baltimore Half with my friend Teresa.  I met her through my friend Janeann and we bonded over going to see local bands in Baltimore when I lived in that area.  Teresa has a great spirit about her and I have fun with her every time I see her.  When we discussed running the Baltimore Half together, I was really nervous.  I wasn't sure what her pace would be.  I didn't want to hold her back and I didn't want to be held back.  I knew that running with a friend could be frustrating.

I am so thankful for cell phones.  I don't know that Teresa would have ever recognized me with no makeup and my hair pulled back!  Luckily thanks to modern cell phone technology, we were able to find each other before the race.  We made quick stops at the bag check-in and the porta potty line.  Then we headed to the starting line.  Luckily we were in the same starting corral.  It was her first half marathon and my second.  She kept saying that she "just wanted to finish".

Colleen and Keith, Barry and Jeannie came to cheer me on.  I was so thrilled to have friends there, especially since my family was not able to be there.  We saw them at the start of the race and then at the end.  As soon as the race started, Teresa was cheering.  She was enjoying the entire experience.  I was just nervous.  She kept a very fast pace...under 9 minutes for the first few miles. At one point I knew I had to tell her that I couldn't keep up.  She was so nice to slow down for me.

I think it was mile 10 when I finally told her to go on ahead of me.  I knew that I was holding her back and as a runner, I knew it was not fair.  She went on ahead of me and ended up beating me by over 3 minutes.  I was really happy with my finishing time of just over 2 hours and 8 minutes.  But I was a little traumatized by the hills.  I am still worried about the hills.  I have not signed up for the Baltimore Half this year.  I will probably run it, especially since so many of my friends are running it.

So...to my readers of this blog...stay tuned.  I have so many changes coming up in my life and training for a half marathon at this point is definitely going to be a challenge.  Keep reading.  I can't promise a personal best, but I promise to give it my all in Baltimore this October!