Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I'm a total newb to running. In 2009 I did an OLY and a Sprint so a half mary was a big jump for me.

I really felt great for the first 8-9 miles. According to my stop watch, I was hitting 10 min/miles at the 3 mile and 6 mile markers. Just before the 9 mile marker I had to stop and stretch my back because it was giving me sharp pains and tingling in my right arm when I straightened my back. I felt I did a good job climbing hospital hill but I had to stop and stretch again at the last water station (around 11 mile marker).
Considering the difficult I had just standing on Friday, I was soooo happy to complete this run with only two stops for stretching. My primary concern was not finishing, or hurting myself ahead of Black Bear next week.

I would wear lighter shorts which would not hold so much water. Also, I wore my bib belt, instead of pinning it to my shorts. That was a hassle and made things a little uncomfortable. I found that too much Poweraid can bother me a little. I think I'll stick to straight water next time.

I had to walk 1 mile to the hotel. I stretched and did a brisk walk to the hotel.


Back and inexperience in terms of what to expect. I had no idea there would be so many water stations.


Being former military, I found it really cool to be around so many other military people again. I have never run in an event of this size so it felt great to be out there. There were so many cool things to look at along the route, it made things go by very quickly.
A half mary is a big milestone for me. I hate running so I decided to do this to face my biggest tri concern, head-on. I really feel as though this helped me. Last September, I ran a 10k in 1:11. This year, after the training, I expect to be under 1hr. Today was a good day for me. OOH RAH!