NYC Half Marathon: Racing for the joy

Last fall I registered for the NYC Half marathon as a time qualifier. This race has been on my bucket list for years, but the registration window is so narrow that I usually miss it and I don't think about my spring half marathon so far in advance. 

Plans changed when I decided to run the One City Marathon. After all, it wouldn't make sense to race a half marathon just two weeks after a marathon. But then, plans changed again when my friend Laura told me that she would be driving up to NYC alone to run it. I figured I could come along for the ride and run it myself as an easy run. Greg would be out of town for a work event anyway so it was a win-win all around. 

Backing up 18 years, I sort of ran this race in 2007. I say "sort of" because I did not finish and the 2007 race bears no resemblance to the 2025 event. I barely remember running the 2007 event, but thanks to my blog, I do have a record of it! One of my favorite all-time race shirts is from the 2007 race. And yes, I wear it even though I DNF'ed the race. It is a Nike shirt with a flattering fit and is a combination of dry-fit and normal t-shirt material. I wear it as an everyday t-shirt and it's so comfy. Plus, now it's super retro! As for why I DNF'ed, I thought I had a stress fracture in my foot so I made a compromise with myself that I would only run until we got to Times Square and then I would stop so as to not injure my foot further. Oh, the logic that I used back in the day!

In 2007, the race was held in August. It was relatively new so there was no lottery and anyone could register. The course started in Central Park, ran around the park for 10K and then finished downtown. Now the race is a March event and starts in Brooklyn, ending in Central Park. Entry is primarily done through lottery and charities, but there are some qualifier spots reserved. My 1:29:50 half marathon time was good enough for me to gain entry for my age group.

Saturday
Laura and I left my house around 6:15 and the ride went smoothly. It was really fun to have such a long time to chat and we talked about everything under the sun!

Our first stop was Brooklyn to check out the Bandit store and the Tracksmith store. Tracksmith had launched their first racing shoe, the Elliot Racer, the day before so we had the opportunity to try those on. In fact, they aren't even released on the website yet - you can only get them in store. But instead of taking advantage of the exclusive opportunity to be among the first to own them, neither of us could justify the hefty price tag of $280. (I think that was the price - it was around that). I am on on the hunt for a new racing shoe, but I think that shoe could be the Brooks Hyperion PB Elite. If not, then I will definitely try the Elliott Racer. The shoe was really soft and had a nice pop to it. With a 7.5mm drop, it was mostly Achilles-friendly, too.

Then we made our way into Manhattan, found parking near the expo, and got our bibs. The expo was well organized and we got through it fairly quickly. 

After that, Laura drove me to my uncle's apartment on the upper east side and she proceeded to her friend's apartment where she would be staying. I got settled into my uncle's place and then we went out to dinner. I hadn't seen my uncle since my last trip to NYC in 2019 so it was really good to catch up with him. The food in NYC is so wonderful. I had homemade pasta with chicken. Delicious! Then it was off to sleep.

Before the Race
Getting to the start was an adventure. According to the race instructions, runners in my wave needed to clear security by 6:45am. My plan was to get there at 6:15 so I would have 30 minutes to get through security. That should have been more than enough time. Working backwards from 6:15, it would take about 30 minutes to get from the upper east side to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I planned for 45 minutes because I knew there would be road closures. 

I was fully dressed and ready to go by 5:30 when my car service showed up. I know it sounds super fancy to take a car service, but it was about the same price as an Uber: $80 to go 8 miles. Plus tip. 

The race instructions had provided an exact location for runner drop off and that is the location I gave to the car service. As we approached it, all the roads kept being closed off so the driver couldn't get to that spot. We drove around for 20 minutes trying to get to the drop off point. I had my phone with me, and my Google Maps kept saying we were 1.8 miles away. That was definitely run-able, but if I could get closer, that would be better. 

Finally, at 6:20, I told him to just let me out of the car. Google Maps was saying 1.8 miles and I figured I could run there in 20 minutes and get to security with 5 minutes to spare. Provided that I didn't get lost.

I got out of the car and there I was, all alone in Brooklyn in the dark, with only my phone to guide me to the start. I immediately came across two runners who were running towards the start as well. They said they knew how to get there so I followed them. Well, 3-4 minutes later and I found myself at the security checkpoint for the start line! Wow! What great luck. Apparently I got dropped off in an ideal location, and Google Maps was giving me the driving directions which avoided the blocked off roads. Phew.

I had plenty of time! What a huge relief. 

The security was pretty intense and unlike anything I'd ever experienced at a race, including Chicago and Boston. I was thankful for it, though. I had to remove my Garmin, take all of my food out of my clothes, and I still had to be individually searched. I didn't mind because I had plenty of time and I knew they were just doing their job. My car driver said he would never participate in a large event like this in NYC because he was afraid that someone would set off a bomb or something. That didn't give me the warm fuzzies about running over a bridge with 20,000 runners, but I quickly put that thought out of my mind.

After security, I waited for about 15 minutes for the corrals to open. Once they did, there was a mad dash for the porta potty lines. While waiting for the race to start, I was "recognized" by a few people who follow me on Instagram. I love meeting other runners because there is instantly so much to talk about. She even offered to take a video of me that I could post to my Instagram! 

I almost never run with my phone (I use an Apple Watch for long runs in case I need to call Greg) but I wanted to have it with me for safety reasons. It also gave me access to my credit cards, would connect me with Laura post-race, and I would be able to take some photos before and after. Without Greg as a spectator, I had to be my own photographer!

I wore a Brooks Sports bra that had a pocket for the phone in the back of it. I had worn this bra before with the phone and it was comfortable. That's also where I stashed my Maurten gel as well as three 10-dollar bills in case I needed cash. The only challenge was that it was hard to get the phone to go into its back pocket.

I wore the New Balance Super Comp Trainer V1. These shoes are not meant for racing-- they are meant for long runs. They do have a carbon fiber plate, but they are bulky and are considered "super trainers". I wore them because that's the pair I would have worn if I had been doing an easy 13 miles, and bonus: they were green to match my St. Patrick's day theme.

With 10 minutes to go, I had my caffeinated UCAN gel (mocha flavor) and removed my outer layers.

It was 55 degrees and completely overcast, which meant it was cold just standing around. Winds were 10-12 mph. The dew point was around 51-52 which made things humid. The road was wet because there was an occasional light mist. It was also quite foggy. A sticky, humid, foggy, overcast, grey ugly day! At least it wasn't raining. I give this weather a 5 out of 10 on my personal race weather scale. Could have been worse, but definitely could have been better.

Strategy and Goals
I had not run much at all since my marathon two weeks prior. My right hamstring and calf were tight and irritated, so I went to physical therapy to get that worked out. My longest run since the marathon had been 4.3 miles, so I was a bit unsure of how things would go. If I had been recovering as normal without this half marathon, I think I would have run about 8-9 miles as my long run, not 13.

