13.1 miles breached!

Yesterday was a special day.. a day where the culmination of all the training miles finally bore fruit. I completed my first half marathon in training and though this was accomplished on a treadmill as against the outdoors, It still was a very special achievement.

I hadn't run at all for almost an entire fortnight and I was wondering if I was losing my touch. So after a 3 hrs Saturday afternoon nap, I decided to hit the gym. I just wanted to run for half an hour or so. But once i was close to an hour, I realized that I was running well and so took the decision to try the whole distance. 2 hours 22 minutes and 1799 calories (as shown by the treadmill), I hit the magical figure of 13.1 miles.

I would love to have written how eventful the run was or how momentous it felt after i reached the target. But strangely It was not. I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I think the reason may be that I have trained well all summer and I paced myself well during the run.

More than anything else, this run was just what I wanted before the Richmond Half Marathon on 13th November for which I have enrolled. Upwards of 10 miles had been an unknown territory for me so far. All throughout my training, I wondered if I would hit the "Wall" somewhere during the half marathon and not be able to complete at all. Now I am certain- the wall doesn't exist for me, not atleast in the first 13.1 miles for me. I can actually run the whole distance without getting worried about having spent myself up completely midway in the race.

I was also surprised by my ability to pick up pace as required during the run.

At the Richmond Half Marathon, I would be starting in the 2 hr 15 minute wave. My practice run reaffirms this as a reasonably correct estimate of my expected finish time if all goes accordingly to plan.

I am planning no long runs till the 13th. I just want to be fit, focussed and eating well till the big day.

Signing off now.