I did it!!! Barely, but I did it!

All of those hard weeks of training lead up to last Sunday. I was so nervous and excited...and sick. Yes, sick. I had (and still have) a sinus infection/bronchitis, which I received 2 days before my first ever half marathon which was in Pittsburgh. Here is the break down of two of the craziest days and one of the most intense experiences of my life.

Some of the bridges that we ran over in the Pittsburgh Half Marathon

On Saturday, I only had 4 hours of sleep and Dad and I drove 7 hours to Pittsburgh. After we arrived in Pittsburgh, we had to go to the expo to pick up my bibs, bags and other marathon goodies. Throughout this process, I was feeling very light-headed, dizzy and lethargic. I couldn't eat and I could barely walk (I think having the lack of sleep and nervousness did not help my cause either). I was pessimistic that I would even compete in the race. We got back to the hotel after picking up all of our stuff. I took a shot of Nyquil at 7:30am, passed out within a hour, and hoped for the best.

5am, Sunday May 5th. Wake up from a long sleep. I still was not feeling well but I decided to run the race anyway since I spent a lot of time and effort in training for it. The new goal was to just finish and I didn't care what the time was at this point. We leave our hotel, get to Downtown Pittsburgh, check our bags, and get to our corral. We were in the last corral (corral E). The horn for the start of the race goes off at 7am. We crossed the start line at 7:24am.

The crowd in Corral E. Over 30,000 people ran this half and full marathon in Pittsburgh

The first few miles were not that bad. I was able to keep a respectable pace. I did find it difficult to focus on anything else around me because of the sinus infection/bronchitis. I saw the people in the stands, other runners, bands playing, and the environment around me. But I was in my own little bubble (even with my Dad running next to me).

Then I hit a wall around mile 6-7. Not eating a lot of food the day before really hurt me here. It didn't help that I could not breathe through my nose because of my sinuses. I had to breathe through my mouth which was constantly becoming dry and scratchy. It hard to breathe normally because of this. I also tried to take in the scenery (I think that Pittsburgh is a beautiful city) but my sickness and fatigue took over. Regardless, I was still determined not to stop running.

Mile 8-10 were not as bad at 6-7. The road was mostly flat and the GU that I ate started to kick in.

Mile 11 was the hardest out of all the 13 miles. I would say that 8/10ths of the mile was uphill. At this point, I was so tired. The hills were taking a toll on my joints. My knees and ankles would ache every time my feet hit the pavement. It felt like my legs were going to give out with every step I took. I was almost tempted to walk but I was too close to the finish line to stop.

Mile 12-13.1 felt the longest. It was all downhill, which did not help my legs at all because of the pressure that it put on my joints. Then I pulled up to the last few tenths of a mile and see everyone in the stands cheering. I tried to take it all in at that moment because I knew I was almost done. I think I actually started to speed up as I got closer to the finish line.

10am - My Dad and I finally crossed the finish line in 2:35:47. We got our medals, took a few pictures, and got free food and drinks. The pain in my legs felt like nothing I have ever felt before. It is extremely hard to explain what I was feeling. The uphills and downhills absolutely killed my legs.

Crossing the finish line!

We got back to our hotel to refuel, shower, and watch the Penguins vs. Islanders game (Pens won the series!!! WOOHOO!!!).

Me and Dad after the half marathon

My day was not over yet. I left Pittsburgh around 4pm to head back to Michigan, which was a 5 hour drive. I got back at around 9:30pm and had class the next day at 9am.

I am very proud of myself in the fact that I didn't stop. Not once. I was determined not to. I would have liked a faster time (I was aiming for about 2:10 before I got sick), but I am still happy with it considering what I went through on Saturday and Sunday morning. One thing I regret is that I didn't really appreciate the whole experience because I was sick. I wish I was able to enjoy the race, the expo, and the City of Pittsburgh a little more. Overall, I am happy with what I accomplished.

I would like to run another half marathon within the next year or so. I do not think I am ready to run a full marathon yet (I would like to run a half when I am 100% healthy first). I will probably sign up for a few 5Ks and 10Ks. If I do another half, it may not be until next spring because the upcoming fall semester is extremely demanding and time consuming.

So that is all from Michigan. I am currently on a high dosage of antibiotics, trying to fight off this sinus infection/bronchitis. Hopefully I will get back to the pavement soon.

Thanks for reading!