callieplatzer-blog - Tumblr blog

callieplatzer-blog · 7 years ago

Text

2:03:51

My PR for running a half marathon. My time might not be that impressive for many but I’m proud of it. Running hasn’t come easy to me and the 2018 Corporate Cup half marathon marked a year of my start (and for now, end) to running.

TLDR: I learned a lot about myself throughout this past year. Mostly I learned that running is hard. It takes a lot of time and effort to go from hardly being able to run 1 mile to running just over 13. It took almost a year for me to really feel a difference in how fast/long I could run without walking and for 4-mile runs to actually be enjoyable. Running also taught me about mental strength. It’s a mental battle of convincing yourself to push through and not walk/quit early (which I did a lot of throughout training). Despite being physically and emotionally drained after long runs, I am thankful and proud of what I have accomplished.

It was a pretty big deal when I was convinced (by my boyfriend) to sign up for my first race, a 5k at the 2017 Corporate Cup, considering I had never run more than a mile without stopping. My boyfriend promised to help me train so off I was. I quickly found out there was a reason I never ran more - running sucked and I was terrible at it. I also think the running god’s are against me (you’ll understand why...). After multiple out-of-breath, jelly-legged, frustrating runs it was time for the 5k. I woke up that morning breaking out in hives. Wonderful. I immediately thought it was chickenpox but I was convinced by my boyfriend that it was just an allergic reaction so I popped some Benadryl, had a small mental breakdown in my parking garage, and went to the race. It actually went pretty well but turns out I really did have the chickenpox. (Reason #1 the running god’s are against me)

Apparently I succumb to peer pressure easily, because it wasn’t very long after that my boyfriend, Caleb, also convinced me to sign up for a half marathon in Memphis. Let round 2 of training commence, but this time with longer (and more frustrating/tiring) runs. I still couldn’t run much more than 3 miles without stopping but, mixed in with some (okay, a lot...) walking, I could get through those 7-10 mile long runs. To me, running is a mental game of which I am not good at. I have to give a lot of credit to my boyfriend since he not only tolerated my moodiness but also was incredibly supportive. The night before the race, a huge storm blew through Memphis and knocked out the power to half of the city. Not only that, but our friend’s apartment that we were staying at also had a gas line break and we had to evacuate and sleep in our cars. Needless to say, none of us got any sleep and we did not run. (Reason #2 the running god’s are against me)

I had completed all (okay, most) of the training and had the half marathon itch. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I did some research and found out that the Rock & Roll Half Marathon in Savannah would be a great option. Firstly because it’s a nice, flat race (a requirement, obviously) and secondly because it was an awesome excuse to visit a city I hadn’t spent much time in. When the race began, I fell victim to what is probably the #1 rookie move: I started out too fast. The endorphins were kicking and I was excited. After around mile 6 I started to crash. My pace went from 8:30 at the beginning to somewhere around 12:30 at the end. In all, my time ended up being 2:17. I was pretty disappointed in myself, not because my time was necessarily bad but because I knew I could’ve done better.

Which leads me to the 2018 Corporate Cup. This time, I was the one who convinced my boyfriend to sign up with me and I trained by myself. This was MY race and I wanted to beat my time. I was running faster and could feel that I was getting better. The week before the race, I ran my last long run and Monday morning I woke up with a very sore/hurt foot. Wonderful. I tried to stay off of it but the pain got worse and worse as the week progressed (Reason #3 the running god’s are against me). Thankfully, by Friday the pain was manageable and I told myself I would try to run. By mile 4 I looked over at Caleb and told him I wasn’t sure I was going to finish because I was starting to feel more pain but I would try. I looked down at my watch to see my pace and was impressed that I was keeping at a 9 minute mile even up until mile 6. It was at this moment I told myself I had to get through it regardless of the pain in my foot (I know, I know... probably not the best move for your body but I was determined). The last mile was brutal, but I finished with a time of 2:03:51 - a whole 13 minutes better than my last half.

#halfmarathon #run

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