Some things have to be experienced to be believed. When I read that the exhiliration of running the first marathon was one-of-a-kind, I truly did not think that anything could truly measure upto this much happiness. I ran my first marathon- a mini marathon of 5 miles.
The race was to begin at 8am, with staggered waves of both Half marathon and Mini marathon runners. We started at 8.20 or so. The excitement was so contagious that I forgot to feel nervous and looked forward to doing my best. I knew at that point, it did not matter how I ran, I was happy to be running at all. Saw this on one of the many catchy Tshirts that people wore. There are good runs and there are better runs. There are no bad runs. This is definitely going to be a motto hereon. I ran with children, I ran with 60 year olds. They were just happy to be there.
The first mile was all about pace. Astonishingly my pace during the marathon has been my best ever. And I am glad I got to this point not by fluke but by diligence and training. There were hordes of people cheering. Live bands outside houses and street corners to encourage us. This definitely helped. I relaxed after the first mile and ran to the best of my ability. It was so wonderful to take corners and see the hundreds running before me.
I finished my marathon somewhere at 51.25 minutes, give or take. The final stretch was the best, I knew I was near the finish line, and I definitely felt the euphoria helping me make it through.
There were so many things I brought back. I am definitely going to dress up for my future runs. I saw a butterfly and numerous Super-woman costumes and even a cow. That is definitely my idea of fun.
Like I said since it was staggered, the total time elapsed was an hour and 10 minutes or so. And just as I was finishing my mini marathon of 5 miles, I heard that the first runners of the HALF marathon were ahead of me. So 13 miles in an hour!! Wowza. I also saw the first female half marathoner come in at 1 hour and 15 minutes. She was/is such a huge inspiration. I only wish I plucked up my guts to go talk to her. My agenda for the next few weeks is clear. To build up speed and try to beat my marathon pace.
After that, am sure I will tackle my first 10k and half marathon!
And a shout out to my buddies who did extremely well! It was truly a pleasure training with them and being inspired by them!
The race was to begin at 8am, with staggered waves of both Half marathon and Mini marathon runners. We started at 8.20 or so. The excitement was so contagious that I forgot to feel nervous and looked forward to doing my best. I knew at that point, it did not matter how I ran, I was happy to be running at all. Saw this on one of the many catchy Tshirts that people wore. There are good runs and there are better runs. There are no bad runs. This is definitely going to be a motto hereon. I ran with children, I ran with 60 year olds. They were just happy to be there.
The first mile was all about pace. Astonishingly my pace during the marathon has been my best ever. And I am glad I got to this point not by fluke but by diligence and training. There were hordes of people cheering. Live bands outside houses and street corners to encourage us. This definitely helped. I relaxed after the first mile and ran to the best of my ability. It was so wonderful to take corners and see the hundreds running before me.
I finished my marathon somewhere at 51.25 minutes, give or take. The final stretch was the best, I knew I was near the finish line, and I definitely felt the euphoria helping me make it through.
There were so many things I brought back. I am definitely going to dress up for my future runs. I saw a butterfly and numerous Super-woman costumes and even a cow. That is definitely my idea of fun.
Like I said since it was staggered, the total time elapsed was an hour and 10 minutes or so. And just as I was finishing my mini marathon of 5 miles, I heard that the first runners of the HALF marathon were ahead of me. So 13 miles in an hour!! Wowza. I also saw the first female half marathoner come in at 1 hour and 15 minutes. She was/is such a huge inspiration. I only wish I plucked up my guts to go talk to her. My agenda for the next few weeks is clear. To build up speed and try to beat my marathon pace.
After that, am sure I will tackle my first 10k and half marathon!
And a shout out to my buddies who did extremely well! It was truly a pleasure training with them and being inspired by them!
