Over Memorial Day weekend I participated in the Madison Half-Marathon. The course was great–we started at the capital, ran through the lakeshore side of campus, then to the east side (right by my apartment!), around Monona Bay, and back to the capital. The day was a hot one–in fact they had to close the race at 11AM due to rising temps.
This was my second half-marathon. (My first being in Deadwood, SD.) I did a combination of training on my own and with my friend Kelly. We started training in January. I remember running in 10 degree weather and feeling quite proud of myself for surviving. Once the school year began, training got trickier. Not only was my schedule busier, but I got sick a couple times and I injured my knee. Despite this I continued to train. Unfortunately the longest run I was able to do before the race was 8 miles.
On race day I didn’t feel exactly prepared, but I was still excited to try and give it my all. It’s no surprise that the last 3 miles were the hardest. I was grateful to the many supporters standing out on their front lawns, cheering us on. Some of them hosed us down and offered us watermelon and even beer (which I politely declined). Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of the race day since Dave, my own personal photographer, was out of town.
After I got home from the race I took a nice but brief ice bath and proceeded to watch TV the rest of the day. As I laid on the couch with my legs throbbing, I couldn’t help but look forward to my next half.
