You guys!! I’m so excited to share this first post of the half marathon palooza, and also so excited that YOU ALL are excited about this series!
Alyssa is one of my favorite blends, and I’m so happy she agreed to share her story with you all. She has heard my laugh, seen my dance moves and still wants to be my friend. I mean, that’s kind of awesome. ALSO, she likes to dress up like a pirate with me, which makes me love her forever.
Arrr!!!
Take it away, Alyssa!
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Hey everyone! My name is Alyssa (like A-Lisa) and I blog over at See This Girl Run. I’m so excited to tell you about my first half marathon, as Lindsay prepares to run her first one this week! Ah! So dang excited for you, Linds!
I first started running in the 8th grade and ran on the high school cross-country team for 3 years. In college I ran off and on, but it wasn’t until I was getting ready to graduate from college that I decided to be brave and do something I had been thinking of doing for a while…I signed up for my first half marathon. I signed up in the Spring and my half wasn’t until the end of August, so I spent the summer training and fell back into love with running. Before I knew it, it was the moment of truth; race day had arrived!
The half marathon I chose starts the first 4 miles down a canyon (as so, so many race in Utah do), so a bus took us from the finish line up the canyon. I remember sitting on the bus, next to two friends who had signed up for the same race and as the bus kept going I had moments of panic where I thought, “I can’t run this far! The bus can stop now! Why won’t the bus stop?! This is definitely more than 13 miles.”
It was chilly and dark at the top but as the race started we quickly warmed up and the sun came up. It was so beautiful! One thing that I had decided to do was to ENJOY the race! Because the canyon was so gorgeous, I wasn’t shy about taking pictures as I ran. I remember thinking “This is so much fun! But Alyssa, at some point this is going to get really hard and it’s going to suck, so enjoy it while it lasts”. But you know what? It never sucked. Sure, the last couple of miles were tough and I was getting tired, but I loved every.single.moment! Once we exited the canyon, the remaining 9 miles were lined with people cheering us on. It was so much fun!
I do want to mention some life savers that I think really helped me to be successful with my first half. One of my best friends told me that when I got to each aid station, to walk as I drank the water/Gatorade and then keep running after the aid station was over. I think this really helped me to not over do it and forced me to stay hydrated throughout the race. My second life saver was my Shot Blocks! Now, remember, this was my first half so I didn’t know much about fueling during a race. All I knew, what that they had helped during my long runs, so I used them during the race. Best decision I could have made. I felt so strong during the whole race.
I want to share an excerpt from my journal about this race: “My time was 2:05:28.3. I was so shocked! My goal had been to run a 10 min/mile average which would have put me just over 2:10:00. I averaged a 9:40 pace. I’m so proud of myself. I did so much better than I thought I would and could. It showed me how strong I can be and made me want to try harder to be even stronger…Around mile 6 I actually got a little teary eyed because I was so proud of myself for fulfilling this goal I’ve had for so long. I loved it so much and I definitely want to do another half”.
Since that first half, I have run 3 more halfs, a 15k, some 5ks, and 1 full marathon, but the 13.1 remains my favorite distance. I always say it’s just far enough to be a challenge without wanting to die. So if you’re thinking of signing up for a half, stop thinking about it and just sign up already! You won’t regret it.
Remember:
1) Walk through the aid stations
2) Fuel during the race
3) HAVE FUN! Enjoy the moment!
Good luck, Lindsay!
-Alyssa
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Isn’t she the cutest? Thank you so much for sharing your story, lady! Can’t wait to run with you, and explore Utah with you at Blend in June!!!!
What is your favorite race distance, and why?
Leave some love for Alyssa in the comments, she deserves it! 