It’s been awhile since I wrote about a half marathon I’ve participated in. All the more reason to share that you can be a somewhat casual runner (I run an average of 15 miles a week) along with yoga and a day dedicated to weights/legs and train up to a half marathon in 2-3 months. This half marathon was my 16th one I’ve run.. and I’ve only been running these races for the last 4.5 years. . . so you can start at any age and any physical level. You can go to this post to see the training program I personally use for every race!
{Incheon International Half Marathon}
The 19th Incheon International Half Marathon took place on 31 March 2019 and I actually also ran the Challenge Race in Seoul the month before. BUT before the Challenge race in February, it had been a solid 10 months since I ran in any major races. With my normal running mileage, I was able to start my long runs about a month prior to the race going from 5-9 miles (increasing one mile on the long run each week). Not the most ideal, but your body can go a lot further than you think. When I sit back and think I just ran 13.1 miles, I still can’t comprehend that – like what the actual eff?? You can continuously make your legs move for that long?! I just have a method that gets me to the next point rather than thinking at the starting line, “I have 13.1 miles beginning now”. They’re like mini goals or things to look forward to, to kind of breakup the race. Here is mine:
{But first, the race flatlay}
(scroll to the end for my flatlay details)
Starting Line: WTF did I sign up for this race in the winter (inner monologue) – oh yeah, because I really like trying to aim for a new PR (personal record) and want another medal to stash in my drawer, not before leaving out on my dresser for a day or two for me to appreciate then stash away – sad but true.
P.S. see below for the ultimate judgey photobomb… like excuse me sir, are you pursing your lips??
Miles 1-2: Ok just keep a solid pace – usually my fastest miles because I genuinely am excited.
Mile 4: Take one Gu (Jet Blackberry)
Mile 9: I’m not sure what happens from miles 4-9 – I think I kind of black out.. take in the sights and realize I’m here for awhile. Take another Gu (Strawberry Banana).
Mile 10: Realize how much harder I need to run in order to break my current PR of 2:01:14 (this was done about 2.5 years ago) so it’s been a major record of mine to beat and get sub 2 hours. I always think about this at every race and any runner that says they don’t, is lying. This time, I had two watches on.. my Nike TomTom (I need a new one, so looking for sponsors.. kidding, sorta) to track my speed and distance covered and my Fitbit which could track my time at a glance. It was mile 10 where I was like this is where I can make it or break it. I did pretty good at hovering around 9 minutes/mile. What I didn’t factor in was all the small breaks, i.e. water stops and like one picture taking quickie. The watch shows your average speed but doesn’t really take into account the small breaks.
Miles 11-12: I pushed myself so hard this race, more than I had in a long time. My legs hurt but I could still make them move forward. At mile 12 I was hoping my fitbit time was off and I had a few minutes grace period from our 9AM gun time (not everyone starts right at 9AM because the elite runners go first, followed typically by waves of people in each section, i.e. half, 10K, 5K).
Mile 12.5-12.9: All effing up-hill. This was probably my slowest run in all of the race and the first time I saw my watch hit anything that said 10.. but still, I pushed on.
Mile 13: I made it back to the Munhak Stadium and the last little bit was a trek around the track. I was just glad to be there and with the finish line in sight, I was just happy to be there. I didn’t have the energy to push with a super strong sprint at the end and could see the two different start times and wasn’t 100% sure which one was mine (one was under 2 hours). Come to find out my was NOT the one with the sub 2.
Mile 13.1: Finished! My official time was 2:06:16. I’m pretty proud of the time for the fact I haven’t gotten this good of a time in awhile. It used to be my sweet spot when I was really at the prime of my running before moving to Korea.
Sunglasses are by: William Painter
{what to expect at the race}
The Incheon International Half Marathon is an out and back race starting at Munhak Stadium. We drove and found parking pretty easily (and free!) at a nearby parking garage. Lots of tents set up for the different race groups. If you have a large running club, you get a tent set up to hang out, do whatever you need to do pre and post race.
