This past weekend was Grandma’s Marathon, and I ran the half marathon. I finished it in 2 hours and 18 minutes. Not my best time for running, but my legs are not as sore as they had been during training. So it was a good thing that I went slower!

I ran with my best friend, Sakura, and she was good at reining me in when I started to go too quickly. We stopped once for a bathroom break and slowed down a few times for water and gels. But otherwise, we ran the entire time! That is now the farthest I have ever run in my life!

The marathon was not as scary as I had built it up in my head to be. I was really concerned about the bathroom situation, but they had plenty of port-a-potties, and maybe I got lucky, but they were not all gross when I got to them. I was also scared because I was told that the crowd never thins out. Which was true, but the road was large enough, and there were only a few times when we got stuck behind someone who was slow and we had to wait to get around them. I had to dodge and weave through people more during my 5k!

This was actually such a good experience, that I’m not opposed to running in more marathons. I liked it much more than my 5k. But part of me feels like that is because I ran in the Chocoholic Frolic, which is more of a novelty run.

And now is the best part! I get to rest and recover! Yea!

(Here are my pre and post-race pictures. Not taken by me. Note the fanny pack!)

No, it’s a running belt! Ok, who am I kidding? Yes, yes it is…

Since signing up to run a half marathon, I have had to purchase things that I never thought I would buy, like the fanny pack above. I held out for as long as possible because, seriously, it’s a fanny pack. But finally, I had to give in when I realized that I would need a source of hydration during my long runs. The race will probably have many water stops along the way, but my local neighborhood does not. I considered knocking on people’s doors to ask for a drink of water, but after I accepted the fact that it would be more likely for me to collapse before bugging strangers for water, I swallowed my pride and made my purchase.

I have to admit that it is nice to have water when out on a long run, but wearing the pack is embarrassing. Which is pretty funny. I’m not embarrassed about the fact that my clothes don’t match, my hair has been hastily and messily piled into a ponytail, and I’m grossly dripping with sweat. But that fanny pack? Super embarrassing!

Another purchase that I’ve had to recently make is to buy energy gels. I thought I would be able to get away with not having any, but it turns out that starting out on an empty stomach depletes your stored calories pretty quickly. And if I eat before I run, I feel gross all run. So although I really don’t enjoy eating them, the gels have been really helpful to keep going.

I have less than two weeks before the big run. As of right now, I am glad that I’ve pushed myself and run farther than I ever have before, but I also feel that this will probably be my first and last half marathon. My body is not pleased with me running this far, and training really takes the fun out of it for me. But we’ll see. Maybe the energy of the crowd and excitement of the day will change my mind. I’ll let you know in about two weeks.