Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, Half Marathon, 6/3/12
My first ever half marathon, at Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, was a HUGE success and will be a forever good memory! First, I wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to Thomas and Karen Dixon, Brenda Maxfield, Donald and Larisa Dixon, and Dave and Phyllis Guzzetta who helped me fund the race entry fee and to cover some of the extra travel expenses. It would have been very difficult for me to get there otherwise, and I thank you all so much! Another big thank you is to Steve Herman Sr. for letting us use his large SUV to tote us to San Diego, around town, and back! To Larisa Dixon, Melanie Stevenson, and Mandy Hall (my sister-in-law and her 2 friends from Mobile, AL)… I would not have been able to do this race without you 3 ladies, who pushed me past my mental block in the first 3 miles and kept me going for the next 10.1! Though at times I wanted to strangle all 3 of you, you stayed with me and made me realize that I really could do it, and even kept me smiling through to the end! And lastly to my husband, Tom Herman, who has supported me financially, but more importantly, emotionally through all of this!
I am extremely grateful to all of you who have supported me in my running and getting healthy adventures. In your honor, and thanks to fitfluential.com who provided our race day t-shirts, I was able to display my sponsors on my back while I ran! We also received t-shirts from WHOOHA Gearthat we wore to our pre-race EXPO! (Shirts say: i run. to be outdoors. to keep up with my appetite. to appreciate life. to be fast. to be happy. to be a role model. to stay young. so that the boys can’t catch me. to get places. so my butt does not grow. to keep up with life. for chocolate. to sweat. to be fit. to look darn good in my jeans. because i can. for sanity. to hurt. for ice cream. for the love of it. to feel the wind on my face. to find myself. because my friends make me. for myself.)
Thank you FitFluential!
Thank you WHOOHA Gear!
Onto race day fun — We started our morning at 4:30am, caught a shuttle bus right to the start line, took about 3 pre-race potty stops, stretched, talked with other racers, and had a bunch of pictures taken!
As I’ve said during my many training runs, it is always the most difficult to push myself past the first 3 miles. It is mentally straining because it is physically the most straining miles of a long distance run – of course, until near the end. My shins began throbbing and I was having difficulty breathing, Mandy came along side me offering suggestions on how to make sure I am getting enough oxygen flowing through me as I run. To top that off, we were running HILLS, which though Arizona has mountains, all of my training runs have been through flat neighborhoods and treadmill, so I wasn’t accustomed to that. However, after I pushed through those first 3 miles I was on my way to enjoying my very first half marathon through BEAUTIFUL San Diego!
A little after mile 4, Melanie’s knee blew out and had to finish the race walking (still at a fast 14:00mm) so Larisa stayed back so that Mandy and I could continue running. I kept a good running pace until just after mile 7, which I then began trying to keep a consistent interval of run 1 mi/ walk less than .5mi. That worked until close to the 11th mile, which between physical pain and the mental pain of the finish is so close, yet still so far away, the intervals became few and far between. I did push through, walking when I needed to and running when I could. I had to finish strong!
During all of my training, I have been holding myself to a 3 hour finish time. Having never run a full 13 miles, in fact no more than 10, I had no idea what I had to do to get there. I picked the number because we had 4 hours to complete the race without being disqualified, and I wanted to push myself to beat that time by at least an hour. Not once during my race did I check the time, I knew that would hurt me — either get me down because I wasn’t meeting my goal, or get me a little over-confident and slack off if I still had plenty. So, determined to finish the race (ultimate goal) in 3 hours, I sprinted the last 1/4 mile to the finish line.
I met my time!
I cannot tell you the waves of emotion that hit you during these races, even the smaller ones! There is so much that you experience at the beginning, during each mile, and absolutely at the finish. If you haven’t ran a half marathon yet, get out there and start running. I assure you, no matter how you get there, the training, the struggle, and everything in between – the feeling of this accomplishment makes it all worth it!
hannahherman 