My plan was to simply run this as an easy run. However, I knew I would get caught up in the excitement of the race, so I figured I would run it on the faster end of my easy range, so somewhere around 8:00/mile. But I would mostly just run by feel and focus on my surroundings and soaking up the experience. My main goal was simply to finish without over-taxing my body too much, while having an absolute blast.

I didn't study the elevation profile too much - but I knew to expect hills, and lots of them.

Miles 1-4

I was in Wave 1, corral B, which was based on my qualifying time of 1:29. I fully expected everyone to blaze past me, but that didn't really happen. This isn't to say that I started fast, but that it was quite crowded so everyone was running around an 8:00 pace for the first mile. 

The first mile was an out-and-back with a hairpin turn. It was cool to see the lead pack on the other side of the course. The second mile was a pretty massive hill through Prospect Park. I was feeling really good because it was only mile 2, so I probably ran that hill faster than I should have. I didn't carry my own water bottle so I made sure to stop at the water stations and drink. With the humidity I knew that hydration would be really important, even at my easy pace.

It was hard not to get carried away in mile 3. The elevation loss there was 121 feet so I flew down it at a pace of 7:53. And then I maintained that pace for mile 4. 

Mile 1: 8:09
Mile 2: 8:07
Mile 3: 7:53
Mile 4: 7:51

Miles 5-8
Next up: the Brooklyn Bridge! This was the first year that the course went over the Brooklyn Bridge and it's pretty cool to say I ran over it. There wasn't much of a view due to the high walls and also the fog, but
it was certainly a cool experience. I figured this would be a good time to take out my phone and record a video. Typically taking photos is a big no-no for me in races. I don't run with my phone and I rely on Greg to capture the photos and the videos. But I did record a video for about 10 seconds. The real challenge was getting the phone to go back into its pocket. I tried and tired and tried, and no luck. There was even a finger loop to help with placement, but I couldn't get it to go in.

Finally someone from behind helped me. He must have seen my massive struggle and was so nice to slip the phone right into place. That was so nice of him. I might have never gotten it back in! 

I did this all while running up a massive hill (or should I say, bridge) and the elevation gain in mile 5 was 106 feet. WOW. Mile 6 felt amazing as we ran down 106 feet. 

On the other side of the bridge we ran along the river and there surprisingly wasn't much crowd support. I was excited to get to midtown and it felt like miles 7 and 8 just went on and on with little variation in scenery. 

Mile 5: 8:23
Mile 6: 7:50
Mile 7: 7:54
Mile 8: 7:55

Love this pic- too bad about my head!

Miles 9-12
So far I was still feeling good. I was making sure to drink water at the water stations and I took my Maurten gel at the 8 mile mark. They were handing out Maurten gels shortly after that point, so I took one and stashed it in my sports bra. I'm not one to turn away a free Maurten gel. I was on track to average a pace of around 8:00 which was what I expected, but I didn't care too much about my pace-- I was literally just "rolling" with it. 

I was surprised when someone touched me from behind and then I realized it was Laura! She started further back in the corrals and I knew she would pass me because she would be running at race pace. It was a huge pick-me-up to see her. I briefly contemplated trying to stick with her, but that's when I realized my legs weren't up for that. They were starting to feel sore and achy. 

By mile 10 I realized that my legs were not happy with my decision to run this hilly course so soon after a marathon. I knew I'd be able to make it to the finish, but it wasn't going to be comfortable. 

Now that we were in Manhattan and in the middle of the city the crowd support really picked up. I fed off of the energy of the supporters and it was cool to have people cheering for me by name. My name was not on my bib, so they must have been people from Instagram. I think I was "recognized" at least 10 times during the race and multiple times at the start and finish! My favorite comment was when told me "wow, you're actually a real person!" Yes, I am real!

Times Square was so cool. I loved all the lights. What a thrill to run through it!

After mile marker 10 I knew there would be a right turn onto 7th avenue and then my uncle would be waiting for me around 48th Street. As I approached, I slowed down and looked and looked, but I didn't see him. Finally I heard someone call out my name and I found him on the left side. He thought he would be on my right but with the way the cab driver had to go, he ended up being on my left. I almost ran right by without even seeing him. 

I stopped for over a minute to get a photo with him and have a brief chat. It was a welcome stop with how my legs were feeling. He had made friends with the spectators next to him and they took a photo of us together, and also put my phone back in its pocket- which I was clearly incapable of doing. Seeing my uncle come out to support me was definitely the highlight of the race! 

I felt rejuvenated after my stop and was seemingly able to run faster. But that was short lived because there would be some challenging hills in the last mile.

Mile 9: 8:26
Mile 10: 8:37
Mile 11: 8:21
Mile 12: 10:12 (uncle stop!)

Mile 13- Finish
I looked down at my watch and I figured I could run under 1:50 if I picked up the pace and ran around 8:00 or just under for the final stretch. That shouldn't be too hard, right? WRONG. I am so glad this was a half marathon and not a 14-miler because I was truly starting to lose my ability to run. Whenever I run in Central Park for training the hills feel totally manageable. But whenever I race there the hills feel like mountains. My legs were toast and I was starting to feel the impact of the humidity because I was getting tired. 

My watch beeped 8:23 for mile 13, which was surprising because it felt much slower. There was a sign that said "400m" and I thought to myself, "that's just one lap of the track, super easy!" But that's when I felt like my legs were worthless appendages and totally dead. My pace for the last 0.31 according to my Garmin was 8:56. That's really all I had left! So maybe in a sense I did "race" it if that's all I had to give at the very end. It was so hard just to move at that point.

Needless to say I did not get my sub 1:50, but I didn't care. I was mostly just using that as a motivator to get to the finish line. My official time was 1:50:53.

As I finished, I was recognized by another Instagram runner. I was happy she was there because it was fun to walk though the long finish line chute with someone else. Like me, she had run a marathon two weeks prior. And like me, she said her legs were not happy later in the race. It was about a 10-minute walk to get out of the park and the conversation made it go by much quicker.

After the Race
I called Laura and we met up in the Starbucks just outside the finish line chute. It was jam packed so we walked a few blocks to a place that was less crowded. She had set a PR and I was so happy for her! I decided it was best not to linger for too long because I didn't want to get cold. I hadn't checked a bag so I only had my shorts, sports bra, and the heat sheet they gave us. 

I used Google Maps to find my way back to uncle's apartment. It was about 1.5 miles away and I figured I could walk that. The app guided me through Central Park and almost everyone I passed congratulated me. (These weren't people who recognized me from Instagram --  just general NYC people who saw me with a medal). That made it a really fun walk. 

