The race started early (7am) and it was a beautiful morning with blue skies, warm temperatures, and a light breeze. Perfect running conditions. Nichole and I were both so nervous but also excited to run our first half. One of our favourite parts of the race is the start when you hear the feet of the thousands of runners hitting the pavement. The sound is awesome, especially this year with 15 000 runners (record number). My half marathon experience had it's ups and downs. The training was difficult at times but I worked hard and I felt I was ready. I was thankful for my friend Nichole being alongside me during my training; at least through text since she was in Calgary and I was in Saskatoon. However, she and I kept each other accountable and I appreciated her encouragement along the way.
We went to the wellness expo at Stampede on Saturday to pick up our race packages and heard John Stanton (Founder of the Running Room) give a few race tips. The race started out great. Through my first 10K I was running a good pace, about 5:50/km. At the 10K mark, I tried a Gu Energy Gel - only about half a package as I wasn't used to using gels in my training runs. I was pleased with how consistent my pace was during this part of the course. And the gel gave me just a little extra energy. I continued with my pace and was feeling energized and motivated by the runners around me.
As I moved into the second part of my run, I felt strong, until...at about 15K I felt some stretching near my ankle. It wasn't too serious and I kept running. Up until this point, I had been running consistently and had not stopped to walk. At the 17K mark I noticed that my time was 1:40 and with only 4K to go knew I could finish around the 2 hour mark if only my foot wasn't bothering me so much. It was at this moment that I knew I would have to walk/run the rest of the race because the pain was bothering me too much. I even stopped to try to stretch but this did not help. However, I knew with everything in me that I wanted to finish the race. As I was running/walking, various songs came on. I had to skip over a Christmas song and then heard, "Let It Go." I had to laugh as I thought of Kirra since she sings this song constantly. Hearing this song made me think of her and Jaret and made me even more determined to finish the race. As I was running down Memorial, I saw and heard many people cheering on the runners. One women in particular cheered for me. She looked right at me, calling me by name and cheering, "Keep going, Jennifer! You are doing amazing!" Great encouragement to hear at a moment when I really needed it. I also saw a little guy dressed as a superhero with a sign that said, "High five here for a power boost." How cute is that? Lots of great encouragement along the way.
At the 2 hour mark, I knew that I was not going to finish in 2 hours and really shouldn't have been disappointed but I was sad that I wasn't finishing strong, knowing that I could if only...if only it weren't for this injury. t thought of the advice I had been given from Brian (run group leader) who told me to just go out and enjoy the experience of the race and learn from it. Well, learn I did. I learned that running a half marathon is an achievable goal and possible. I learned that I am a runner. I learned that I can persevere through difficulties to finish the race marked out before me. I learned that I love running - the endorphins it gives me, the feeling of being fit, and the comradery one feels by being part of a group of runners. I learned that I am strong!
With just 1K left, a praise and worship song came on. So despite feeling disappointed in not finishing in 2 hours, I gained strength and changed my mindset to finishing in the best time I could now, despite the circumstances given me. Perhaps I didn't finish with the time I had hoped but I finished nonetheless. Completing this first half marathon left me empowered and taught me many lessons through the experience, including knowing when to slow down and listen to your body and when to persevere. I am a runner. I completed my first half marathon but it won't be my last. And I now know what I am capable of and look forward to my next run, even if that isn't in the next month or two...
After finishing the race in 2:11:51, I waited a few minutes until Nichole finished at 2:18:13. We celebrated our victory and then she walked with me as I limped to the medic tent to get checked out. I was diagnosed with an overuse injury - stress on my foot, specifically my posterior tibial tendon. I was given directives to take Advil, rest, elevate, ice, and no running for a time. I can run when I can walk without any discomfort or pain and even then it will be slow with 1K at a time and resting after to reassess. However, I will take it easy as I want to recover and don't want to have to endure an injury that would sideline me from running for life.
Even though my half didn't end as I had hoped or visualized, I am thankful that the injury didn't occur earlier in the course so that I wouldn't have been able to finish and I am grateful that it wasn't worse than it was. I am proud of how I did and I am so proud of Nichole who achieved her goal for this run. Looking forward to many more races, in fact, already thinking toward the fall and perhaps Kelowna...
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