My First Half Marathon

As it is four days until my second half marathon, I thought I should reflect back on my first one.

I ran my first half on March 12, 2017 at the North London Half Marathon. I signed up for it because during New Years, I was thinking about my personal resolution of the year. At that point, my longest run as 12 km. I looked up a few races, but I didn't have the courage to sign up. I also got a knee pain on New Year's Day, which didn't help either.

But a few days later, I was visiting Brussels, and went on a running tour with my guide, Mark, since I was traveling solo and I though running was the best way to see the city. (By the way, I recommend this tour a lot, so check them out: http://brusselssightjogging.com/ - they are great and cheaper than some of the other rip-off tours in the city.) I signed up for a 10 km tour, but my guide asked me if I wanted to run to the start or take public transportation. I thought - why not run? So I ended up being able to run 15 km or so, which definitely gave me my confidence to sign up for the half marathon.

I was nervous about running it, but I focused on finishing the half marathon more than anything else. Turned out, my pace that day was better than anything I ever had probably because of the adrenaline, and I finished the half in around two hours! North London Half Marathon starts and ends at the Wembley Stadium, so that was pretty cool. The course wasn't pretty, but the crowd and organization were both great. I couldn't have asked for a better first race.

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#halfmarathon #race #running #tapering