The idea that I took a car from my uncle's apartment all the way to Brooklyn and then ran back was definitely cool. Plus, at $100 a ride, running back was definitely the best financial option!

I made it back to my uncle's place where he had a protein shake waiting for me. We had authentic NY bagels for lunch and I bought even more to take home and freeze. After that I flew home (Laura was staying an extra day) and was back at my house just in time to Door Dash myself dinner. I was exhausted but happy to have had such a wonderful experience.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was a fun weekend in so many ways. It was great to spend time with Laura and my uncle and to meet so many other runners. Running over the Brooklyn Bridge was iconic, Times Square was incredible and Central Park was challenging but still fun. I am glad I can cross this race off of my bucket list, and that I focused on savoring the experience. 

This was good validation that I did, in fact, run that marathon very hard. If I recover too quickly from a marathon it makes me second-guess if I gave it my all. I plan to take two days off running - maybe three, to ensure that my legs are ready to go again. Boston is up next, so I want to be careful to not overdo it before then. 

My First Sub 90 Minute Half Marathon

The title of this blog post gave away the ending! Now let’s start at the beginning.

This morning I ran the Newport News One City Half Marathon. This was my goal race for the spring, and I trained specifically for it. Even though I am running the Boston Marathon in April, I oriented all of my training towards a half marathon.

In my training I focused primarily on half marathon pace and 10K pace. My goal was to work on improving my lactate threshold. My longest run was 15.5 miles, which included 2 x 3 miles at half marathon pace.

Coming off of a 40:31 PR in the 10K four weeks ago (on a hilly course), I knew I was ready to go for a sub 1:30:00 half marathon; I just had to solidify my endurance and continue to push on my lactate threshold pace. Lactate threshold is the point that your body can no longer clear lactic acid from your muscles, and you can run at that pace for approximately one hour. So it’s between 10K pace and half marathon pace.

I did my final workout 10 days out from the race: 3 x 1600m repeats on the track. They clocked in at 6:25, 6:24, 6:24. And I felt like I could have pushed harder. This workout was the final confidence booster I needed to go for that sub 1:30:00.

I had run this race once before, back in 2020. It was the last race I ran before the world shut down. I had attempted to go sub-90 there, but my fitness wasn’t where it needed to be. I had injured my foot during CIM in December of 2019, so I had to take the first three weeks of January off. My time from 2020 was 1:31:56. I should also mention, that since I ran this race 4 years ago, I have not run any faster in the half marathon. A combination of bad weather, not being fit enough, and simply not running a lot of half marathons contributed to this. So it was really time to run a strong one.

Also, my PR for the half was from November 2019 in Indianapolis. My time there was 1:30:58.

Race week
I woke up on Monday morning and checked the forecast. My heart sank. 50 degrees at the start with a dew point of 50. And of course getting warmer throughout the race. This is still technically winter (despite what the groundhog says) and I was really looking forward to racing in the 30s. All of a sudden it felt like my goal would no longer be possible at this race. My body just melts in the humidity. I decided that if the conditions were unfavorable I would adjust my goal accordingly, and then run another half marathon two weeks later and hope for better weather at that point.

Thankfully, the forecast started to improve slightly as the week went on with starting temps at 46 degrees, rising to 51. If the weather had been in the 30s, I would have been absolutely 100% confident in my ability to break 90. But this weather was a little iffy. I figured I might not get sub 90, but a PR (sub 1:30:58) would still be well within my reach.

Two nights before the race (Friday night) I slept for an incredible 9 hours. I NEVER sleep that much. I had tapered all week long and I could tell my body was really getting into recovery mode. And four nights before the race, I had slept for 8.5 hours! My usual is 7 - 7.5 hours during training. Greg and I drove down to Newport News, VA on Saturday morning. It took us just under three hours. We ate lunch at a really good sandwich shop. I had a turkey sandwich on multigrain bread with lettuce and tomatoes. I also made sure to drink plenty of water and electrolytes all day long.

We arrived at the race expo and I retrieved my bib from the Elite counter. I had qualified for their elite program through my previous times and I was excited to have a bib where my name was larger than the number! I’ve had elite bibs in the past, but never with my last name so prominent. I handed them my water bottle, which I wrapped in zebra duct tape. That bottle would be waiting for me at the elite aid station during mile 8. I filled it with water + Skratch Labs electrolyte mix.

Later that day we headed out to Target to get sunscreen for my face. I almost always put sunscreen on my face when I run, but I didn’t think to bring it because it was supposed to be totally overcast. But the forecast changed at the last minute to be about 75% sunny! We then had dinner with my friend Meredith and a few of her friends. I had my standard chicken parm with no cheese. Cheese can upset my stomach. Meredith would be running the full marathon and her friends in the half.

Before the Race
I woke up feeling pretty good after about 6 hours of sleep. I would have liked to have gotten more sleep, but I wasn’t at all worried, given my epic sleep in the week leading up to the race. I woke up at 4:00 and my alarm went off shortly before 5:00. I had a banana and some almond butter pretzels, which is my new favorite pre-race breakfast. I continued to hydrate with water and electrolytes.

I got dressed: shorts and a crop top. I tried not to think about the fact that all of my other PRs had been set in 30-degree weather wearing capri tights. I could defy the odds! I was confident! We left the hotel at 6:00 and it was a quick 10-minute drive to the start line. Greg stuck around for another 10 minutes and then he left to go to his first spectating point.

There was an elite tent at the start line which had bottled water and gatorade, but I had my own bottle with me. There was a porta potty there which I used, and it was nice not to have a long line. 25 minutes before race start, I had a UCAN gel. I typically drink the powder before races but lately I have found that the gel sits better. I still use the powder before long runs in training.

I warmed up for one mile, including some faster strides. It was 46 degrees, mostly sunny, and humid. I told myself I would be okay. Even if it got into the 50s at the end, I am usually fine if I can stay cool for the bulk of the race. On my personal race weather scale, I give these conditions a 7 out of 10. I might have rated them an 8 if it was spring, summer, or fall. But it’s winter and it should be in the 30s in the morning! A 7 out of 10 on my scale means that conditions are somewhat favorable, but not ideal. The weather will likely pose some challenges, but nothing too major. My plan was to go for the sub-90, but to still be happy with a PR of any kind.

I lined up close to the front, but not right at the front. I was friends with a few of the other elite runners so we chatted a bit. A few of the women asked me about my goal and I told them it was sub 1:30. Others were trying for that same goal.

I was happy to see that there was no 1:30 pace group. I do not like running with pace groups because they tend to start too fast for me. And then it gets in my head if they pass me or I can’t keep up.

