Half-marathon Berlin 2016

Here we are... 

The big day I have been waiting for 10 months, since I first injured my foot... The 3rd step of my recovery plan after a 5k and a 10k... The day I will strike and put 21km between me and this dreadful injury... The day I will be convinced that my foot will heal one day completely...

Today is the day and I will attempt to run a half-marathon!

It's funny how relaxed I feel, picking up my bib at the event, looking at all these marathon ads thinking which ones I should run next, preparing everything for race day without worrying a bit about it. That's because I'm terrified and I force myself to concentrate on sth else! My foot hurts just at the idea of running the event. It's not really the distance per say, 21km is not such a huge step after my 16k a few days ago. I can see myself covering the extra distance, slowly and carefully. What scares me the most is to run the whole distance on hard concrete ground. I ran mostly on trails and soft surfaces during my (easy) training and it felt right. How will my foot react, hitting a wall of pain every step of the way? I pray that my Asics are still in good condition (about 300km old) and will cushion my stride to minimise the damages.

Fortunately, I am running this year with my sweetheart, thanks to grandma keeping an eye on our little cheese cube. I feel so motivated, and the sunny weather makes it just perfect. I have to be careful, motivation makes me do stupid things!

The atmosphere at the event is awesome, as always. 35 000 runners lining up at the starting line (and at the legendary porta potty!), warming up, dancing, clapping. The gut-wrenching music right before the start and the rush of adrenaline when you are pushed forwards by the mass, with no turning back! A last blurry selfie, starting the watch and let's go!

The first and last kilometres are the hardest. You don't really control your pace when you start, you are caught by the mass during the first kilometres, and like swimming in a river, it is hard to speed up (overtaking a lot) or to slow down (blocking everyone). But since we start amongst the last wave (though I was allowed to start in group C thanks to my finish time at Potsdam last year), the pace is relaxed, we cover the first 3km at an easy 6'45.

Right after passing the Brandenburger Gate, we arrive on the large boulevard along the Tiergarten. Much more space here and the mass spreads. My lady aims at a new record today and she won't do that by staying at the back of the heard with the grandmas and the crippled like me! So we wish ourselves good luck and she disappears at the horizon. I am all alone now, my foot is grumbling and I still got 18km to go... More than the longest run of my recovery!

Caught by the excitement at the start, I forgot to warm up and stretch my calves. The first kilometres therefore feel a little stiff and my foot doesn't like this hard and inhospitable floor. I did run a few times on concrete in the last weeks of my training, but way not enough to be prepared. Hence, I keep a relaxed pace. My only goal today is to cross the finish line before the limit time (3h30). Due to my body size (1m92), I cannot really slow down more than a pace 7'00 or this is too hard on my knees. Which means that I should finish the race in about 2h30, providing that I don't walk too much or stop more than necessary at the supply points. Also, to give my foot regularly some time to rest, I am planing to walk a few hundreds metres at each point. Let's see how long I can hold that pace!

Around the 6th km I meet a firemen squad from Paris and start chatting with one of them about living in Berlin. This is perfect, since it drives my concentration away from my foot for a few km. After passing by the Charlottenburg Castel, he's pushing up the pace and I eventually let him keep on to slow down a bit. We are at km 10, almost half of the way, and I am still in the game!

After a well-deserved break at a supply point and a quick visit to a porta-potty (you wouldn't miss that for the world!), I am back on the road. Water, sweat tea and a power gel in my belly, I am enjoying the ride. The sun is shining, music bands and people cheering along the road, happy runners smiling all around me. The back of the pack is really nice, you don't feel this competitive way of running, people here are just happy to run and finishing the race is all that matters! Today I am one of them too :)

When I hit km 15, right after Kurfurstendamm, I know I am entering the danger zone. My average pace until now has been an easy 7'00, I did my walking breaks at every supply points, but my foot is having a hard time and complains a little more every time I resume running. I try to run on the dirt and grass, along the road. People look a me like I'm crazy!

When the 16th km bips at my watch, the first wave of pain and discomfort hit me, and I start thinking about quitting for the first time. I see the dome of the Sony Center and the towers of Potsdamerplatz so close to me! I decide to walk a bit and lower the pace until it feels better. Is it wise to continue? Well, let's find out. Life's kinda boring without risk!

With Potsdamer Platz behind me, I resume running slowly towards the Checkpoint Charly. My foot does not hurt anymore but I feel pain is not far away and might rush back any moment. I also feel some pain in my right knee. Unconsciously, I am putting more weight on my right leg to relieve my foot. I stop now and then to take some pictures, check Milady's performance on the event page and I'm happy to see that she just finished in 2h09, a new record for her, congrats! She calls me quickly after and ask me to take it easy.

I cover the last kilometres half walking half jogging. My average pace updates to 7'09. Excited supporters yell at me to keep on running, that I will make it. I'd like to explain to them that I am everything but tired, almost bored to go that slowly, but my foot just cannot keep the pace! All around me, runners are turning red, sweating and crying, fighting the inner voice imploring them to stop, while I am strolling around like a tourist!

I cross the finish line 2h32 after the starting one and raises my arms, not because I beat my previous time (47min more!), not because I am exhausted and this is my last drop of energy left, but simply because this is a new step on my recovery road and I trained hard to succeed. Three months ago I was incapable of running more than one or two kilometres pain free and today I just finished a half marathon! That's the beauty of this sport: we may have different goals but we are all winner in the end :)

Medal around the neck, plastic sheet on the shoulders, banana in one hand, a beer in the other (I love Berlin)... I find my way amongst the euphoria of finishers to join my darling who's been waiting for me and we head back home. This was a big day for both of us. Now it's time to take some rest, since the next step in September will be a whole other adventure!