Half Marathon

September 12, 2020

I completed my first half marathon on Saturday, September 12, 2020, here in Succasunna at the Horseshoe Lake Complex and out to the West Morris Greenway connecting to the Black River Wildlife Area Trail.  Most of the race was run in the shaded mostly gravel path, being cautious of root stumps and puddles.  

My son Paul led off for the first half of the run, managing my pace a little slower (about 13 minute pace) and helping me identify the stumps (in training I had tripped on one of them).

After the first half, where we turned around to head back to the finish.  Paul ran with a backpack which held spare water bottles, we exchanged one bottle for another at the turnaround spot (mile 7.4).

This was an incredible experience and I cherished every moment of it.

At about 9:30 and mile 9 my Mom called me, she calls me every day around that time.  I answered it with my watch and it connected to my air pods, I was able to talk to her for a few minutes while I continued to run.  I told her I was doing “Excellent”

We continued along and I ran a little faster – I was confident I could finish strong and really did not stop or slow down at any point after the turn around.

There is a good short hill that crosses over a small stream near the head of the Greenway trail, it also carries some pumping pipes for the sewer plant that is along the path, I ran / walked in both directions.   On the way back there is about a half-mile left to the half marathon.  

I came in strong and was very happy as we did the last piece of the race.

Megan was there with the camera and our friend JoEllen was also there with a sign greeting us at the finish line.

I did the 13.1 miles in Two Hours, Fifty-Eight Minutes and 50 seconds for an average pace of 12 minutes 49 second pace.  It was under three hours which is phenomenal.

My phone died at mile 12.4 and did not record my finish.  We recharged the phone and Paul re-ran the .7 miles at my pace.  The official clock added time because of the pause and recorded me at 3:04:44 time.

I learned that I should have hit the button to turn off the screen light, also set the light intensity lower for the long runs.  A lesson learned.

This was an incredible experience – the training really did pay off and make a difference.  I started training on June 16, 2020.  I completed 42 training over 13 weeks.

I am setting my sights on a full marathon sometime in October or November, 2021.

I am in awe that I was able to do a half marathon and thrilled and in awe of aiming for a full marathon.

I know we can always do something better, walk a little more or faster, up a few hills never tried before.. everything you do makes you more healthy – of course being careful and incrementing gradually is very important, even critical to success.

I want to especially thank my son Paul for his guidance through my training period and his willingness to carry a back pack while running to hold the water bottle supply. He excellently paced me for the first half of the race. Thank you!!!

Also, I want to thank my wife, Megan for all her support… wishing me safety every morning when I left for training, asking me if I was OK and how I did after my runs…. just giving me so much encouragement.

Thank you to all my friends who encouraged me along the way.

Thank you for reading my story, keep moving, be strong and stay healthy!