Pacing & Fueling Strategy
My plan was to run a pace of 6:50-6:55 for the first three miles, and then run the rest of the race between 6:45-6:50. The course was mostly flat, so even pacing was the way to go. In order to run 1:29:59 for 13.1 miles, you need to run an average pace of 6:52. But since I would be using my Garmin to pace this race (and it measured 13.21 back in 2020) I knew I needed to pace for 6:48 or better. For fueling, the plan was to carry my own fluids for the first 15 minutes and then grab my bottle at mile 8. I would take a Maurten caffeinated gel at 15:00 and a Mauten regular gel at 55:00. There was also the UCAN gel 25 minutes pre-race.

Miles 1-4

The first 2 miles were all about finding my stride and my rhythm. I monitored my Garmin pace closely. It’s easy to go out way too fast in a half marathon if you just run by feel. Thankfully there wasn’t much crowding and after the first 10 minutes I was able to settle in without leap frogging people.

Mile 3

I saw Greg during the third mile. I was very happy to see him and hear him cheering for me.

My mindset during these miles was to stay relaxed and keep the effort controlled. It wasn’t time to push super hard yet. I reminded myself that this could be my PR half marathon, so I should savor the experience.

Mile 1: 6:54
Mile 2: 6:50
Mile 3: 6:47
Mile 4: 6:43

Miles 5-8
I had read my 2020 race report the day before and I knew to expect a lot of twists and turns during the 5th mile. Nothing too horrible, but just annoying and mentally exhausting. This race doesn’t have that many turns, but 50% of them are all squeezed into mile 5. Then we ran through a park which was nicely shaded. I was very thankful for the shade because I had begun to feel the sun beating down on me. It was also during this point in the race when I starting pouring water over my head. Yes, I over heat when it’s in the upper 40s!

I once again remembered the Richmond Marathon from last fall and how there was a similar section. I handled that section by focusing on the serenity of my surroundings and being super zen-like. It was during this time (around mile 7) where I was able to pass a guy. I hadn’t passed anyone since mile 4 and nobody had passed me.

I had no idea what place I was in the field among women. There was one woman about 20 seconds ahead of me for the entire race. I think we ran about the same pace throughout, although she must have run the first two miles a little quicker to be that much ahead of me.

I noted that I hit the 45 minute mark at around 6.6 miles That was a good sign, I was right on pace! But I didn’t have much wiggle room. All I had to do was to repeat what I had just done.

When we came out of the park during the 8th mile I knew the race would start getting hard. This is where I fell apart in 2020. At 55 minutes, I took my second Maurten gel (non caffeinated) which thankfully corresponded to when I picked up my zebra water bottle. I inhaled the gel in one gulp and chased it with my water + Skratch Labs mix. I continued to take water from the water stations and pour it over my head to keep cool. The sun was out in full force now.

Mile 5: 6:47
Mile 6: 6:50
Mile 7: 6:47

Mile 8: 6:50

Miles 9-12
I knew I would have to dig really deep here, and I was mentally prepared. But oh wow, did this hurt. I knew that my sub 1:30 was just 30 minutes away and all I had to do was work SUPER HARD for 30 minutes and my goal would be attained!

I knew that there would be a hill during the 10th mile. It was the only real hill during the race and once I climbed it, there would be no more hills. I knew it would be one of my slowest miles, so when my watch beeped at 6:55, i didn’t let it impact my confidence.

Even though there were no more hills, the race still felt impossibly hard. I tried every mental trick in the book. I oozed positivity. I looked at any sign I could find, read it and then kept repeating the words as a distraction. I told myself “keep giving, keep giving”. I did not want to go soft at this point. I had to fight for it.

The song I had going through my head was "Song To Say Goodbye" by Placebo, which has a driving beat. I imagined it was about saying goodbye to negative thoughts. Saying goodbye to not making my goal. Saying goodbye to the 1:30s. It really helped.

I don’t think it would have been this hard if it were 5-10 degrees cooler, but my energy was getting zapped, my legs were super tired and it was an all-out mental battle. I told myself to embrace the hurt, not to give in, and to fight super hard. I knew that if my pace started to slip above 6:50 then I would miss my goal. I didn’t look at my watch, for fear that it would demoralize me. I just pushed.

I did, however, quickly glance down to see that my elapsed time was 1:17:xx. Only 13 minutes to go. An important 13 minutes. I can do anything for 13 minutes!

Mile 9: 6:46
Mile 10: 6:55
Mile 11: 6:48
Mile 12: 6:52

Mile 13 and the Finish
By this point, I knew I had to hold it together for just one more mile. But I didn’t want to just “hold it together” I wanted to really push with everything I had. No more watch check-ins. Just grit and guts and grunts. There was a huge American flag at the end of a very long straight stretch and I just kept my eyes on that flag.

My last mile clocked in at 6:44 (second fastest mile of the race) and I ran a pace of 6:19 for the final 0.22.

As I approached the finish line I saw 1:29:xx on the clock and I vowed not to let it reach 1:30. I crossed, knowing that my clock time was under 1:30. I had finally broken 90 minutes! I did it!

I crossed the finish line and I felt like I was on death’s doorstep. I walked a little bit through the finish line chute, got my medal, and then pulled over to the side to vomit. I almost always vomit after half marathons, and today was no exception. But I felt worlds better after I did.

Greg found me and showed me that my official time was 1:29:51. Just barely made it! It took me a few minutes to recover before I could get moving again. Once I did, we made our way to the Elite finish area, where we had our own food and amenities. Once there, I changed clothing and created my Instagram video while waiting for the marathoners to start pouring in. Once the video was posted, we went back out to the course to cheer for Meredith. It was such an amazing morning!

I placed 12th out of 405 women and 2nd out of 45 women in my age group. We didn't stay for the awards because we were anxious to get lunch and get going. When the final official results came out, my time was listed as 1:29:50.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
What a race! This was basically a case of me knowing what I was capable of and just having the sheer will to get it done. Weather be dammed! I definitely think the weather made those last four miles extra challenging and the ideal conditions would have yielded an even faster time but I am in no way complaining.

This was a PR by 1:07, finally bettering my 1:30:58 from Indianapolis back in 2019.

Per the McMilan calculator, my finish time correlates to a 10K of 40:18 and a marathon of 3:09:06. So at the age of 45, there could be even more PRs ahead of me.

To get to this point, I ran low-for-me mileage. I only had three weeks that were above 50 miles, and those weeks were 52, 56, and 51.5. My longest run was 15.5 miles. I relied on my natural endurance and focused on my lactate threshold.

I attribute my recent fitness gains to self-coaching and resolving my once-chronic Achilles tendinitis. Having been racing/training for nearly 20 years, I am super in tune with my body. I believe that following how my body feels on a daily basis is the best guide for my training schedule. I am constantly modifying my plan based on how my body is feeling and responding to workouts. And with my Achilles pain having disappeared, I have more ankle mobility, which allows for a longer stride, which contributes to a faster pace at the same effort. 

