I have been training over the winter for a half marathon, and this past weekend I had the chance to run in the US Half Marathon Championships in Houston. It was an incredible experience. I arrived a couple of days early to give my body a chance to adjust to the altitude change. I wound up with a really bad chest cold a day before (and the day of) the race, and didn't run my best, I had fun and it really was an amazing experience.
I felt a little out of place, but I was able to meet some great people and get ready to race. It was nice. Most of the championship half marathon group stayed in the same hotel and we were able to eat meals and get ready together.
The night before the race, I hardly slept at all... not because of nerves, but because I couldn't stop coughing! My chest cold had really kicked in to high gear. Race day, I went out at the pace that I had planned. I started like I wanted to, and pushed hard for my times, but with being sick, it just wasn't a PR day. I would look down at my watch thinking, "I am really pushing hard" and was shocked to see I wasn't even close to where I wanted to be time wise. The effort was there, but the oxygen wasn't. It was a really fun, but tough race. Pretty windy, but good. I managed to finish 16th in my division and top 50 overall, but really wish I had had the chance to nail my time. I am looking at another potential race in March if things work out and hope to be able to get closer to my goal time there.
-Danya
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