Nookachamps Half Marathon: The Ultimate Battle

Here we are with our fellow running group members
in the comfort of the gymnasium-- before heading
out into the elements.

I had really looked forward to the Nookachamps Half Marathon.  I’d been feeling faster and stronger; I’d noticed my mile times getting lower and lower.  For the first time in my life, my Runkeeper app was showing me mile split times on long runs of 7:42, 7:46, 7:48, and 7:54.  This was my chance to show the world that I’m getting speedier!  I was incredibly eager to get a time in the 1:40’s.


Here I am near the finish line.  I'm
trying hard to conceal my misery!

However, it just wasn’t meant to be.  I came to this realization as I heard the rain pouring and wind howling the night before the run.  As I got out of bed on race day, I felt very congested (yuck!) and became apprehensive about the adverse weather conditions.  I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.

As we traveled to Mount Vernon, we got a false sense of hope when we saw a patch of blue sky … But it soon disappeared!  The race was undoubtedly the most unpleasant run of my life.  We ran into a headwind for probably about 95% of the course, and the winds were so strong that I noticed that the people ahead of me had an awkward sideways lean to their gait. Gusts of wind felt like they were body-slamming me as they reached 50mph, and I was soaked to the bone.  It seemed to take twice as much effort than normal to go anywhere.   I tried to engage in positive self-talk to convince myself that I was having fun, but I couldn't deny the fact that I was absolutely miserable.

With that said, it was still the best half marathon time that I have on record!  My official finish time was 1:51:31, which is 8:30 per mile  (my last half marathon time was 1:52:13).  I finished in 97th place out of 300 male/female runners.  In spite of being so cold that my teeth were chattering and so wet that my shoes had about a half inch of water at the bottom, I really did have a strong sense of accomplishment.

I am optimistic that all future runs will have more enjoyable conditions, and my fingers are crossed that I'll continue to make great strides with my running!