Probably the biggest takeaway is how mentally strong I was during the final miles. Things got really hard and it would have been so easy to back off of my sub-90 goal and still walk away with a small PR of 1:30:xx. I really had to fight for it and I am glad I did.

\\his feels amazing. PR cake and champagne tonight. Boston training starts tomorrow!

Towpath Revenge

I've got the fall marathon blues! As in, I did not race a fall marathon or half marathon. But at least this decision was all mine and wasn't forced upon me by injury or illness. So I can still train happy and and healthy for the next marathon in Houston. 

Plan A, B, C and D
After I bailed on Indianapolis due to the forecasted warmth and humidity, I had hoped that Richmond would be a different story. Unfortunately it was even warmer in Richmond than it was in Indianapolis. What are the chances of that happening on two November weekends in a row!

I was also considering running the Outer Banks Marathon on Sunday, which initially looked to be cooler. But as the race approached the temperatures started to rise on that one as well. So, that meant I wouldn't be running a fall marathon, despite months of training. I accepted it and knew it was the smart decision, but it did leave me feeling a little sad. 

To top it all off, I had originally been planning a birthday celebration for Friday the 11th (my actual birthday), but then I moved it to Saturday when I thought I would run Richmond, and then I cancelled it altogether when I thought I would run the Outer Banks. So no birthday gathering with friends, but I did get to see my sister, brother-in-law and nieces! And Greg and I made a cake. 

After scouring every race directory I could find for a Sunday option (Sunday was much cooler than Saturday), I did find a local half marathon on the C&O canal towpath. The towpath is a gravel/dirt trail and not a surface I am comfortable racing on. Too many puddles and rocky areas for me to feel confident going full out. Plus, my Achilles doesn't enjoy when I can't land totally flat-footed. But my desire to pin on a bib and do SOMETHING was overwhelming, so I signed up for it and decided to run it as a workout.

I had run the course twice in the past, both as part of marathons that I did not finish. In 2010, I never intended to finish and hadn't brought enough fuel to finish. The goal was to use it as a training run. In 2012, I had planned on running the marathon at my easy pace, but still dropped out due to anxiety. 

I hadn't run that course in over 10 years and I didn't remember it very well. I remembered that it was decent enough to run on, but not something that I would do at max effort. As for the elevation, I knew it was a net downhill on the way out and a net uphill on the way back.

Half Marathon Workout 
This race was called the "Freedom is Never Free" half marathon, put on by Bishop's Events, which hosts low-key races each weekend in DC, MD and VA. Most of their races are on unpaved surfaces, although there are a few that are paved. I've run several 5Ks and one 10K put on by them and they are always well organized, fun and friendly. During Covid, they continued to hold most of their races because they did not require road closures. 

Running on a rocky surface removed the pressure of trying to hit a certain pace or time goal. I wasn't racing this as an all-out half marathon. I was shooting for marathon pace or maybe a bit slower. I thought somewhere between 1:37-1:39 would be a good range. My primary goal was to have fun, get in a good workout, and experience the race environment. Even though it was a workout, having a timing mat would provide accountability so I wouldn't quit if things got hard. I would also be getting "revenge" on a course that I DNF'ed on twice.

Weather
The temperature was a wonderful 45 degrees, which felt so amazing after "Summer's Revenge".  But the cold front unfortunately came with wind, sustained at 14 mph, which would be a headwind during the second half. And that's also the net uphill part. So the way out would be a net downhill tailwind and the way back would be a net uphill headwind. On my race weather scale, this gets a 7. The same as the Hartford Half. By way of comparison, I would have given Indianapolis and Richmond both 2's. I decided to wear lightweight arm sleeves to protect against windburn, which I have gotten in the past from running directly into a high headwind for miles at a time. 

Before the Race
I drank half a serving of the Maurten 160 drink mix during the 2 hours leading up to the race and a Maurten Solid. I decided not to carry a water bottle because I don't need much water for a half marathon if I'm pre-hydrated (and I was) and it's cool weather. I would take water from the water stations. 

The race was only a 25-minute drive from our house. No hotel or flight needed! Greg and I arrived, parked, and I got my bib. 

I warmed up for 1.4 miles which enabled me to get used to the surface. I was wearing the New Balance Fuel Cell Elite, which in retrospect was not the best choice. I probably should have stuck to something with a lower stack height to be closer to the ground. And the "bounce" of the carbon fiber plate is mostly wasted on this surface, at least in my opinion. If I had it to do over again, I would have worn my Nike Odyssey React, which is my typical long run shoe. It's lightweight, responsive, and lower to the ground. 

This was a small race with 87 runners. At the start line, one woman approached me and introduced herself as an Instagram follower! I love meeting Instagram runners in real life. After that, another woman said she recognized me from Instagram as well. She asked me what pace I was aiming for and I told her in the 1:30s and she said she was shooting for a 6:15 pace. I told her she wouldn't be pacing off of me! (She ended up running a time of 1:24 for her FIRST half marathon. Amazing!)

Miles 1-5
I decided to go out conservatively so I could mentally/physically acclimate to the surface. Even though I had warmed up on the trail, I had warmed up slowly. Now it was time to get comfortable pushing a little harder.

Even though this race only had 87 runners, I was leapfrogging with a group of about 3 other runners for the first 4 miles. I would fall way behind whenever we had to leap over a puddle! I have zero ankle mobility and an insanely short stride. Thus, I have no "leap" confidence. I would either stop and then leap, or walk around the narrow muddy edge of the trail to avoid the puddle. I'm also not great at drinking water from cups at aid stations, so I stopped and walked with my water. I took a Maurten gel at 15:00. 

Miles 1-5 consisted of me getting ahead of the pack and then falling behind at a water station or a slippery part of the trail. And then catching back up, passing everyone, and then falling behind again. Even though the first half of the course is net downhill, I didn't really notice it. It feels mostly flat. There were a few short uphill and downhill sections that stole momentum because they were so steep and short, but nothing too intense. 

Mile 1: 7:44
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:32
Mile 4: 7:27
Mile 5: 7:27

Miles 6-9
I saw Greg during the sixth mile. That was definitely a pick me up. At this point, I was leading the pack of three (including myself) and I felt strong. The pack included one woman and one man. The first place female was WAY ahead of us and there was another female between our group and her. So this other woman and I were females #3 and #4. That's another reason why races are so great to run as workouts - you have other people around you pushing you and motivating you to work hard.

The turnaround was a rude awakening, as I knew it would be. Hello headwind that I didn't feel when you were a tailwind! Only 6.55 miles to go!

I told myself that I definitely should be able to maintain my pace for the second half. I hadn't exerted that much effort on the way out. It would definitely be harder with this headwind, but I could do it.

