Detroit Half Marathon

People! I ran a half marathon!

My goal was to run the entire time, no walking allowed. Oh, and to finish. Ha. I did it. I had hoped to run an 11 min mile and I ended at an average pace of 10:59 per mile. I’ll take it!

I entered the race with Ryan and my dad. Ryan finished at an average pace of 8:21 per mile. That’s crazy! He was in 158th place overall. That is impressive. Especially because his training was pretty lame (sorry babe, you know it’s true.)

You know what else is impressive? My dad! He ran his first half marathon at 57 years old. That is awesome and all sorts of inspiring. He ran alongside me the entire race and crossed the finish line half a second before me. Fitting. His competitive nature would never have allowed for me to cross first and that’s just fine by me.

In all the articles and blogs I read, the general consensus was that Belle Isle was the hardest part and Indian Village was the most fun. True and True. First we came to the Villages. Maybe it is because these are my people, but the energy I got from the neighborhood was phenomenal. The streets were packed with music, dancing, beer and cheers. I wish they would have been at mile 11, when things got rough, because the energy I received from Indian Village could have pushed me through any wall. I love where I live. HIVA for life (right Frankie?)

Next came Belle Isle. Ugh. I had trained. I had run 7, 8 and 10 miles before this day. But for some reason, I cramped up on the Island. It was between miles 7 and 8. I felt it creeping up on me and I did my very best to slow down and take in as much oxygen as possible. Didn’t matter, the cramp came and I just pushed through until mile 9 when it finally went away.

After the island, things became anti climactic. No big crowds. Just me, my dad and 4 more miles to go. It wasn’t until the end that we started to feel a renewed sense of energy. The streets were lined with people cheering and I could see the end in site. Dad and I started to sprint.

That’s when I saw Ryan. He was supposed to be waiting for us at the car, warming up, enjoying a cup of well deserved coffee. Nope. Not my life partner. He was there cheering me across the finish and I lost it. I am sure my official finish line photo is me in full ugly cry but I don’t care.

All I could think of was all the support, encouragement and love he has given me for not only this half marathon, but everything that lead up to this day. Everything we have had to go through after the break-in, the life changes we have made to improve our health, this little bitty blog, my therapy, helping Hudson deal with his respiratory issues. EVERYTHING. Through every little thing, he has been my partner and all I could do was weep.

So now I’m a runner. We are signed up for the Mustache Dash and the Turkey Trot. My goal is to keep up this fitness level and maybe just improve my time. People have asked when I will do a full marathon. To be honest, I have no desire. I am mighty proud of my 13.1 miles and want to bask in the glory of this accomplishment for the time being. Besides, if a half makes me this sore, I don’t want to find out what a full feels like.

Then again, never say never.

With love from Detroit,

Callie