As I may have mentioned in previous posts, my goal race was to run the Brooksie Way Half-Marathon. I felt as if I needed something to strive for since I am out of college. Plus, it didn't hurt that the race was on the day of birthday! Some people get drunk for their birthday, I run a half-marathon. Ha!
The week before the race, we did a training run on the Brooksie Way course. I was a little nervous especially because I didn't have a lot of time to do training runs on my own. Weekdays were filled by work and cheerleading practice. By the time I got home, I was beat. So, when I did train it was a quick 3 miles.
The training run definitely put the race into perspective and I'm glad we did it. I knew where the hard parts were and when I needed to slow/increase my pace. For example, the course is flat for a good mile and then right after that flat mile, there's a huge incline. I think that was at mile 7. Not fun.
Needless to say, I'm glad we did the training run.
Race day!
To make it a non-stress morning, I listened to other marathoners advice and prepared all my stuff the night before. I filled up my water bottle, packed sweats for after the race and put all my racing gear together. I tried to go to sleep early but, I was so nervous/excited!
My Mom and I left the house at 5 a.m. to get to Oakland University by 6 a.m. We got there super early so my Mom and I just relaxed in the car for another hour. The race was supposed to start at 8 a.m. but there were a ton of delays because of construction. I think the race ended up starting at 8:30. Anyway, we got there at 6 a.m. to meet up with my Brooksie Way training group. I'm glad we got there as early as we did because we missed the atrocious parking lot traffic.
Once I met up with my group, we headed over to the tent where the other BW training groups were meeting. This is where I started to get a little nervous. There were a ton of people and the energy was unreal! Everyone was so amped it made me that much more nervous/excited.
As we lined up in our pace groups we discussed the plan of action for the race. We decided to run 4 and 1's at a 9-10 minute pace. Perfect. The first half was a lot of fun and my body warmed up after the first mile. It was freezing that morning and I was really nervous I was going to be cold the entire time. (I was wearing a short sleeve tech shirt and running capris).
The second half was tough. Tienkein Hill took a lot out of me. It was definitely a struggle after that hill but, it was moderately easy compared to it. My knee started hurting around mile 9. I never had knee issues during my training run so I have no idea what I ended up doing to it but, it was super tight the rest of the race and the day after.
I decided to ditch the intervals and run the last 3 miles. I figured, it's a 5k. I can do this. I saw a couple of the BWs on the side cheering on other BWs. It was awesome! I love the fire at the end of the race.
When I turned the corner to the finish line, it was a little emotional for me. I had a million thoughts going on in my head and it was such a great achievement for me to have fully finished a goal. My Mom cheered me on by the finish line and I sprinted it all the way in.
Overall, it was a great experience. I love my BW3 group and if it wasn't for them I probably would have never achieved this goal. So thank you for being amazing!!
You know what they say, you'll always remember your first.
Final Time: 2.24
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