Charlottesville Half Marathon

Just a couple weeks ago my friend, Michelle, talked me into joining her and a group of other LDS singles to run the Charlottesville Half Marathon. I did a full marathon back in 2003, but I'd never done a half marathon before and I hadn't been training for much running at all. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd ran more than 4.5 miles. I agreed to join the group for the trip, but whether I went as a participant or the photographer was determined by an experimental long run.

One Monday evening I went for a run and decided to run as far as I could, just to see what my endurance level was at. I misjudged the distance between some streets near my home and ended up running much longer than I anticipated. I made it 5.5 miles before my leg hurt so bad I had to walk the last half mile. I was terribly sore for a week after that. Then that Saturday I ran 8 miles in the rain (I love running in the rain!). I was very tired and was queasy for the rest of the day, but I figured if I could at least make it 8 miles then I could finish a half marathon, even if I had to walk the last 5 miles, so I signed up! Because my parents came to visit one week and I spent another week using all my free time to make a gazillion chocolate Easter eggs for a fundraiser, I only did two more little 3 and 4 miles runs in the two weeks leading up to the race. So two semi-long runs that both nearly killed me were the full extent of my half marathon training.

I started the race with the goal to finish the race. That was all. Just finish ~ running, walking, limping, crawling... any way other than via sag wagon (the van that picks up all the runners who can't finish and takes them to the end). The day couldn't have been more perfect for a morning run! It was a touch nippy, but just enough to keep you from overheating. The sun was in the sky and spring was in the air. We ran through downtown Charlottesville, past the university with its Monticello-like campus center, and then off into the rolling country hills ~ absolutely gorgeous countryside! We went past big beautiful old homes set back on grassy rolling hills with stacks of hay scattered across the fields around it. The grass looked bright green as the sunrise met the dew. A little mist drifted over a pond. We turned around, came back through the beautiful countryside, weaved through the university campus with its old, classical structures that have probably been there for centuries, and finished back in downtown Charlottesville.

My left hamstring has been giving me problems lately and at about mile 7 the pain moved up into my hip. It hurt really bad for a while, but I knew that if I stopped, it would cramp up and I wouldn't be able to run again, so I just ran through the pain. After a mile or so of running with serious hip pain, the pain all kind of dispersed evenly throughout my body, so there was just a little pain everywhere as opposed to a lot of pain in one place. And with that, I was able to run strong again. My legs were definitely tired and right at the end I took great care running up over curbs and obstacles in the route for fear that my muscles wouldn't respond to the signal to lift my leg up a little higher than normal and I'd crash and burn. I ran the whole race though, came through the finish line side by side with Steve Z. (he's in my ward and was running the race with his wife Ie Li), and I felt good at the end.

Overall finishing time: 2:05:52

Overall pace: 9:44 minutes per mile

Considering my lack of training, I was very happy with my time and my pace!! In the fall Rob and I and a couple other friends may do the Baltimore Half Marathon, so I'll be able to see how I do in a half marathon when I've properly trained.

This was a very fun little weekend trip and a chance to get to know other LDS singles in the area who are interested in being healthy and active and getting out there to have some fun. I had a great time! Hopefully there will be more group races in the future!