The best advice for my 1st Half Marathon came from my 1st 15km run.
I’m by no means a natural long distance runner and have no real desires to spend hours upon hours upon hours on the road, just running. (Like some other people I Know 🙂
But I do have a broader goal in mind that requires a certain level of fitness, like running a half marathon. A casual but consistent running program in both the heat of NYC and the chill of Johannesburg made me feel like it was time to test myself out.
I came across a half marathon race (21km/13 miles) hosted by my alma mater and it seemed the perfect choice.
The race description was as follows: “This undulating race features a fair amount of hills; however, grand designed houses in the leafy and old Johannesburg suburbs ….provide a welcome distraction.”
I looked right past the “undulating” description of the course and chose to focus on the “scenic route through the suburbs” part.
1 week before.
Completing a 15km run a week before the half marathon was no doubt a sought of confidence booster. And it gave me the same kind of comfort and feel-good that lets say……. a bowl of mac and cheese would on any given day.
But what proved to be the real gems are the nuggets of information decoded during this run.
I can say whatever I like about running but here’s what I do know. Running gives me a chance to think without my mind and I like the thoughts that arise. Here are my……
Running Truths.
- Be relaxed. It beats the anxiety from an ambitious mind.
- Be respectful. Having respect for your body, the road and every movement you make keeps you grounded.
- Time matters not. Finishing is all that counts.Pressurizing yourself into completing a race in a specific time can set you up for disappointments.
- Run freely. Discard any pre-race strategy. Make adjustments IN the moment. Just Run as much as possible and Walk when it’s necessary.
- Because your body is a force of nature, what you eat and drink, when and how much in the build up to the race are vital. Consumption matters.
I had to instill a real disciplined approach to my diet leading up to race day …….and I found myself resenting it. Honestly, it was more the Idea of the constriction than the actually food restriction itself.
The Half marathon -21km
I can’t tell you much about the half-marathon. But what I can tell you about is the last 2km’s.
At the 20km mark, my legs were in new territory. At this time, each stride activated a numbing muscular pain that reverberated through my legs and my mind began to fray at the edges.
At 800m to go a cruel gentle incline left me feeling nothing less than emotional desperation.
All I wanted to do was quit. And all I wanted to do was finish the race.
Becoming vulnerable and physically desperate brought on a destabilizing anger that is probably the most sensationally warped feeling I’ve ever had.
And in my anger, I attacked the last 200m and found myself sprinting past the finish line without realizing it. Madness……!!
I finished in 2h19 mins. I did it. And I have a new appreciation for the word undulating!
Leanne Tee 