Thursday, May 5, 2011

My First Half Marathon - April 30, 2011

I can now check-off one item in my to-do list - running a half marathon. Yaayi, I finally ran my first official 13.1 miles (almost 25 kms) in the American River Parkway half-marathon in Sacramento on April 30, 2011. I ran at a pace of around 12 mins/mile, completing the run in 2 hour 41 minutes.

It was a good sunny and a windy day. I found a running buddy who was planning to run at my pace. We kept talking on the way which made it easier. There were live bands playing, aid stations and people on side-walks cheering the runners all throughout the trail. It was like a festival. I did not even use my mp3 player for once.

Note for my running buddy, Jeff: If you stumble upon this blog some day, then I would like to thank you for running with me and making my first half-marathon easier:)

I was all excited that morning and a little anxious too as I was having pain in my shin when I started the race. I ignored it, thinking that it was just a normal cramp. It got worse after I crossed the finish line in pain. It seems like a shin splint but I guess it'll be fine with time. That will not dampen my running spirit. Kids fall or get injured when they learn to walk/run:) At least I get to relax that way:)

I have to admit that when I was running in pain due to my leg, I was thinking, "Can someone remind me again - why am I doing this!" I got my answer at the finish line where Shavi was waiting for me after completing his half-marathon in 1 hour 48 minutes (his new PR). What a sense of achievement it was! I loved it - waiting to recover from my shin splint and do it again:)