I saw Greg again at around mile 8, only this time I was 3rd in the pack of three. But I intended to speed up. Being in this leap frog situation for 8 miles reminded me that we all have good patches and rough patches during races. Times when we feel strong when we think we can up the effort, even if it's small. Or times when we feel like we need a little breather and have to back off just a bit. I took another Maurten gel at 55:00. 

Once I got to mile 9, it felt like I was running harder than marathon effort, even though my pace was slower than marathon pace. I guess that's what happens when you are running on a rocky surface uphill into a headwind!

Mile 6: 7:23
Mile 7: 7:32
Mile 8: 7:34
Mile 9: 7:34

Miles 10-Finish
I found myself running side-by-side with the other woman so I decided it was finally time to say something. "We got this!" She replied with "You are making me run faster than I should be going!" I forget how I responded but then eventually she said "I know you are soon going to speed up and go rushing ahead and I won't be able to keep up." I said "We'll see," or something to that extent. 

It was during the 10th mile that I pulled ahead. I didn't know by how much but I decided to increase my effort level substantially. Unfortunately, a harder effort did not equate to a faster pace. I slowed down a little bit. But looking at the elevation and and the wind during the last four miles (that's where most of the uphill part was) it makes sense that it would be much harder to maintain the same pace I had been for the first 9 miles. 

So I pulled ahead and it got really hard. The last 2 miles felt like true race effort. It was such a battle and no matter how much I pushed I felt like I was running in place with that headwind, which had picked up since the race start and was now more like 16-17 mph. The good news is that I cared less about mud puddles and became much more confident on the trail. I didn't slow down as much during those slippery sections on the way back. 

I saw Greg right before turning off the trail and heading for the finish, which was about 30 feet off the trail. My official time was 1:39:35. The other woman finished shortly after me, 9 seconds to be exact. But she started after me, so her chip time was 3 seconds faster than mine. As such, she won the award for 3rd place female, and I won the award for 1st place in my age group. I'm totally fine with that! 

She told me that her goal was sub-1:40 and I helped her get there. She said she didn't think she would have run as fast if I hadn't been there. It was a PR for her and this made me so happy. I love pacing other people and helping them reach their goals. Honestly this was the highlight of the race for me. I was the unofficial sub 1:40 pacer! The guy who was running with us came in a 1:39:03.  He had pulled ahead of both of us somewhere around mile 9.

Mile 10: 7:38
Mile 11: 7:38
Mile 12: 7:46
Mile 13: 7:41
Last 0.18: 6:57 pace

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
Initially I felt very "meh" about how this went. I didn't feel confident in my fitness because I had to run at race effort during the last 2 miles for a pace that was slower than goal marathon pace. It shouldn't have been that hard to run that pace. So I was kind of down about it.  

But after some reflection, I changed my mind. 

This was not a paved surface, I wasn't getting any "help" from my carbon plate, I had to fight a strong headwind, and it was a net uphill during those miles. So yes, the 7:40s felt like half marathon race pace. And I didn't get discouraged while I was running slower than I hoped - which is great practice for when I am running a goal race. 

I actually have to give myself credit for perfect pacing on this one. My splits indicate that I "fell off" when in fact I increased the effort into the headwind and up hill the last few miles. To be so consistent on a surface that I'm not comfortable on is really a big win for me. 

This race wasn't about testing my fitness or seeing what kind of half marathon shape I was in. It was a "celebration" of all my training. The fact that I can go run 13.1 miles on an unfamiliar surface on a windy day and stay strong throughout is a testament to my mental strength. 

I'm glad I did this because it was a nice "change of pace" from my typical weekend long run. It was a great workout and I got to experience the race atmosphere. I helped someone run her first sub 1:40. The alternative would have been my typical neighborhood long run and I think that would have been depressing given how badly I wanted to race. So, this was a great idea and I was happy to get some revenge on the towpath.

Fun fact: I was the first finisher over the age of 40 -- both male and female!

Up Next
My next goal race is a Turkey Trot 5K and then the Houston Marathon! I am thankful that I am healthy and in a good place to resume training. 

Hilly Hartford Half!

I ran the Hartford Half Marathon yesterday. I chose this race because it was four weeks out from my full marathon (I like to run a half marathon 4-5 weeks out) and I had never done it before. It was also a quick flight and I had heard good things about it. 

When looking at the elevation profile, I had been looking at the 2021 course on Strava. It looked a little hilly, but nothing crazy. I knew that it wouldn't be as fast and flat as my PR courses, but I was excited about visiting a new state; I had never been to Connecticut. 

Training
My training leading up to this race had gone really well. Even though the mileage was less than what I typically do, I had run some fast workouts so I felt like my speed was coming along. Key workouts included:

• A set of 8 x 800m (with 400m recovery jogs) which averaged 3:10, and the last 4 of them were all under 3:10 (3:08, 3:06, 3:07, 3:09)
• An 18-mile run with 11 marathon-pace miles averaging 7:21.
• 3 x 10 minutes at tempo pace with 2 minutes recovery jogs, and the tempo miles averaged out to 6:51.

Unlike last fall, this fall actually started in late September so we had some nice training weather. 

If this course had been flat, I would have tried to PR. I don't necessarily think I am in the best shape of my life, but close enough that I would have gone for it. My PR is 1:30:58 from 2019 and I have run two marathons that were 1:31:xx. So when I am at my fittest and the course is flat, right around 1:31:00 is what I can do. 

Elevation Profile
A few days before the race, I realized that the 2022 course was not the same as the 2021 course; It would be hillier. The 2022 course had 428 feet of elevation gain according to Strava, and 450 feet of gain according to FinalSurge (my training log). Depending on where you train and what you're used to, this could be perceived as very hilly or not that hilly. At least on paper. If you ran this course in person, there was no way you could not think it was hilly!

Elevation profile, according to Strava

Given the elevation profile, I decided I would aim for a time of 1:33 (a pace of around 7:05 for 13.2 miles). I figured I could probably run 1:31-1:32 on a flat course, and hills would add an extra minute. 

Weather
It was 49 degrees at the start, warming to 51 by the finish, mostly sunny, with 10 mph winds. Pre-race, I was going to give this an 8 out of 10 on my race weather scale. But there were portions that were super windy, and when you are running up hill into the wind, that just sucks. So while I was on course I downgraded this to a 7 out of 10. 

Before the Race
We flew to Hartford on Friday, landing at around 2:00. It was a very quick flight from Dulles; only 50 minutes in the air. Our hotel was next door to the race expo, which was super convenient. By 3:30, we had checked in, gotten our bibs and settled back into the hotel. I made sure to hydrate really well. I drank plenty of water + electrolytes all throughout the day.

