ING Georgia Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

We started down Peachtree and a fairly slow pace because the 15,000 others that were before be. So more running left to right than straight ahead. By about 25 minutes in the crowd began to diminish and weed itself out, so it was a very pleasant first half. Incredibly supportive crowd, especially seeing as how this was the inaugural race. The atmosphere was really nice, but I could have seen better help with water stations because that was one of the most unorganized aspects of the race. Everything was going swimmingly till about mile 6, then it felt like someone suddenly jabbed a knife in my right knee. I almost fell over because it was so sudden, and it was while I was on a hard incline on Freedom Parkway, so that was definitely not helping. I slowed down and walked for a few minutes trying to push through the cramp, which worked fine temporarily, but as soon as I started running again, it was back. So at that point I had to make a decision: either get a DNF because the pain was so great, or keep going and loose everything that this race meant to me. For those of you who do not know, I was going through a very difficult time when a friend introduced long distance running to me and the idea of this race. I don't know what I would do with myself if I could not finish: I would be proving everyone right when they did not support me and said that this was a waste of time. I found it in me to keep going, even though it was at this point a walk, slow-jog race. Much everything else in the race was a blur, minus the times where I got that boost of energy from the crowd. The only thing I felt at times was the pulsing of my knee. When I got back into downtown ATL and close to Peachtree, I knew it was just 1 or 2 more miles to go. That was all i needed to finish, but my knees would not carry me. There were a few times that they locked out in a stride and I almost fell over, but I remained my composure and kept going. At one point, a spectator pointed me out of the crowd and said "Alright Daniel ,way to go! You're doing great!" That was all I needed to finish the race. It brought tears to my eyes to think that someone believed that I could do this. That I could actually finish! The home stretch was in sight and I broke into a sprint and crossed the finish line in a full dash! It was over, I made it through what I thought I would never do.

See below

The entire race was decent since this was my first race, but I would have loved to finish better. My knee was the only thing that held me back. After going to the doctor and resting for about two months, I realize that now it was a simple overuse injury. I trained for this race well in advance, but I did not follow a good work, rest schedule to keep by body in good tune. Next time I will be ready by training with a plan instead of the idea "Hmm, I think I'll go running today." Calming nerves would have helped as well, and better nutrition before would not have been a bad idea. Overall, just prepare better and I think I'll do fine. Next year will be the full mary!


Good, just improve for next year with a little more organization