At 8am on Saturday, June 18th, 2022, I took my first step toward what would be a 3-hour half marathon run. I had decided back in October that running a distance of 21.1km would be my goal in the summer. After 21 loops around a 1km city block in London, Ontario, I finished the exhausting run with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 44 seconds.
Why was the half marathon my goal? When I signed up for a 4-session personal training package at the gym, my trainer at the time, Adam, asked me about my fitness goals. Though I had no goals on that first day, I came back with my answer at the start of the second session. With lingering pain from injuries in the past, I wanted to establish a fitness routine to manage my body. Running a half marathon would be an achievable goal that doubled my maximum distance run at one time.
My longest run came a few years ago when I accumulated a distance of 11.21km in 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 20 seconds. I was in a month-long challenge with two friends to see who could run the most. My main competitor – let’s call her The Savage – had run 11km. Being petty, I wanted her to know I ran just a little bit more. Whether she saw my run or even cared about it, I’m not sure. But if she did, then she knew.
The run itself was not a race. I ran alone for the first 12km and was joined by two friends for the remainder. In hindsight, their presence was crucial. I was jogging along at a pace of 8 min/km but sped up to 7min/km once they joined me.
Gear
After the first half hour, I drank water and then continued to drink every 15-30 minutes thereafter. My liquids for this run were two Nestle PureLife water bottles and one bottle of yellow Lemon Gatorade (the best one). A Be Better brand of SPF 30 sunscreen protected my skin, a red Detroit Red Wings cap covered my head, and a $20 pair of UV protected sunglasses shielded my eyes from the glare of the sun on sidewalks and roads. Both my Fossil Sport smartwatch and Casio digital watch recorded the run. To support my feet I wore my beat up Asics Gel-Kahana running shoes which had accumulated a mileage of over 600km.
My car was parked on the road which was the long end of a rectangular loop around a city block. Inside I kept my water and Gatorade. After running halfway, I always had a bottle in my hand as I alternated between water and Gatorade every few loops. The weather was warm with a cool breeze but not too hot and humid.
Consequences
Running in running shoes with more than 600km to their name was a poor decision. For 10 days after the run, my left foot hurt every time I took a step. When I took my last step in the half marathon I started walking so rigid that my legs must have been replaced with stilts. My hamstrings were tight and painful. Although my knees felt good the supporting tendons around them hurt from the repetitive impact of running for 3 hours.
After reaching home I setup an ice bath. A failed ice bath because one bag of ice in cold water melts very quickly. To be precise, I soaked my legs in cold water for five minutes. The pain in my hamstrings subsided quickly and the relief from the cold water was euphoric. I followed this with a hot shower.
For the rest of the day I kept drinking water and Gatorade. I only felt rehydrated hours later in the evening. My first meal was white bread pan-friend with ghee. Salt and pepper on top for flavour. My hunger that day was never-ending. I remember snacking on a whole bag of Lays Magic Masala Chips. I questioned how much to eat but then remembered what my friend had advised me near the end of the run: “Eat whatever you like. You deserve it.”
Reflection
I believe the sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses were excellent choices. In my last loop, when I removed my shades, I realized that everything was way too bright. This feeling was similar to waking up in the dead of night and turning on a lightbulb. My smartwatch battery failed in the 19th loop. I lost tracking after that but still had my digital watch to record the time.
I’m happy that I achieved my goal to run a half marathon. It was a challenge that I thought I could complete but I needed proof. Now that the run is in the books, I can look onward to the next running challenge. A few options exist: run a half marathon with hills, run a half marathon race, run a full marathon, etc.
Akshay Rao 