Blogathon Day Ten: Half Marathon Post-Mortem. Or is it a Post-Marathon Half Mortem?

It's been a half week since the half marathon, so I figure this is the most fitting time to do a post-mortem on the race and wrap up my coverage of the Country Music Marathon.

Biggest Mistake: I definitely made some missteps on nutrition the day of the race. Mostly, I brought entirely too much with me. I used all three shot bloks I had (which is, incidentally, one serving), but I only used one of the elctrolyte pills, one of the Gu's (because the the plural of Gu can't be Gus, that's a name), and maybe two of the fig newtons. I didn't even touch my power bar until after the race was over and even then it was just to make sure my keys were still in my pocket. It's not a mistake I regret making. I didn't want to hit the wall and have nothing up my sleeve. That would've been a disgraceful way to end the race and would have cast a pall over the entire half marathon experience.

Proudest Moment: I'm not going to say "crossing the finish" line for two reasons. One, it is cliche and everyone says that. Two, as you could tell from the video, I was strictly business when I crossed the finish line. My proudest moment was when I got the medal shortly after crossing the finish line and I realized that I had really done it. To paraphrase Lonely Island "This ain't Sea World, this is as real as it gets. I ran a Half Marathon, don't you ever forget!"

Biggest Surprise: The biggest surprise would be how many people I had to pass during the race. Part of this would happen naturally since my strategy left brief windows for nearby slowpokes to pass me. But I did not expect to pass nearly as many people as I did (since passing people was something that never came up during training). The downside is I may have rubbed elbows with people in entirely the wrong way near the end. I'm starting to suspect people might exaggerate their corral time so they can leave sooner. It's a smart move really. Get more of your run taken care of before the day truly begins. It's not like there's a bonus prize for beating your corral time. If there is, then I did not receive it on the race day and would like to inquire how I might claim my prize.

Second Biggest Surprise: That would have to be Miles 9.5 through 12.5 simply because any specific details about that stretch of road would be a surprise to me. I sincerely do not remember what happened there besides the fact that it was starting to get hot and there was no shade except for a few bridges. Special shout out goes to Sharon Perry for bringing a cold towel to me (and a rousing speech) as I passed Mile 9. The towel helped a lot, but mostly I appreciate having a clear reminder of what was happening during Mile 9.



Sourest Grapes: Not that I'm taking pleasure in other people's mistakes, but there were two runners I knew that I absolutely had to beat because their training techniques flew in the face of everything I had been practicing. These two people, who we'll call Epsilon and Gamma (Alpha and Beta get too much attention anyways), were also first time half marathon runners. Epsilon had the "strategy" of running for as long as Epsilon could. The catch was Epsilon would inevitably slow down more and more as the race went on. But it also meant that Epsilon was always much more impressive than I was at the start of every race and practice run. I passed Epsilon somewhere in the middle of the 9.5-12.5 haze, and wound up beating Epsilon by a more than 30 minutes. On the other hand, Gamma underestimated how long 13.1 miles actually was. Not only did Gamma not train consistently, Gamma never got past around 7 or 8 miles in terms of long distance, and insisted that "adrenaline would take care of the rest" on Race Day. Adrenaline is not a solid long term plan! I wound up beating Gamma by more than 45 minutes. And, to end on a diplomatic note, I think it was great that both Gamma and Epsilon finished the half, but I'm glad that my technique was more effective in the long run (pardon the pun).

Coolest Thing: Everything. Just everything. The entire experience has brought me so many wonderful stories and experiences that I would never have had otherwise. It's changed the way I look at Nashville. I expect I'll have flashbacks the next time I pass through wherever the 9.5 through 12.5 Mile marks were. I'm in better shape than I have ever been before. And it's really inspired a tolerance of running in me. I can't say I love running, but I can tolerate it and embrace the benefits of it. Not to mention 2 of my 3 best friends (category: dudes) are really enthusiastic about running (in case you were wondering, yes, you are totally the third best friend, dude) and I figure that will only make running more awesome.

Also, it kinda looks like Pac-Man.

Final Thoughts: I couldn't be happier with how the Half Marathon turned out. Last August, I insisted that running a Half Marathon would be impossible and I would never be able to do it. I've never been happier to be wrong. If I could do it, then so could anyone with two working legs. Just in case my words did not, convey how little running I did before training, I've included a pie graph to emphasize the difference. And here's the kicker: I overestimated the High School and College mileage just so you could see the slivers of color. It has absolutely been a worthwhile experience and I will keep running and likely sign up for another half marathon in the fall.

You know what else that means? AUTUMNAL BLOGATHON! It's like the Vernal Blogathon, only with more candy, pumpkin pie, and football (well, maybe).