Half Marathon #36! This was my first race since the Pittsburgh Marathon back in May, and it felt so good to race a half again! I had forgotten just how much I loved it, and now I'm itching to run another one! BUT Boston is the goal right now, so I can't just go and sign up for a bunch of half marathons...
Race day was wet and cold, which did not make me feel very excited to run. It was tough to decide how to dress for high 40s with rain, but I managed to pick out an outfit and hope for the best.
Starting line photo with our friend Tony (dressed up as Bob Ross).
My face is a rough approximation of how I felt about the temperature and weather...
We started out in the middle of the pack, as I intended to make the first mile or more my warm-up, and then speed up if I felt good. I tried to keep the pace comfortable as I weaved in and out of runners for the first mile or two. Eventually the pack thinned out and I just focused on keeping my pace steady. I pushed a bit harder on the ups and relaxed on the downs. Eventually, I found myself near a girl running with her small dog on a leash. Dogs were allowed on the course. But this girl was letting her dog dash back and forth behind her, and after the 2nd time it almost tripped me, I got fed up and decided that I would have to use some extra energy to get ahead of her so I wouldn't have to worry about falling on my face. We were 4 or 5 miles in at this point, and Coby and I had been running together, but when I sped up he chose not to, so I ran the rest of the race alone. I had broken my 6ish year no-headphone rule for races, and I never regretted that decision during this race. The music definitely helped make the cold, wet, windy course more enjoyable!
The course was a double loop with quite a few hills. I was worried about how it would feel to run the same hills twice, but I ended up not minding at all! The hills were just about the perfect distance and grade, so that I was able to get a good strong push up them and reach the top before getting too tired. I was carrying my inhaler in my pocket and had decided that I would use it halfway through if I felt that I needed it. I felt fine at the halfway, so I spent the rest of the race wondering if I would regret not using it. Turns out, I did not need it this time! I didn't start feeling the effects of oxygen debt in my legs until the last two miles, at which point I was close enough to the finish that I felt I could push through it. It certainly wasn't worth using the inhaler that close to the finish!
I didn't catch up to the 1:40 pacer until the last 2-3 miles, and while I managed to pass him a few times, he eventually ended up back in front of me. I wasn't looking at my watch, but judging from the few time clocks I had seen on the course, I decided he had to be running ahead of pace. I was right, as I crossed the line in 1:37:47, and he finished ahead of me! I had felt like I was running stronger than a 1:40 finish, so I was glad to see that even though I was behind the pacer, I wasn't actually running slower than 1:40.
I waited a few minutes for Coby to cross the line, and then we headed back to the car and home. The weather wasn't really the best for hanging around, and I didn't figure I had placed, so when he wanted to go home, I agreed. I checked the results about halfway home and discovered I had finished 5th female, 2nd in my age group! I got in touch with a friend who was still at the event and arranged for him to pick up my trophy for me.
about 4 miles in
I believe this was taken in the same spot as the 1st photo, but this was the 2nd time around.
I'm slowly working on correcting that heel strike...but it's a slow process...
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