Cherry Blossom Half Marathon Recap
Last week, I ran my first (and therefore best) half-marathon race. I also threw up twice in the last mile.
I emphasize race because I’d run the distance plenty before, but I had yet to formally register for a race, train, and run for an official time.
I set a personal record by over 5 minutes, running 1:27:12.2. This averages out to between 6:30 ~ and 6:40 per mile pace, placing me 30th of 1985 runners (top 1.5%).
Full Analysis
Goals
- to “go the distance”, to finish the race ✔︎
- to PR ✔︎
- to finish under 1 hour, 30 minutes ✔︎
Training
- Followed an 8-week plan I wrote myself, preceded by my first week of consistent running in 2 months
Nutrition, sleep and recovery
- Averaged 8.5+ hours a night of sleep during the training cycle (new)
- Used a Theragun percussive massager almost every day after runs for about 5-10 minutes (new)
- Rehydrated with extra electrolytes after every run (new)
Gear
- Alphafly Next%, Tracksmith lined half tights, Nike Aeroswift singlet
- Made the mistake of changing my socks on race day to ones I hadn’t previously worn with the Alphaflies and ended up with big blisters I could feel mile 6 on.
Reflections
I reassured myself to “run my own race” and not get caught in the wave of faster runners whom I couldn’t contend with.
Miles 8, 9, and 10 were the hardest. I found them to be in the perfect, frustrating middle between the two boosts of adrenaline spurred by the beginning and end of a race.
Mile 12 was heavily trafficked by slow 10k runners who took up the entire width of the course. While I let them know I was coming through as politely as I could (while running 6-minute miles), I was slowed down by 10 seconds more compared to my previous mile.
This was my first successful training cycle– success was defined as not getting injured before the race. It is a confidence-boosting moment to remind myself of for the rest of the year, especially because I intend to challenge the full marathon distance again in the fall.