Greg had been planning on running this race, but last weekend he injured his groin on a long run. It's similar to what I had in the spring of 2021 only I don't think his adductor tendon is torn. He hasn't run since and will probably take another week off. Unfortunately when it happened he was on the W&OD trail and had to walk back to the car for over 4 miles. He wasn't heart broken about not being able to race, but he's definitely not happy about the injury.

We went to Salute for dinner, which was about half a mile from our hotel. This was one of the best pre-race dinners I have ever had. The garlic bread was amazing. It was fresh from the oven and you could sink your teeth into it. . . and it was like heaven. I had pasta with red sauce and chicken. The pasta was freshly made and the service was wonderful. 

I slept really well. I didn't find the bed to be particularly comfortable, but they had nice pillows, which is rare in hotels. I slept straight through from 8:30-3:15. I had no pre-race anxiety dreams. (I often dream that I missed the start, or that the race is an obstacle course), I was awake from 3:15-4:00, but then fell back asleep for another hour. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. 

For breakfast I had a banana, almond butter pretzels, and the Maurten Drink Mix 160. I got dressed in my McMillan singlet, Tracksmith Twilight Split Shorts, and adidas Adios Pro shoes. I went with the original version of the shoe for this race.

Star Spangled Banner at the start

We left the hotel at around 7:20 for an 8:00 start. I warmed up for just over a mile on what I thought was the half marathon course. When I was done with my warm up, I noticed that there were no corrals. And I couldn't find Greg, who said he would meet me at the entrance to the corral. As it turned out, I was at the start line of the 5K. I had a brief moment of panic, but then realized that the half marathon start line couldn't be that far away. 

I found the half marathon/marathon start and Greg was at the entrance to the corral. I handed him my gloves and my jacket and he wished me well.

I was in the corral for about 10 minutes before the race started. The National Anthem was sung and then the governor said a few words. I was in corral "A" which was the first corral behind the elite athletes. I felt relatively calm, but definitely excited to be at the start line of a race.

Miles 1-4
The marathon and half marathon started together and only stayed together for the first mile. So the first mile was pretty packed, and it was hard to get into a good rhythm. The unusual thing about Hartford is that the marathon course is not at all the same as the half marathon course. After the first mile, the courses split off and they don't merge together until the finish line. The half marathon goes through west Hartford and is much hillier than the full. The full marathon is mostly flat until the last few miles, or so I have been told.

I ran the first mile in 7:13 which was right where I wanted to be. The plan was to start out around 7:10-7:15 for the first 3 miles and then speed up to half marathon pace after that, hopefully 7:05. I knew that the biggest hills would be during miles 5, 8, and 11, so I wrote those miles on my arm. That way, if i was slower on those miles, I wouldn't worry. I would make up the time on the downhills.

Mile 2.2

After we split off from the marathoners, I figured I would get into my groove and things would start to feel more controlled. But I still felt like I was trying to find my groove. We had a 10 mph headwind, so I tried drafting, but that didn't work very well. Very few portions of this course were flat; it was either up or down for 90% of the time. 

I saw Greg shortly after mile marker 2. That was about the time I wanted to take my first gel, but I didn't want to be taking a gel in my photos, so I waited until I passed him. He was on the opposite side of the street so I sped up to pass a few people to get a good view of him. 

I felt flat, but I didn't worry because I figured my caffeinated gel would perk me up. The pace felt hard, so I decided to keep it steady. If I averaged a 7:10 pace instead of 7:05, that would be fine. My legs didn't seem to have their normal pep or power, which was weird. In workouts they had been feeling awesome, and I even allowed myself a taper for this race. I hadn't done a hard workout since Monday - and even that was only 30 minutes of work. So there was no reason for the 'dead legs' feeling. 

Mile 1: 7:13
Mile 2: 7:11
Mile 3: 7:11
Mile 4: 7:15

Miles 5-9
Mile 5 was the first of the "big hill" miles. What surprised me most about this race was that it wasn't just the "big hills" - I think I could have handled those. It was all the smaller ups and downs that really wore me out, which I wasn't physically or mentally prepared for. As experienced as I am, I still find it hard to translate elevation profiles into knowing what it will actually be like when I am racing.

Back to the "big hill". According to FinalSurge, this hill had 79 feet of elevation gain and 5 feet of loss. Thus, my average pace was 7:46. I had assumed that I would probably run this at around 7:30, but it was much harder than I expected. And I didn't have a ton of energy to really push.

A hill like that early in the race can really kill your legs for the rest of the race. I ran the Hanover half marathon a few years ago, which had 150+ feet of climbing right at the the beginning. And after that my legs never recovered. I ran a time of 1:37:47. I didn't expect Hartford to be anything like Hanover, but the overall elevation gain was pretty similar.

I don't think the hills were the only reason I slowed down so much. It was a low-energy day for me, despite my good sleep, my proper fueling, the nice weather, and lack of digestive issues. I feel like I did everything "right" and yet I was running much slower than planned with little pep. Thankfully, I recovered during the 6th mile with a split of 7:08. That's more like it! 

I took my next gel at 1 hour into the race, and really hoped it would give me the energy I needed.

Mile 8 was the next big-hill mile. And I think it was around this point when the 1:40 pacer caught up to me. I knew I was not on pace for my original 1:33, but I also knew I was nowhere close to approaching 1:40 territory. This pacer must have been blazing fast for 1:40!

I ran mile 8 at a pace of 7:46 - the same as mile 5! At least I was consistent. 

Mile 5: 7:46
Mile 6: 7:08
Mile 7: 7:27
Mile 8: 7:46
Mile 9: 7:22

Miles 10-Finish
I didn't feel like the race was getting progressively harder like it normally does in half marathons. It was about the same level of hardness from mile 4 all the way to the finish. It was harder than it should have been early on. And then at the very end I didn't have the pain I normally feel. But yet. . . I couldn't go faster. "This doesn't hurt too much, but I physically can't give any more." 

This is a long winded way of saying I probably could have run a few extra miles at my average race pace, but I could not have gone any faster. 

Heading to the finish line

I kept a positive attitude, I had fun, I high-fived the spectators who had their hands up. I didn't get discouraged. I focused on keeping my form strong and powering through. There were a few people I leapfrogged with the entire race. They passed me going uphill and I passed them going downhill. I was happy that by the end of this game I was ahead of most of the leapfrogging squad. 

Just before the finish I finally passed that 1:40 pacer. I have to assume that he lost most of his group because he would end up running much faster than 1:40. It felt nice to be so strong at the end. Mile 12 was my fastest mile of the race in 7:04.  I said above, I wasn't "dying" out there or in a ton of pain. It was basically a lack of energy and with no pep in my step. It wasn't a bonk or a crash - it was a steady slog all the way through.

