Our First Half-Marathon!! (Training purposes..)

This past Saturday, Sept 3, marked our first half-marathon race!!  This was the, "Milestone 13.1" that was host by FCA Endurance to serve as a training race before the big one (26.2!) in November.  That's right..we ran a half-marathon race....just for training/fun. 

Before the race began

Putting this race on was such a good idea and allowed us participants to gauge our speed, nutrition and fluid intake to help us be more efficient come November.  Our long runs during training, are at a slower pace to build endurance and add time and miles to our physique...this one though..was created to test our "race pace."

At the beginning, the pack took off!!!  It is so hard to stay back and remember we are not racing the other competitors, we are testing ourselves.  Falling into the pack trap, we started at a faster pace than normal and stuck with it for about 2/3 of the way.  At about mile 9ish, it started to catch up to me and I was starting to get tired.  My pace slowly crept up and I began counting the minutes and searching for my binoculars to find the finish line.  At this time, Jer and I wished each other luck and he moved forward breaking the sound barrier with his speed while I was trying to remember the story of the tortoise and the hare...Did the hare win?..the tortoise?..did anyone read the fine print of the two relaxing under a shady tree?  No?,..oh..

Action shot!

It was about this time I met a fellow runner, Catie.  This was also Catie's first half-marathon and bravo for her..she was actually training for the half in November and decided to give this a shot with only have a 9 miler long run under her belt.  Turns out, she is also a fellow blogger (Quest to 13.1)!!  Maybe that will change to 26.2?

That is one of the reasons I love the sport so much..the genuine support and friendliness of the other runners sharing the road with you.  Giving a nod, a small wave or even taking the time to say a, "way to go!" to a fellow runner really goes a long way!  for those runners out there who run right past their peers - Running 101 - be courteous. 

Catie and I ended up running the last few miles together and crossed the finish line as new pals!  The race felt great and would definitely consider this a success!

Advice for future- stick with my slower start, stronger finish, just like in training..try to avoid pacing with the fast starters..as difficult as it can be, so I can finish faster!


The finish!

Jer & I with our medals!!

Fellow DetermiNation runners! VTB & Nancy Shippee!

Catie and I receiving our medals!

Picture left to size small for a reason....not pretty

What an amazing race!  Official race results have not yet been posted, however, my Garmin clocked it at 2:27 with 11:17 avg pace.

Wait..what was that?  Did my shoes come in time for the race?? (see blogs below)...............

Nope!  I left with (3) painful blisters on my toes due to wearing my too-small worn-out shoes for my first half-marathon.  Oh how I long for my shoes to come in before my little piggies 'go to the market' or 'stay home.'


This week we can officially pick up our other medals..the 13.1 stickers for our cars!! :-)  FCA did a great job and I am so glad we were able to participate in this great event.  Way to go!!

UPDATE!!!!

OFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:  2:20:41 

Very proud!