Least Prepared-for Half Marathon Ever

Have you ever been asked to do something that seems wildly crazy and not the smartest to consider doing but kinda really want to do it anyway?  Yep, that's how I got pulled into my recent half marathon.

I had been trying to get back into running here and there, knowing I was committed to the Bourbon Chase relay team in October. I completed my first 3-miler in way-too-many months and was feeling really good about myself when I got a call two days later from a friend telling me he had an entry in the Air Force Half Marathon in Dayton. Spot was for a female, free of charge, mine for the taking. Oh, and the race was in 9 days.

What?

Could I? Should I? Crazy enough, I kinda wanted to! I knew I could finish, that wasn't the question. It was more about how smart it was to try running it, and I was curious to see just what kind of running shape I was actually in.

So of course I did the obvious: threw on my running shoes, ran a complete 5 mile training run and agreed to the challenge.

My race approach -- keep it at a 5/2 split.  Run for 5 minutes, walk for 2 minutes and alternate for as long as I could.

The race was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. It started at the museum and ran through the base's back roads and residential areas. As an Army kid, I've been on my share of military posts/bases and really enjoyed exploring this one. Air force or Army, they really have the same feel, similar style. And I really appreciated the park-like (and relatively flat!) course.

The gun went off and I stuck to my plan. 5/2, 5/2, etc right from the get-go and the first few miles ticked by.

I started to fade (but kept pushing) around mile 5, miles 6-7 were a struggle, and when I got to mile 8 I gave up on the plan. (This is where actual training would have been helpful!) I took a goo pack (bleck!) and plenty of water and ran when I could for as long as I could (which wasn't very long each time); I walked the uphills and kept a close eye on my overall pace. I stopped to stretch -- wow, that's another reason to train! My body was not used to such activity and my legs, back, even my arms were starting to complain.

As I hit mile 10 I started to realize that I was almost on the same pace as one of my previous Halfs, which I thought was around 2:45, and was determined to beat that!

Finally, fewer than a mile left, I see the museum and finish in the distance, and more wonderfully was this:

He wrote the sign himself.

Go Mommy, From Love Adam

That last half mile was the toughest, longest part, but it was pretty cool to finish down the runway between all the AF planes and old bombers.

Mission complete! I finished in 2:42:56, which is actually not my slowest Half time ever. (Only 2 minutes slower than my very first Half and 1 minute faster than my slowest time... and those were with training!)

Not bad for only having a 3-miler and a 5-miler to prepare me! Which makes me wonder now how well I could have done with proper training. My PR still stands at 2:23 (and even that one I know I could have done faster) so I'm feeling the itch to sign up for another one next spring and bust that time.

And maybe with training I wouldn't be so sore for the next three days. Ouch! Yes, quads, you have my attention.

I've done the Marine and now the Air Force... maybe I need to look into a Navy or Army race next. Any race suggestions?