I got there about 30 minutes before and this was enough time to run to the restroom (a MUST immediately starting a race whether I need to or not), snap a couple pics and get to the starting line. I’ll first start that every race I usually eat something small but good for energy.. this race I opted for an RxBar that was Maple Sea Salt flavor – delish btw. It was pretty chilly for end of March and the wind wasn’t nice either. I will say once I started running, the cool air and breeze never became an issue (except at the start when my fingers were still cold). As soon as I finished, the temps were still around 45F and the sweat I was covered in, kept me super cold and my lips and fingers turned blue. Like hey look everyone, I’m a damn cartoon character with blue lips because I’m so cold.
So why you’re also probably here.. the race as mentioned was out and back and had a bunch of rolling hills. I’m not the best at researching races and seeing the elevation, partially because I don’t understand it. I’ll see some maps and think the hills will be crazy, then get there and think “that was it, that wasn’t so bad”. So I kind of wait for the element of surprise to see what hilly mess I’ve gotten myself into then curse at it later. FYI: hills don’t help with PR’s, but the downhill can be used to your advantage if you have the energy to book it after the lunges you just did on the other side. It was a pretty well put together race sponsored by Asics. We got bright orange shirts and some nice Asics socks well worth more than the 40,000 won ($35) fee for the race.
PROTIP: For my foreigners out there wanting to run the race. The site had some English, but you’ll still want a Korean speaking friend to help particularly with entering your address for your race packet to be sent. I opted to do a bank transfer, which means that you pay the fee at a Korean bank with cash and they pay to the account listed on the website. Just walk in and say you want to do a bank transfer and they know exactly what that is. It’s PayPal or Venmo in real life. Super easy to do this by the way!
I wandered around the tents to see if any were worth it to check out.. They had a huge Garmin tent and the area to pick up your medal because nobody puts them on you.. it comes wrapped in a plastic bag and you unwrap it yourself.. Korea really needs to get on the wagon of passing out the medals immediately after the race. BEST PART is getting your prize! Then I tried looking for the water tent. Found one giving out aloe drinks.. continue walking.. nope.. never found the water. Low and behold, I did find the Makgeolli and kimchi tent… it’s a shame you can’t see my face right now as I type this. No I don’t want your Makgeolli (read: Korean alcohol made with rice) and kimchi to rip apart my insides that already hurt from all the heavy breathing!
So we left. I had water in the car. . . . . The race had an attendance of 10K and their friends and family all come for the alcohol and kimchi to eat after (I’m still not understanding of that).. All I want is a banana and chocolate milk after. I did get the banana btw.
Would I run this race again.. yeah probably. I was happy to find a good one outside of Seoul. There’s only so many good areas of Seoul you can run without running the same locations over and over again. Luckily the air was clean that day, but I won’t go into the air pollution we sometimes have to deal with in Korea.. I’ll save that for another time.
{songs at the moment to keep the mood up}
I’ll leave you with new songs on my personal playlist I added and put on repeat.. like serious repeat:
- Jonas Brothers – Sucker
- Billie Eilish – Bellyache
- Troye Sivan – Dance to This
- Queen – Radio Ga Ga
- Ariana Grande – 7 Rings
- Billie Eilish – You Should See Me in a Crown
- DJ Snake ft. Selena Gomez – Taki Taki
- Mark Ronson ft. Miley Cyrus – Nothing Breaks Like a Heart
- Shawn Mendes – Lost in Japan
- Weezer – Africa
- Cardi B – Like it Like That
Let me know if you have song suggestions, I always add at least 2 new songs every race so it makes the experience unique and something to look forward to.. weird I know, but it’s a race quirk!
Details on the flatlay:
Shoes: Adidas (Adizero Boston Boost)
Socks, pants, jacket: Graced by Grit (this company is no longer selling gear, but they are now a foundation that empowers girls and young women to discover and embrace their GRIT through their GET GRITTY empowerment events and GRITTY GIRL student-athlete scholarship fund.)
Long Sleeve Tech Shirt: Cuddl Duds (here)
Sports Bra: Adidas
Tank Top: Hylete
Handana: here
Ipod: Apple Shuffle.. because.. Apple – but sadly I think mine is about to die
Waist Belt: Fitletic
Watch: Nike+ powered by Tom Tom
Gels: GU
Power Bar: RxBar
I love looking through a post that will make men and women think. Also, thank you for permitting me to comment!