I heard that I signed up for a half marathon, and my friends around me were very surprised. They couldn't believe that this "skin and bones" person who could be blown away by the wind would dare to run a marathon!?
One late night at the end of March, Ckang sent me a WeChat message saying "Let's run," followed by a screenshot of his registration. Encouraged by him and influenced by the people around me, I also registered for my first marathon, which was also the first marathon event in my hometown.
Preparation#
Before this, I occasionally ran a few kilometers, but it was just leisurely jogging. This time, I had to run 21 kilometers all at once, which was quite challenging for me, especially with only about half a month left to prepare.
So, Ckang and I started to exercise regularly, running, playing basketball, or running stairs to train our cardiovascular endurance. We ran conservatively, usually 5-8 kilometers at a pace of around 6 minutes per kilometer. At first, I would start breathing heavily after running 4 kilometers continuously, but gradually I was able to increase it to 6 kilometers, which showed some improvement. Playing basketball in a one-on-one match was actually very tiring. After 5 rounds, I would often need to take a break. Due to frequent rain in the south, we had to run stairs. At first, I thought it wouldn't be a problem, but I didn't expect that after going down 17 floors in one round, I would be completely out of breath, and it was even harder to move my legs on the lower floors.
Due to the Qingming Festival in April, I had to interrupt my training for a few days. Then, my father was diagnosed with kidney stones and peritonitis, and he had to be hospitalized. I had to travel back and forth between the hospital and home, which interrupted my training even more.
All in all, from registration to the race day, I only ran about 6 times, played basketball 3-4 times, and ran stairs once.
The Night Before the Half Marathon#
People usually have a light meal and rest early on the night before a half marathon, but I was eating skewers at a night market stall. I originally planned to go eat steak, but when we arrived at the steakhouse after delivering the food, we found that it was closed. So we had to find a night market stall nearby to have dinner.
I didn't dare to eat too much. I mainly ate fried noodles. I didn't touch the soybeans and other braised snacks that Shero ordered. Eating spicy and stimulating food at night would always give me diarrhea the next day, and I didn't want to have to go to the restroom during the race.
Race Day#
However, I still overestimated my stomach. After waking up at 5 o'clock, I went to the restroom twice in a row, becoming a "jet warrior."
Fortunately, it didn't have much impact. I had a simple meal of rice, replenished carbohydrates, ate a piece of bread made by Shero, drank some water, and started packing my things. I arrived at Ckang's house at 6:30 and took a shuttle bus to the starting point.
The weather that day was foggy, with visibility only 20-30 meters. The whole area looked like a fairyland. When we arrived, there were already many people, participants, volunteers, security personnel, all crowding together. After checking in our bags, we waited on the race track, doing some simple warm-up exercises. Everyone was full of energy. This is probably the charm of sports.
The gunshot sounded, and I started running at my own pace. The mist splashed on my face, bringing a cool sensation. Passing through the crowded crowd on both sides, the cheers pierced through my breath, and I became excited. Along the way, many elderly people and children sprinted past me. They were the participants of the fun run. The fun run is mainly for enjoyment, and the whole distance is only five kilometers.
Before this, the longest distance I had run without stopping was 8 kilometers. This time, I wanted to challenge myself and see how far I could go. At the 6-kilometer mark, I replenished some water, looked up and enjoyed the mist, and continued running. When I was about to reach the halfway point, I saw two black runners coming from the opposite direction. They were already on their way back, and they were only a few kilometers away from the finish line. It had only been an hour and one minute. In the end, I took a rest at the 14-kilometer mark and walked for a while. However, when I started running again, I realized something was off. It was easy to stop, but difficult to start again. The most uncomfortable thing was that the morning fog began to dissipate, and the sun in the east gradually became dazzling. Everyone on the road was sweating profusely.
There is a saying in marathons called "hitting the wall," which refers to the later stage when the limbs feel weak and the mind feels powerless. In a full marathon, this usually happens around the 37-kilometer mark. As a beginner in marathons, running a half marathon of 21 kilometers, I experienced a similar situation at the 16-kilometer mark, and it reached its peak at the 18-kilometer mark. Physically, I could barely move my legs and could only run and stop. As a result, the time it took for the last 5 kilometers was much longer than the previous stages.
Along the way, I watched the 2:15 pacers (pace setters, who would finish the full marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes) pass me and gradually move away from me, to the point where I couldn't see their backs anymore. I thought to myself that breaking 2 hours for the half marathon was completely hopeless, and I felt discouraged. In the end, I finished my first half marathon in 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Summary#
A few reflections on this half marathon:
- Training is necessary. I believe that my later struggles and insufficient training were closely related.
- Maintain a balanced mindset and run at your own pace. Along the way, I was often overtaken by others. If my mindset was not good and it disrupted my pace, it would be easy to give up.
- Don't stop unless absolutely necessary. Even if you slow down, don't easily stop, because once you stop, it's difficult to find the rhythm to start running again.
- The atmosphere is important. The first half of the race exceeded my expectations. I ran steadily and comfortably, thanks to the encouragement of my running friends, which allowed me to constantly push my limits.
- The spectators and volunteers on-site were very supportive, which was the most concentrated feedback from the participants. There were cheers from the spectators at almost every kilometer, and almost every volunteer would raise their hands to cheer on the athletes, which was very encouraging.