Two years ago, I trained for a full marathon. I made it to 16 miles before injuring my iliotibial band. I ran all those miles, yet never completed an actual race. This year, all that changed. I set my sights on running the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. I started training with my friends Angie Goff and Suzie Giampetroni. We all completed the race. Then, I signed up for my first official half marathon in Frederick, Md. Again, I trained with friends. But leading up to the race, I backed off on training. I wasn’t truly prepared, but decided to push myself through the race. I completed the Frederick Half Marathon in two hours, 22 minutes. Not bad. But I did several things wrong: I failed to enjoy the moment. I slept after the race. And I didn’t stretch properly. As a result, I was so sore I could barely walk for a week.

I was determined not to make those mistakes again. When I signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, I was surprised to learn Patrick wanted to sign up with me. I was so happy to have a permanent training partner, who happens to be my very best friend.
We trained properly. And I incorporated yoga moves into my stretching routine. The only real problem I had was with my foot. My right foot started to fall asleep after the third mile. It happened every time I ran. Often, I’d have to stop and walk and hope the feeling would return.
Finally, I discovered that if I stop at every mile and stretch my foot for about 20 seconds, I could keep my foot from falling asleep so fast. If it was already asleep, I could regain feeling. I would have to do this for the race.
We left Saturday at 10 a.m. to drive to Virginia Beach. The traffic was so horrible, it took us nearly six hours. Patrick drove while I slept. We got there just in time to pick up our race packets. We met up with Angie and her husband Robert at the expo. (This is Robert’s first race.) We took our time going around the expo. Patrick and I signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll Las Vegas Marathon.
For dinner, we ate at Fazoli’s. We had plenty of spaghetti and a ton of bread sticks. It was the ultimate carb-loading experience. We went to bed early and set several alarms. In order to be ready for the race, we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m.
Finding parking was horrendous. I thought we could simply park at the Convention Center, but that was only for volunteers or VIPs. We were supposed to park far away and then grab one of the provided shuttle buses. We were in a long line of cars and a man told us to follow another vehicle to a different lot. We did and discovered it was a paid lot. I was a little upset that we had to go through such a hassle when we were the ones having to run. (It worked out for the best because we discovered our lot was about a block and a half away from the finish line.)
We ate protein cookies as we walked to the starting line. It was so exciting! There were thousands of people smiling and ready to run. They played music and an energetic-sounding announcer talked got us revved up.
Patrick and I had to separate and go to our corrals. I knew this would be a successful race because of two reasons. As my corral (number 11) was called up to the starting line, 13 minutes was on the clock (my lucky number). And the song “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey was playing and we were all singing. It was the perfect moment.
As soon as I crossed the starting line, I was running. I started slow and focused on pacing myself. I played music in my iPod to help me keep pace. As we ran the first few miles, it seemed fairly quiet. We passed cheerleaders who clapped and held signs. Their words of encouragement would only sound better and better with each passing mile.
We would have to run some of the same roads with this course. By our third mile, we were seeing some of the fastest runners on the other side of the road. It’s hard to imagine they were so far along, yet we all started at roughly the same time. We cheered for them and for ourselves as we completed the first 5k.
At each mile, I stepped off the course and stretched my foot. It was hard to stop and even harder to look back and see the vivid blur of runners passing me up. But I knew I would benefit from 20 seconds of standing still. But every time I started up again, I gained momentum. The brief stop would only help.
I loved running through a heavily wooded residential area. I appreciate all the volunteers who line up along the course. But I get the most pleasure from seeing people sitting on the front steps of their own homes to watch runners. A group of cheerleaders made huge signs from bed sheets and hung them from trees. They used sidewalk chalk to write words of encouragement on the course. And when we ran by, they did everything they could to give us support.
Another cheerleading group I loved had on angel wings. When I saw them I just thought of flying through the race.
A few miles into the course, I heard a recording of a patriotic band and then saw soldiers and vets holding signs and cheering for us. I felt like I was tearing up. I clapped my hands as loud as I could and just said, “thank you,” over and over again. I was moved. I couldn’t believe soldiers and veterans were cheering for us when it should be the other way around. I thought of them as I approached the first major hill.
As steep as it looked, the bridge hardly made me sweat. My mind went to a different place and I now I don’t recall feeling any pain. By this point, the bands were really getting into their sets. One of my favorites was a steel drum band. They were giving out leis and had a group of dancers that kept me smiling.
