FIRST HALF - DEXTER-ANN ARBOR RUN

So I did it!

I ran 13.1 miles, and completed my very first half marathon.

Of course it was not without its struggles, but I'll definitely be doing another one.

Okay, from the beginning.

Yesterday at packet pick up I was so happy with my number! My favorite numbers are 11 and 22, so 122 was the PERFECT bib number. I was feeling optimistic about the run if only for this reason.

This morning I woke up around 7 to be ready to leave the house by 7:45. I made myself a banana, pb english muffin for pre-run fuel and then gathered my things and headed off.

I barely made it to the start on time. Traffic was a little crazy getting to the start, but I did make it with a little bit of time to spare, and the race began.

I started out too fast, big surprise. It just felt good, and I was hanging with all the super fast people and I was like oh yeah, I can do this. Mile one was super speedy: 8:13.

Mile 2 was a little more reasonable: 8:46.

I took gatorade at mile 2, and that was probably a poor choice. too much sugar for me on a run (says the girl obsessed with shot bloks)

It was probably cool enough for the first few miles, but there were big stretches where we were in the sun that I hated.

Oh and the biggest thing of all? My foot hurt the entire time. I could feel that I was running on it weird, but I wasn't going to stop. I was going to get through it.

Mile 3: 8:56
Mile 4: 8:54
Mile 5: 9:04
Mile 6: 8:51

Around mile 6 I somehow completely effed up my garmin. I turned it off for a few stretches, because I'm used to turning it off when I walk, and then somehow forgot to turn it back on. Idk what happened, but there's a stretch of .68 miles completely missing from my garmin stats. Whoops.

It was still useful to have for pacing purposes, but that was about it.

I walked a lot more than I would have liked, but the whole foot situation was kind of a game changer. So I walked at miles 6, 9 and 11, and then kind of sucked it up for the rest of the run.

Those balloons were the most misleading things ever. you'd think that was the end right? ABSOLUTELY NOT. just keep running!

Final time? 2:03.17

Did it beat my under 2 goal? No, it didn't. Did I run on a completely damaged foot? Yes I did. So I'm okay with it. I already have a list of things I will do differently for half marathon #2.

I was one lucky lady to have a bunch of family + the bff there for the race festivities.

chugging water

me & mom!

putting the shoe back on the super injured foot

cancer kickers shirt! way better than the actual race tee's

Now I am attempting to cure this foot. I'm not feeling very optimistic, but I'm icing and elevating like a champ. i have my bag of ice, and my mountain of pillows, so i'm good to go.

one of these things is not like the other one...

DxA2 Run To Do List

So how about a pre-half marathon to do list?

I love lists, and I don't think I've shared them enough with the blogging community.

So here we go:

1. super hydrate.
i'm talking 3L every day.

2. make half playlist
this has been a work in progress for the entirety of my (short) running career, but it need to get completed before sunday. its crazy how much good music affects runs. I swear my fastest 5 miler ever was due to the exclusively glee music.


3. carb load
started on saturday with the 3/4 loaf of multigrain bread, and will continue all week long. i'm thinking pasta for dinner tonight.


4. obtain shotbloks + bodyglide
done and done! one stop sale shop REI had these both for great deals yesterday. I was so pumped.

5. cherry juice all the time
pubmed can verify the benefits of cherry juice so i'm chugging this stuff all week too.


6. paint nails
this is going to be my thing. nails corresponding to race colors. so they'll be a lovely shade of green for this weekend. get excited.


7. further relationship with foam roller
def. contributed to the lack of soreness the past few days, so i'm going to put the moves on the foam roller and keep it intimate ;)


Anything else huge I'm forgetting?

One Week Until the Half

So sticking to the last 10 days of the training plan is going super well! Yesterday morning was the 10 mile run pre-half. I tried to mimic race day as much as possible, and tried to get out there around 8:30. I was 14 minutes late, but it was a good run. good pace, felt good. 

Here's the garmin stats:

After the run yesterday morning, I pigged out with friends at the original pancake house for a perfect post-run meal.

Post-work I took a trip to kroger and I walked away with a grocery bag that screams ONE WEEK UNTIL HALF MARATHON:

includes:

bag of ice to make my calves numb

two boxes of fruit snacks (carb loading whattup!)

take and bake bread (more carb loading!)

and ocean spray sparkling cranberry energy 

(okay these aren't really runner related, but they were on sale, i wanted to try them, and i could definitely use energy to run 13.1 miles this weekend, right?)

I felt like such a BA.

Today I stretched the muscles with an easy 2.5 miler. It wasn't as easy as I hoped thanks to 96% humidity, but I powered through.

and then it was time for a date with my favorite:

TADA. foam roller, love of my life.

feel special that you get to be graced by my sweaty post-run face with my foam roller :)

Also is it really bad that I want to buy all kinds of Dexter-Ann Arbor Run Memorabilia because it's my first half?  y/n?