Follow my progress as I’ve trained for my first 1/2 Marathon, happening next month at Disneyland Resort!!

Click here to read all about my progress.

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My First Half Marathon Experience!!

I went into this race not really knowing anything about it.   I researched online a lot and one thing I focused on was the race starts right at 6am and it was a FLAT course.  From there I trained on a flat course and worked on upping my miles.  Little did I know what it was really going to be like!  If I knew then what I know now, I would have done a lot of things differently these past 8 months of training.

We saw the START banner near the front of our hotel.  They want you in your corral by 5:30am, being out front, we left at 5:15am.  We walked forever wondering where the heck we were going.  ONE MILE later, we reached our corral!  So, we already started our morning by walking a mile!  We got to our corral with 5 minutes to spare.  At 6am the race started, however it was wheel chairs first, then corral A, then B, then C….we were G!  Our corral got to start at 6:33am, SO we were standing around for almost 45 minutes, after walking a mile!  That alone cut into whatever performance I was ready to give.  I should have been sitting on the ground, but I was pumped and just wanted to GO already.

At 6:33am we got the GO to start the race!  Corral G was the very last to leave, so I wanted to make sure to pass as many runners as I could so I wasn’t dead last.  In my training, it takes me 2 miles to warm up my muscles, I can’t run very well the first 2 miles while I’m still tight.  At GO, everyone starts running! Ohhhh wait, I can’t run yet, but I have to.  I forced myself into a jog which was downhill and then uphill…right from the start.  What happened to FLAT course?  We get around the first corner and then everyone slows and starts walking…OH now you all walk!  I’m starting to hurt a little from the jog, but glad to walk finally.  We are about to enter California Adventure Park and we make our first bathroom stop…I mean, we got up at 4:30am and race started at 6:33am…so it was time to “go”.  There was a line of course so spent about 5-8 minutes waiting in that line. (without that bathroom stop, I would have made the 3hr 30 minute time limit!! lol).  Being last corral , we were now dead last.  We booked it out of the bathrooms and had to JOG to catch up…it’s still under 2 miles and I have to jog again, so I”m really feeling it.   We do start to catch up to our group and keep pushing to pass as many as we can…we then hit Mile 2 finally!

We are inside the parks and I’m pumped and super excited, we walk and jog off and on, mostly to get past other runners and we are cutting our pace time really close, so gotta speed it up.  We take picture’s and they are super fast, like seconds and Cathy took more poses than I, I just wanted to keep on moving.  I was so concerned with being last.  We make it out of the parks and come up to mile 4, then 5.  Now my toes are burning.  I never had issues with my toes during training!  It was that first hill and then the jogging I did the first 2 miles, my toes were taking the brunt and now they were complaining.  So, my biggest complaint now is my feet are starting to hurt.

We then hit the biggest HILL of the course, the overpass over the freeway and OMG it’s huge!  We definately walk it, no one was running up it at this point.  Now my feet are killing me and I feel it in my legs.  I never trained on ANY hill, I should have!!  I am pretty sure going up and then down that hill took 2 miles off me!!  I was really hurt’in after that hill and coming into Mile 7.  I was thinking to myself how I was going to do another 6 Miles.  We walked for quite awhile, I needed to recover (however keep in mind we are still walking fast to keep the 16 min/mile pace).  We hit Mile 7…8…9…, at this point I was ready to stop.  I almost wanted to cry.  I knew I had SO many friends and family back home watching me and routing for me, I HAD TO DO THIS.  Anaheim is not a pretty city, there was nothing motivating about it and I think it was depressing me, I needed a BOOST.  Thinking about everyone routing for me helped me and at Mile 10 we finally entered Angel’s Stadium.  SO many were cheering for us and they call your name as you run by.  (Names are on your bib), it was a great boost!  Then running onto the field made you feel like a Rock Star!  I was getting my 2nd wind and I’m pretty sure my toes went numb.