I kept running. I didn’t stop at the first water break, but I was stopped now for all the rest. I was taking both water and Cytomax. I wanted to stay hydrated. And for the first six miles, I was right on schedule—10 minute miles. I’m not sure when it was, but I grabbed a vanilla GU at one of the water stops. It kept me going. As much as I wanted to keep up the pace, I had to keep stopping for my foot.
And then my stomach began to hurt. Bad. I needed to find a bathroom. I pushed on, but knew I would have to give in. I took a four-minute break to use a Port-a-Potty (and yes, I brought my own hand sanitizer).
As soon as I got back on the course, I sprinted. I wanted to catch back up. After about a half mile I realized I was going too fast. I was out of breath. I started to slow down by it was too late. I was running out of stamina. I had about four or five miles left.
By this time, I was going over roads I had already run. I was seeing some of the same bands again. It helped to hear the steel drum band and see the cheerleaders with butterfly wings. Much of the crowd was now extending their arms and giving runners high-fives. I gave high-fives back. It made me smile.
During the last few miles I was getting extremely hot. At one of the last water breaks, I grabbed two cups and dumped them on my head. It felt great. But I didn’t think about what it would do to my iPod’s headphones. All of a sudden I couldn’t hear bass. I turned it off and then on again. I was afraid I broke the iPod, but later learned it was just the headphones. No biggie.
The course felt like it was getting longer. I only had a couple miles left but it seemed like I would never get there. I looked in the crowd to find interesting people with creative ways to encourage runners. I saw one guy with a blow-up parrot on his head. So cool!
One of the last bands I heard was playing a Dave Matthews song. I think. All I know is that I had run out of music, and this music rocked! I clapped and raised my hands in the air as I passed them. I was feeling so good—especially as I rounded a corner and saw the giant number 12 mile marker up ahead.
I wanted to sprint but couldn’t. I did pick up the pace a bit. I realized I was no longer on asphalt. I was running on concrete. I shouldn’t have let it bother me, but I automatically began thinking about how I might be hurting my knees. It was just for a mile—I shouldn’t have let it get to me.
People were shouting out, “almost there!” I wanted to quit. I saw a group of girls holding signs: Free hugs at the finish line. Yes! I wanted a free hug really badly. It kept me running. But at this point I was only running short distances. I was doing combination running and walking. I just couldn’t continue. It wasn’t a physical ailment. It was a mental one.
Finally, I hit mile marker 13. I made myself run to the end. I wouldn’t be happy unless I was running over the finish line. I waved to every professional camera I saw hoping it would catch this victorious moment.
As soon as I crossed the finish line I felt elated. I was so happy I began to cry. I could not control. I was so relieved and proud. I couldn’t help but cry for a few moments.
This race was well-organized. I walked with a crowd of people and got my medal. Then, I was given an ice cold towel. I kept walking. I received bottled water, then a banana, a Popsicle, and a goodie bag. I kept walking toward the beach. I quickly found the family reunion area. But what I really wanted was a massage.
I couldn’t find the massage area, but instead was directed to the medical tent where I stretched and then was given an ice pack for my IT band. I then walked to a grassy area, shedding the melted ice pack and stretching some more.Eventually I made my way over to the beer tent where I received a free can of Miller’s MGD 64. Refreshing—and free!
I had just begun to drink it when Patrick found me. He grabbed a cold one as well. We were elated and shared stories. Our goal was to stay awake and so we walked around for a bit before making our way over to our car, going back to the hotel for a shower, and then having a victory dinner at Olive Garden. That night, Patrick, Angie, Robert and I all met up and had dessert.
I signed up for a service that sends me text messages as I complete the race. It’s a way for me to gain a better understanding of my pacing. Here are the results:
Lindsey Mastis has started the race at 07:15:27.
Crossed the 5K mark at 07:47:28, with a time of 00:31:58.
Crossed the 10K mark at 8:18:44, with a time of 01:03:14.
Crossed the 10 Mile mark at 08:57:46, with a time of 1:42:16.
Crossed the 11.4 Mile mark at 09:11:39, with a time of 1:56:09.
Crossed the 12.3 Mile mark at 09:21:10, with a time of 2:05:40.
Crossed the Race Finish mark at 09:27:40, with a time of 02:12:10.
SUMMARY
LOCATION: Virginia Beach
TIME: 2:12:10
PACE: 10:04
WHAT I’LL REMEMBER MOST: Crossing the finish line and receiving my medal.

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