Location: Corning, NY
Date/Time: October 4, 2015
Size: ~2500
Weather: high 40s - mid 50s, sunny, slightly windy
Course: Flat road race with overall net decline
Time: 2:01:33 (gun time), 1:59:57 (chip time)
Rank: Overall: 578/2391; Age Group: 20/83
My goal race for the season, the race I've been dreaming of for over a year, my first half marathon, is done.
I am still overwhelmed by it all. That once, I was a scared, weak girl who thought a mile was impossible and hated her body. And somehow, from that girl, I found the strength to push myself far beyond what I thought I was physically capable of. I am overwhelmed that I got to break these walls down at Wineglass.
I didn't have any concrete goals going in the Wineglass. Realistically, I thought I could run somewhere between a 2:10 or 2:15, and if all the stars aligned, I could possibly pull off a sub-2. But my main goal was just to finish.
The night before the race, I wasn't sure if even that was going to happen. A tough week at school had really drained me and I was not feeling well. It crossed my mind that I should just give up on the idea of a half-marathon for a while, at least until my life settled down. But when I went to bed, I had been anticipating and training for Wineglass for so long that I had to participate, even if it meant I was going to crawl across the finish line.
My alarm clock went off at 4:30am. Remarkably, I felt 95% healthy, and my confidence was somewhat renewed. My dad came and picked me up from my apartment, and we drove about an hour to Bath, where he dropped me off for the the shuttle. He continued onto Corning, where he was going to wait for me at the finish line.
Unfortunately, I realized that I had forgotten my water bottle in the freezer. My dad gave me a generic water bottle to replace it, but it didn't fit well into my fuel belt, so I decided to scrap the fuel belt and run the first few miles holding the water bottle, and my GUs clipped to the inside of my shorts.
On the shuttle, I realized just how many women there were, and that for many of them, it was their first half marathon first. I guess Wineglass attracts a lot of runners who are just starting out.
We were dropped off at a school in Campbell. I made a quick stop at the porta-potty and ran inside the building to warm up a little bit. At 7:20, I made my way to the start line, which was about 1/4 mile away. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was just starting to rise, and I knew that as soon as we started running, the temperature would be perfect.
I seeded myself behind the 2:00 pacer, thinking it was ambitious, but not overly so. At 7:45, we were off!
I think one of the funniest things about races is the start. Everyone build up anticipation when they stand at the start line, so when the gun goes off, they are ready to bolt. But at bigger races, it is so crammed that the triumphant dash from the start line is actually a long, slow walk. Yes, we were walking for a good two minutes before I could even start jogging. Needless to say, the 1st mile was a slow one.
Miles 2-5 were much less condensed, and I settled into a comfortable trot. The fitness app on my phone messed up, but I could have cared less at that point. A lot of things had gone wrong leading up to this moment. I decided to let them go and enjoy the event itself, rather than dwelling everything else. I was feeling good, sipping from my water bottle, smiling at all the kids who dotted the sides of the roads to cheer us on. I got my first taste of race signs. Some of my personal favorites:
"That's a lot of work for a free banana!"
"Where is everyone going?"
Between the sun coming up and my body warming up, the temperature felt absolutely perfect, and it remained that way for the rest of the race. I never felt too hot or too cold, nor did I get so sweaty that I blinded myself. The scenery was also gorgeous. I've lived in upstate NY on and off for over a decade. There are not a lot of things I like about this area, but the fall foliage here is a sight to behold. The morning sun cast a soft yellow glow over the mountains, and it made the changing colors on the tree even more vibrant.
After finishing mile 5, I felt the need to find a bathroom, but I thought that I possibly hold off until I finished the race. Unfortunately, once I started thinking about it, it was all I could think about. At mile 7, I passed the 2:00 pacer, and after running for 5 more minutes, I felt comfortable that I had enough of a lead to use the bathroom and finish sub-2.
After the pit stop, I felt completely refreshed (it was probably more mental than physical), and picked up my pace slightly. I wasn't sure where the 2:00 pacer had gone to at this point, but eventually, I passed another 2:00 pacer (I was not aware of her existence until this point). I felt fantastic. I felt fast, but comfortable. I high fived ever eager spectator. I even tossed the water bottle and taught myself how to drink from those little cups, right there on the course.
I started to tire around mile 10, but I kept reminding myself that I only had a 5k left, which seemed manageable (the concept of 30 minutes, however, did not). My pace really started to slow at mile 12. There was a bridge we had to cross on our way into Corning, and even though there was a substantial hill earlier in the race that I managed with no problem, climbing this thing that could only be considered a bump was a herculean effort.
Entering Corning was quite exciting because this was were all the spectators were. I do wish, however, they had played some music, which would have pumped me up even more. Despite the excitement, I just didn't have anything left in me to make that photo-perfect dash to end. So I just trotted along until I crossed the finish line.
My heart sank a little when I saw the clock and that giant red "2". I hadn't run the sub-2, even though I had passed all the pacers. Still, I couldn't be too disappointed. I finished my first half marathon! Even better, I didn't feel like dying after I stopped running, like I often do after shorter races. I may not have done it this time, but with how good I felt, I knew I definitely had a sub-2 in me, and I would have it soon.
I got my medal, some snacks, and found my dad outside of the finisher's chute. I also ran into a familiar face - a professor who was supporting his wife in her first half. After all the excitement died down, I started to realize how sore my legs were and how cold I was getting. It was a relief to sit on the curb and wrap my fleece jacket around me.
My dad and I watched some of the other finishers, and we noticed that all of the pacers were consistently 2 and a half minutes behind. So my gun time of 2:01:33 was indeed, faster than the 2:00 pacers. And then later that night, I got my chip time:
1:59:57.
Now, I've talked with people, and I am well aware that technically, your gun time is your official time. But because I am not elite, I could go off my chip time, which means I could say that I ran a sub-2 at my first half marathon.
Regardless of the disputed time, I basked in the aftermath of the race. I loved having an excuse sleep and eat for the rest of the day. Recovery was incredibly fast - I felt completely fine by Monday afternoon. I ended up catching the racing bug too. I know I've said in the past that I wasn't sure how I felt about racing, but after Wineglass, I think I've found my favorite distance, and I'll definitely be doing another half-marathon soon.
Most of all, the support I received about my achievement was tremendously uplifting. Yes, this was just a race, but I am so appreciative that my friends and family understood that it meant more than that to me. Wineglass marked the evolution of that insecure teenager on the verge of a destructive eating disorder into a stronger, more confident young woman. I have a lot farther to go, but I'm already a long way from where I was.
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