Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I walked till I got to the starting line and then started to jog once I got going on Lombardi. I decided way ahead of time not to go out too hard because I did not want to have to walk the back half. Dad and I drove the course the day before so I knew there were some little hills around the back half and I knew those could hurt me if I wasn't careful in the beginning. After getting in the grove, I caught up to a pacer who was pacing a 4:45 marathon (2:20 or so half) and kind of joined that group. It was the smartest decision I made that race!! Her name was Beth and we got this little group going and I made running friends with these people. We ran continuously at about a 10:50 pace and walked through the water stops. Because of the conversation and friends, I hardly felt the first few miles. Pretty soon we were at the 10K mark and I was feeling pretty good and doing really well time-wise. My knee which was a cause of much pain earlier in my training, started hurting a bit around mile 6. Mile 7 was the GU stop and I wasn't planning on taking any and it really didn't matter, but they ran out of GU before I got there. Shortly after that I started to notice I was starting to fade and my knee was starting to hurt more than a little, but the group kept me going so I kept up with them. I got to the water stop around mile 9.5 pretty well but realized I was not going to be able to keep up for long. I had never run more than 6 miles straight and here I was on the verge of doing 10. I hit the mile 10 mat and just couldn't keep on running. I lost my group at this point but those first 10 miles were some of the best I have ever done! So I did some walking for a bit and took in some more calories with sports beans and more gatorade. I was also starting to get really cold at this point because I was in shorts and a tee shirt and really sweaty. The walking for a little bit made my muscles tighten up and it took a lot to get running again. I was more forced from this point on to do some running till I couldn't run and then walk for a bit and then try to get running again. Around mile 11, I came across a Fox Cities Triathlete club member and he got in my face and told me that I have to keep moving fast because this is my chance to just keep going. When I got to mile 12 it finally started hitting me that I was going to do this and I decided to run this final mile except for a little bit in the tunnel going into Lambeau. I almost had tears in my eyes when I stepped out onto that field. It felt wonderful! Then when I came out of the tunnel and towards the finishing arch I realized this was it. I smiled all the way across the line knowing I did it!!

Find a way to keep training till the end. I am probably as sore as I am because of the lack of training for those final three weeks. But I am also convinced I can do much better if I was given the chance to try!

I crossed the line, got my mylar blanket, got my wonderful medal, got my picture taken and then just broke down in tears of happiness and disbelief! I made my way out to where Dad was and just flew into his arms crying. We talked a little bit and got a brat and some 26.2 beer and went to go get warm because we were both so cold!


The lack of training flat out. This was a tough training season because I certainly wasn't able to do the best I could because of my IT band and the stress from school.


Well, I am finally getting around to submitting this but I just want to leave the final note that I am so happy and proud of not only what I accomplished but also what all the other first timers did out there especially my Dad. I really didn't realize how hard it is to train for distance events but I certainly saw that these past few months. I look forward to the challenge again, but not too soon. Congrats to everyone who accomplished their dreams!