Training for My First Race

By February, I became strong enough to run an hour without stopping. I don’t know how far it was, but by my estimate, it was at least five miles. Then I made my first internet search on running: half marathon training plans. Until this point, I pretty much ran for myself, by myself, with nothing but myself to gauge off of. And I still train that way. My paces are my own and I really didn’t have any desire to compete with anyone else. In my mind, there is nobody that is a “better” runner than anyone else. Some may be faster, but in the actual motions, we all really are equal. I settled on Hal Higdon’s beginner plan.

In April, the weather turned warmer and the snow melted away. As I shed layers, I felt myself becoming stronger and faster. My roommate decided to join me on a run. The first run, she made it halfway on my 3 mile (all estimates, btw) loop. The second time she joined me, it was my 7 mile run. She made it the whole way. Never a runner before, she made my pace look easy. I was jealous that what took me months to achieve came so naturally to her. But as a lot of people that progress quickly as a beginner, she was always more athletic than me. I came straight from sloth-land.

By May, I had made it up to the 10 mile and weighed 120. I never carried water on my long runs, but instead, made loops so that I could stop back at the dorm for water. That last long run before the race was awesome. My roommate had friends over that afternoon so I stopped home to a large group of people. They all marveled at my ambition and that I could run that far. I beamed with pride. Running had become something people admired me for!? Used to being in the shadows, I really enjoyed the confidence boost that I got. That smaller pant size helped too. I made a deal with myself that every long run day, I could have an Oreo for each mile I ran. I found that by the 10 mile training run, I didn’t want to eat 10, but when I was at 5 or 6 miles, I victoriously devoured my Oreos and milk with a Runner’s High and a silly grin pasted to my face.

My first half marathon was the day before final exams began. I made a special trip to my parents’ house in Michigan (two hours away) with a friend’s help and returned with one of their cars on Friday. Saturday, I attended the expo and got my t-shirt. I was (and still am) disappointed that they only had XL shirts left.

I don’t remember much about my first race. I lined up for the start in just an old t-shirt and shorts I wore for high school P.E. I did manage to buy myself some actual running shoes, a pair of Saucony Grid Jazz that I found at Kohl’s. I chose some of the cheaper shoes that felt good. Gait analysis wasn’t a common thing then, at least not for the casual runner in Green Bay (perhaps elsewhere?) I carried no fuel and drank some Gatorade when I felt like it. At mile 10’s aid station, they served cookies. I had never run with food, so I ate two cookies and continuously worried about how they would do. The course looped back through town and finished where it started. When I recognized where I was, I sprinted. Seven months after my first step, I had finished my first half marathon. Since I never really paid attention to pace or timing, I can’t even tell you what my finishing time (and results are no longer listed online), but I think it was between 2:25-2:30. To me, it didn’t matter. I didn’t come in last and I had covered 13.1 miles under my own power. I had never done that before. Walking away from the finish line, it hurt so much to keep on walking, running felt easier. I ran back to the car (about a mile) and back to the dorms to shower. I slept the entire afternoon with a finisher’s medal around my neck.



(It is interesting to note that I can tell you what my weight was the first few months as a runner, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what my paces were. Proof of where my priorities were in running. Part of me is sad that I have no record of my first half marathon time, but at the same time I’m not. It really solidified a love of running based on how I felt, not what the numbers showed. For me, that helped solidify one priority in running that still holds true today: running because it is fun.)



....to be continued....