3:17:04 & 24696th Place

That's right, folks, I was able to do my very first 1/2 Marathon this past Sat. I jogged/walked 13.1 miles. WooHOO! It turns out my foot was only sprained and my doctor gave me the go-ahead to do the race a day and a half beforehand. I just had to wrap my foot for the race and then ice and ibuprofen afterwards.

The race went pretty well considering I didn't train at all the 2 weeks prior to it and only half-heartedly the 2 weeks prior to my injury. I finished in 3 hours, 17 minutes and 4 seconds and I was the 24,696th person to cross the finish line. And while I acknowledge it is a large number, I wasn't at the complete end of the pack. A total of 29,213 people finished the race.

I averaged a 15:03 min. mile, which is extremely slow, I know, but it worked for me. Plus, I was never in any danger of being picked up by the Sag Wagon. I had hoped to average about a 13 min. mile. Maybe next time. I walked a lot more than I wanted to, but it was probably a good thing because around 11.5 miles, my foot really started hurting. The pain would hit randomly, but it was so intense, I would limp for a few steps before I could get back in stride. I was worried that I had reinjured it. Luckily, I didn't. It doesn't hurt to walk on it now; it's just swollen. Surprisingly, I'm not very sore either. I'm very thankful.

The actual race was very cool. Downtown Indianapolis was virtually shut down. There were pit areas with water or gatorade about every 1/2 mile or so. Also, along the entire route there were bands every few blocks which was also cool. It was like having an iPod the entire race. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I would recommend the race to anyone.