After the stadium we had 3 miles left, we went back out on the streets, under the freeway and I knew the parks were just a couple miles ahead.  We kept on walking, I was really feeling the pain…my feet, my back, my shoulders…my legs were starting to feel like Jell-O and getting wobbly.  I had 2 more MILES to go, I HAD TO FINISH, even though I thought how I was going to make it.  I had never walked past 8 miles before in my life, here I was at Mile 11 (plus the mile before the race started, plus the hill that added 2 miles..lol).  At this point I kept repeating “I feel Nothing!”, I had to block out any pain and GO.  MILE 12, ONE MORE TO GO, this was the best, yet toughest mile yet!!  SO close, yet I wanted to just lay down already!!  In my mind, I was well past 13 miles by now, but had 1 more to go!  People were few and far between at this point, no more cheering and we were behind the parks, it turned quiet.  Less than 1/4 mile from the finish we saw the light!  There were people cheering now, pushing us to the finish line, now was the time to jog in and find the power to do it.  I put my ALL into it and crossed the FINISH LINE…3 hours and 37 minutes later!!!!!!!!!   I could not fathom I just went 3hr and 37 min non-stop!!  OMG I DID IT.

I was SO happy to finish, but I didn’t want to fall over, I kept walking…WHAT, more walking!  I slowed considerably, but I had to keep moving, no sitting or laying down which would be detremental to the muscles. We took pic’s and Cathy found another friend of her’s and then we were all saying “OUR MEDALS”, we had to keep walking to the area to get our Medals!!  After that  I heard “Tracy!” and saw my friend Cecile around the corner, she had already finished, so I went over and met with her!  I was actually starting to feel better and I was still walking around.  How in the world was I still upright??  But I was doing pretty good, SLOW, but good.  We took more picture’s and Ashley was still sick at the hotel.  She couldn’t see me at the finish line and I was SO SAD.  I then wanted to get back to the room to see her and we had to check out anyway and move to the hotel next door.   Ohhh another mile of walking…I just did 15 or 16 miles by now, LOL.  Off we went!

That day if you asked me if I would do it again, I’d give you a fast NO WAY!  I killed myself to finish, it was more painful than giving birth to my 2 girls, LOL.  I was warned the following day I would not be able to move.  After the race and after getting settled to our other hotel, I took a 45 min nap, massaged the heck out of my legs and rested more.  That night I felt pretty good, so we walked around the hotel and got dinner.  The next morning I woke up and found that I was sore, but I could walk!  I felt pretty good considering!  I kept massaging my legs (which I think was the most important recovery thing to do) and was walking around better than expected, I was slow, but I was up and moving!  I have been feeling better ever since and am walking like I didn’t just do a 1/2 Marathon, you’d never guess if not for my “I Did It” shirt and Huge bling of a medal!! heehee!!

Oh and in case you wondered, we never needed another bathroom break after that first one.  We were sweating pretty good to where I later found layers of salt all over me!!  I could have filled up a salt jar I think.   If you ever consider a 1/2 Marathon…keep in mind:  Train Train Train and find some HILLS!  There is no such thing as a FLAT course.  The hills will take away from your performance if you are not expecting it.   If you are in the back corrals, get to it and SIT DOWN and wait, sit and stretch!!!  At least once during training, hit your mileage.  I wish I would have gone 13 miles at least once during my training just to know how it felt and what more I needed to do.

So, would I do it again…now that 2 days have passed….MAYBE.  The experience was unlike anything, you can’t explain it, the emotions are SO high, you have ups and downs, you want to cry because you are so  happy, you want to cry because you think you will quit, it’s unlike anything you will ever do.   I want to do the Disney 5k race next year and most likely will go back for Marathon weekend to do the 5k!  I want to train to be able to RUN more, so if I can run a 5k, that would be awesome.  I am going to keep on walking, no doubt about that, I want to be in much better shape!  So, while training for the 5k, I will consider the 1/2 again and see.   So, ask me again next year….

With proper training, I’d highly recommend YOU experience this for yourself, it was quite an Amazing event!!