Lincoln Half-Marathon 2016 Recap

I finished my 10th half-marathon!!! I ran the Lincoln Half-Marathon on Sunday, May 1, which also happened to be my 33rd birthday!

My family and the BF helped me celebrate my day and supported me during my run. It was a fun weekend, and I was really proud of myself for completing the race.

Here are details from the weekend and the race…

Friday, April 29

I woke up in the middle of the night with a hormonal migraine. I didn’t sleep well the rest of the night, and felt horrible when I woke up. I ended up calling in sick to work and spent the day laying on the couch with an ice pack on my head.

Saturday, April 30

My headache was still going strong Saturday morning, and I began to get anxious about my half-marathon. I can barely move around my house with my hormonal headaches, let alone go running.

But after some coffee and half a banana, I decided to try exercise. I went on a 1-mile shakeout run, and my headache disappeared!

I got ready to head to Lincoln by packing my running gear and fuel. I made a detailed list so that I wouldn’t forget anything.

Then we headed to Lincoln! 

We stopped at the Cornhusker Hotel for race packet pick up. It was super easy and fast. 

We grabbed lunch downtown. The BF and I had falafel, my niece got Jimmy John’s and my parent’s had Yia Yia’s. It was drizzling rain and it was a bit cold, but we found some tables under an awning and ate together.

My dad and niece went to the Lincoln Children’s Museum, and my mom, the BF and I checked into our hotel. The BF and I did a bit of shopping that afternoon. 

I picked up the book Clean Eating at Barnes and Noble (such good recipes!) and I bought myself a pair of Birkenstock sandals at DSW. We also stopped by this amazing grocery store called Fresh Thyme to pick up some ingredients for dinner. 

We always stay at Chase Suites because the rooms have full kitchens, and I can make my own pre-race dinner. I pack all the food I need to fuel and recover from the race!

They also have comfy beds. All important before running a half-marathon. I relaxed and had some greens to get in lots of nutrition before the race.

We had turkey burgers, brown rice, roasted asparagus, broccoli and sweet potatoes. Gotta keep it clean and healthy!

Since it was my birthday weekend, I opened a couple of gifts from my parents. My parents were very generous this year!

I was in bed by 9:30 p.m. 

Sunday, May 1

I was up by 5:30 a.m. to get ready for the race. I had leftover rice and sweet potato and eggs for breakfast. I also added a scoop of Vega Clean Energy to a plastic water bottle to take with me and drink before the start of the race. 

It was cold and rainy, so we hung out in the field house until I had to get in the start line. The race starts and ends at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

I wore a trash bag to stay dry until I crossed the start line. The race started at 7 a.m. and I crossed the start line at 7:45 a.m. 

My family and the BF were at the start line to cheer me on, which made it feel really special. 

Miles 1-2: My toes were numb from standing in line and being really cold. After half a mile, I started to get worried that my toes were going to be numb for the whole race. I kept wiggling them to try to regain feeling. I finally started to feel my toes again right after the second mile.

Miles 3-6: I felt really comfortable with my pace and stayed steady for the first 10K. The runners around me were really enthusiastic and engaging with spectators, which was fun. 

I saw my family and the BF on Sheridan Boulevard. It was great to get some cheers and a high five from my niece!

I realized that I really had to pee within the first mile or so. I passed by three port-a-potties with super long lines. I decided to keep going to see how I felt.

The BF and my dad showed up again on 48th Street right before I got on the hike/bike trail along Highway 2. 

Miles 7-8: At 7.5 miles, I found a port-a-potty with only two people waiting. I decided to stop. I was so glad that I did because I felt a million times better. And it only took 2-3 minutes. 

Running on the hike/bike trail was challenging. There weren’t many spectators because Highway 2 was under construction and cars couldn’t park on the shoulder. It got really quiet, it started raining a bit harder and there was more wind. 

It was also hard to keep a steady pace because of all the people walking. 

Miles 8-11: My pace slowed down quite a bit during this portion of the race because of the hills. This was the first time that I had to start talking myself out of walking. I kept telling myself to keep going, and it worked. I never stopped to walk.

I ate a Honey Stinger energy gel between miles 8 and 9.

My family and the BF were at mile 9 to cheer for me. I really needed it at that point.

Miles 12-13: These last two miles were really hard. I had to use a lot of positive self-talk to keep running. There were a ton of people walking, so it would have been really easy to just walk/run the rest of the race. But I really wanted to finish strong. So I kept going.

My family and the BF were on 10th Street about half a mile from the finish line. It was exactly what I needed to keep running to the end. My pace even picked up at the end.

I saw them again right before I ran into Memorial Stadium, and it gave me another boost to run strong across the football field and across the finish line. 

I felt pretty good after the race. My hamstrings were really tight and sore and my feet were stiff, but that was really all the pain I felt. 

I grabbed a bottled water, half a banana and a carton of chocolate milk after I got my race medal. I mixed the chocolate milk with my plant protein powder after I found my family and got my post-race bag that I packed (in my bag…dry sweatshirt to change into, protein powder in a blender bottle, a water bottle, flip flops and chap stick).

We took a few quick photos, then headed back to the hotel. I was really cold and wanted to get in the shower immediately.

My dad picked up food for me – eggs, breakfast sausage and a Belgian waffle. I also had my Minerals and Antioxidants drink to replenish electrolytes.

We made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s before getting on the in…