Last Winter I signed up for my first Half Marathon, the Bayshore in Traverse City. Randy Taylor, Mike Hughes, and my dad promptly followed suite. Soon after my aunt Laura signed up, and my uncle Mark entered the Full. Not too long after that my brother-in-law, Eric Kirk, signed up for the 10K. Unfortunately, Laura and Mike suffered injuries during training and weren’t able to join us.
I had only been running for a year and a half at that time, and the longest distance I had run was 4 miles. Since I didn’t own a treadmill, that meant my training would be done outdoors during the cold Michigan winter. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected.
My initial goal was to just finish. Soon into my training it was upgraded to finishing without walking. It wasn’t too long before I actually set a time goal—finish in under two hours. Now, after finishing in 1:56:22 (8:53/M) I’m wondering if my sights were set a little too low.
On race day we took a bus ride to our starting point as the sun rose over Lake Michigan. It was in the high 50′s at start, which was perfect. As we ran along the coast it never got over 65°. The course was relatively flat, there were a few gradual slopes, but never steep, and few and far between. I only remember my splits for 3 miles and 10 miles. At the 3 mile mark I was at 26 minutes, which happened to be my PR for a 5K, so I knew I was doing pretty good (I also remember thinking mile 3 to 4 happened extremely fast). At the 10 mile mark I needed to be at 1:30 or better to hit my goal, and I was at 1:28.
The longest I ran during my training was 10.5 miles, so everything beyond that point was unchartered territory. Those last three miles certainly played mind games with me. I wish I had been running with someone I knew, or at least been able to see them in my sights. I think I could have finished a little stronger. Regardless, as I entered the stadium to run the final 200 meters the only thing I remember seeing was Eric at the gate cheering me on and giving me a high five. He was as perfectly placed as someone could be.
As I ran, I had my trusty ipod Nano loaded with 85 songs (6.8 hours) and placed on shuffle. I decided not to skip any song that came on, but rather just let the ipod dictate my playlist. Here were the results. The song that came on during the final half mile was both interesting and inspiring, and totally unanticipated.
Noticed – MuteMath
Living In Sin – Bon Jovi
I Know I Got Skillz – Shaquille O’Neal
Clockwork – MuteMath
More Than Fine – Switchfoot
LeDisko (Boys Noize) – Shiny Toy Guns
Money For That – Shiny Toy Guns
Hysteria – Muse
Mr. Hurricane – Beast
O Praise Him (Ocean Mix) – David Crowder Band
The Distance – Cake
With or Without You – U2
Stick To Your Guns – Bon Jovi
Take Me Home – After Midnight Project
Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z
Ordinary World – Duran Duran
Homebound Train – Bon Jovi
Spiralling – Keane
Battleflag – Lo Fidelity Allstars
Secret Crowds – Angels & Airwaves
Call To Arms – Angels & Airwaves
Ghost Town – Shiny Toy Guns
The Fight – MuteMath
Heaven – Angels & Airwaves
I Stand Amazed – Chris Tomlin
I recall thinking for a full 24-hours post race that 13 miles is plenty long for someone to run, but only a couple days later not only had I signed up for another Half Marathon five months later (Grand Rapids), but I’m back to planning on running the Full Marathon at the Bayshore in 2011.
I just gotta have that sticker!
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