Finished my first half marathon - Wow!

I'll give you all probably more background than you ever wanted to know about me, so for those that don't want to read the whole thread:

I just finished my half marathon yesterday. This was my first race...didn't build upto it with a 5 or 10k...just went for it. My time was 2 hours and 8 minutes. I have never felt better about my life or myself and just signed up for my second one on September 14th. This was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I would encourage anyone of any age or weight who is considering it to just go for it.

Backstory:
I played 5 sports in high school and after 4 years of sports practice year round I burned out...and burned out hard. I had some short stints of exercising during college but none seemed to last. I got a job, got into a serious relationship in Kansas City. We would eat out all of the time and I would play computer games after work in my spare time and drinking beer on the weekends in large quantities only added to the problem. I moved to take a job in Chicago and the relationship fizzled and then split. I was devistated. I found myself at 6'4" 250 pounds. I graduated from high school weighing about 190 with 5.2% body fat and excellent muscle tone.

Last September I found myself in a rut and heartbroken so I would take a run everynight after I got home from work as a way to think about life, my lost relationship, and unsuccessfully clear my brain of how much I wanted her back and how unhappy I was in life without her. I wasn't eating well either and this combined with my running - I lost 30 pounds very quickly and was down to 220 in just a couple of months.

Over the winter it got cold outside and by January I wasn't exercising at all and remained this way until late May. By this time I was finally over my relationship and getting my life back on track...my new life in a new city. Finally the weather got nice enough outside that you could run in shorts comfortably and I started to run about 1-2 miles a night. In early June a friend of mine and I were talking online and she had always been a huge work out/running enthusiast and she convinced me to sign up for the Chicago Classic Distance Half Marathon here in Chicago and just on a pure whim I agreed.

I increased my distance to 3-4 miles for a few weeks, and then 5-6 miles for a week or two, then 7-8, and finally 10 mile runs twice a week. Keep in mind, I never accurately kept track of mileage and never accurately kept track of time. I just went out and ran. I know this logic goes completely against all of those training guides and training teams that they advocate. I know they want you to switch things up and go fast one workout, slow and steady the next. I threw all of that out of the window because I just wanted to run and complete the race. I wasn't concerned about my pace or time.

The day of the race was fantastic. Got up at 4:30, race started at 6:30. Drank a liter of diet pepsi for caffiene and a huge bottle of water right before the race to make sure I was hydrated properly. They started the race in waves and I went with the 2:15 pace team because I didn't know what I was getting myself into one way or the other. I had a goal in mind of 2 hours before I started but figured I'd rather start slow than too fast. Since I hadn't been only keeping my approx. times up until the race(I'd check clock when I left and check clock when I got back and deducted approx time it took to walk to the jogging path near me), I really had no idea where I would finish. Again, I just wanted to finish and enjoy myself.

And enjoy myself I did. The first thing that I loved about the race itself is just the sheer number of participants around you. This both helps to set your pace and give you some competition. Next, my dear lord...the amount of great looking women out there is astounding. I found a woman in my pace group that had the nicest body and she unknowingly set my pace pretty much the first 7 miles.

I was good until about mile 10 and then really had to slow it down. I expanded a lot of uncessesary energy in the beginning to try and get around other racers, brake for slower racers, and short speed bursts to get through the crowd and this took it's toll on me later on. And the cruel joke of the entire day was the organizers put a really steep decline and incline just 3 blocks from the finish that nearly killed me. Other runners were moaning the entire time too - almost so cruel it was comical.

There were lots of supporters and it was a neat experience to cross the finish line, grab a medal, and slowly come down from the hype and overcome the exhaustion.

What a hell of a day and I can't wait for my next one. I think I'm addicted.

Things I would do differently: Wouldn't run the week of the race. I took a week off during July and then had one of my strongest runs ever. I could have gone on forever. I wish I could have replicated that on race day. And so for my body personally, I think taking 5 days or so off before the race is a good decision. The run the Wednesday before left me with sore toe tendons and I think this affected me. It also didn't allow enough time for my knees to fully recover for the big day. I'd also start up in a different bracket. Trying to get around the slower runners really expanded a lot of energy and prevented me from keeping a good pace.

I can't even count how many times during the race where I felt completely content and peaceful. I was running with others that shared this strange passion and were out there to prove something to themselves and reward themselves for all of the hard work that they had put into the training. It seems like there are very few people in the sport of running both fast and slow, that aren't nice people in general. Good group of people, indeed. It's a community I like to consider myself a part of and what will certainly keep me coming back.

And the best part of it is I feel like I'm on cloud nine and my next few weeks of training I will continue to feel good knowing now the rewarding feeling of finishing a race. You can bet your ass I'll be under 2 hours come September 14th...or at least give it a good fight.

Oh...and I'm now just over 200 pounds. Not a bad side-effect either

Thanks for listening. And PM me with any questions.