Mile 10: 7:16
Mile 11: 7:24
Mile 12: 7:04
Mile 13: 7:19
Final 0.27: 6:45 pace

After the Race
I had a nice sprint to the finish, and crossed with an official time of 1:37:14. That was a 7:20 pace on my Garmin - not sure of the official pace. I placed 10 out of 224 in my age group.

I walked through the finish line chute, got my medal and heat sheet, and then found Greg. I was exhausted and not in the best mood. All I wanted to do was get back to the hotel and rest. 

We walked just over half a mile to the hotel and it felt so good to get out of those clothes and into the tub. My hands had gone numb and my arms were cold. The rest of me was hot. My body is not good at distributing heat evenly. 

We had a 2:30pm flight out of Hartford, but it was delayed by nearly 3 hours. This really ate into our day because we didn't get home until 7:30. We grabbed take out on the way home, ate it quickly and went to bed. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This is obviously not the race I hoped for, but there are definitely some positives to take from it. There's really no way to know for sure why I felt so sluggish, but I have a few theories. It's probably a combination of all of them. 

1. I underestimated the difficulty of the course. Maybe this is actually a decent time for me on this course, given that I am not a strong hill runner. 

2. My legs were tired from marathon training. I don't really buy into this one too much, because I have PR'ed half marathons during marathon training cycles. But once again, a hilly course demands more out of your legs, so it could have played more of a role here than on my flat half marathons. 

3. Just an off day. We all have them, probably likely that this was my off day and I'd rather have it today than during my full marathon.

4. Post-covid heart rate issues. I was 99% sure my covid heart rate issues were behind me, but my heart rate during this race was really high for the paces I was running. My heart rate suggests that I could not have pushed harder, even if I had the energy. According to my heart rate, I ran this at an extremely hard effort. I REALLY hope this is not the case, because if it is, it will always limit my racing potential and I will never race long distances as fast as I used to.

Some people have suggested that it could be an iron deficiency of a vitamin deficiency, but if that were the case, I wouldn't have had such strong workouts leading up to this race. I felt great during those!

Now for the key takeaways, starting with the negative and then moving into the positive:

• It was disappointing to be so far from my goal, and to place 10th in my age group. At large half marathons in the past (Wineglass, Columbus) I have won age group awards. 
• My goal marathon pace is 7:20 and yesterday's average pace was 7:20. That doesn't bode well for it being my full marathon pace in 4 weeks.
• Since this race didn't boost my confidence in my marathon abilities, I will work with my coach on workouts that will get me closer to my goal. I've had quite a few marathon pace workouts, but maybe I need more half marathon pace workouts to increase my lactate threshold
• This race was a good workout for the marathon!
• Not sure if this is good or bad, but my heart rate had me at half marathon effort or harder
• I ran 13.27 miles according to my Garmin; I need to do less weaving
• I got to experience a new race and a new state
• I had fun
• My effort level was consistent throughout the race; I didn't bonk or crash
• I kept a positive attitude, and didn't give up mentally
• My fastest mile was mile 12, which has never happened before in a half marathon
• I am healthy and not injured
• Objectively, 1:37 is a solid half marathon performance
• I will be very thankful for a flat marathon course

I got it done. I ran a steady race. Now I am more hungry than ever for some fast times. 

Pacing Greg at the Rehoboth Beach Marathon

I had the pleasure of pacing Greg for the first few miles of his marathon last Saturday! He ran the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon in Delaware. This course currently holds my marathon PR from 2018, and Greg wanted to experience it for himself. 

Rehoboth Beach, DE

People have asked us if we typically do the same races or different races and the answer is that it varies. Sometimes, like in the case of the Two Rivers Marathon or the Wineglass Half Marathon, we run the same race. Other times, he runs the full and I run the half, or vice versa. And sometimes one of us is running and the other is cheering. It just depends on our individual goals and what we want to experience. When looking at our race schedule for the fall, I had planned to run Richmond, but Greg didn't want to repeat that marathon, so he opted for Rehoboth Beach. I didn't want to repeat Rehoboth Beach because my 2018 race was a magical day and I didn't think it could get any better.

My original plan was to be a spectator and not participate in the race at all. But when I ran my marathon a week earlier than planned, it gave me an extra recovery week (4 weeks instead of 3). So I felt like I could run with Greg as a half marathoner until the two races split in different directions, and then finish off the half myself. So I registered for the half marathon two weeks before the race.

Greg and I would run together for 4.5 miles, I would proceed to finish the half marathon, run back to the hotel to change and grab my phone, then go back to the course in time to cheer him on at mile 19.5, and again at the finish. 

Before the Race
Even though I wasn't planning to "race" the half marathon at full effort, I made preparations as if I was racing. I figured I might as well get as much fueling and hydration as possible, and avoid foods that might upset my stomach.

We drove to Rehoboth the day before the race (Friday) and it was just under three hours. it was short
compared to our trip to Corning/Rochester in October and our trip to western West Virginia in November. We had dinner at DiFerbo's which was only two blocks from our hotel. They had a "pasta your way" and I ordered the rotini with marinara sauce and chicken.

The race started at 7:00am so we set our alarms for 4:49. I always like to set my alarm for a non standard time because everything else in life occurs on a standard time (4:30, 5:00, 5:30, etc). I had an English muffin with almond butter + the Maurten Drink mix 160. 

Greg and I got dressed in our matching Tracksmith outfits. Part of the fun of running together was letting people know that we were together based on our gear!

The race started right next to our hotel so we waited until the last minute to leave the hotel room. I was getting nervous because it was 6:40 and we were still in our hotel room, but Greg assured me that we had plenty of time. Ultimately this was good because I had not brought a throwaway shirt. I jogged around the boardwalk to stay warm, wearing just a tank top and shorts in the 45 degree weather. And it was windy on the boardwalk near the start.

I decided to wear the New Balance Fuel Cell RC Elite shoe. I don't like it as much as the Adios Pro because it doesn't feel as fast. But since I would be treating this run as a workout and not a race, it made sense to wear this shoe. 

They didn't have an official gear check, but you could toss your throwaway into a bin and the bins were brought to the finish. Greg had an old race t-shirt that he put in the bin, and we didn't care if he got it back again or not. I looked around for my friend Carrie, who was running the full marathon, but I didn't see her. I would also be cheering for her once I finished my half.

Miles 1-4
The race started without much of a warning. All of a sudden the gun went off and people started moving. Greg and I had positioned ourselves somewhere in between the 3:15 pacer and the 1:40 half marathon pacer (there was no 3:20 pacer). Greg's marathon PR was 3:19:51, which he had set earlier this year at the Two Rivers Marathon. His goal was to beat that, and I believed he could shave at least 5 minutes off of it. 

Now would be a good time to mention that I am Greg's coach. I have been writing his training plans for the past 3 years. I am not an RRCA certified coach but that doesn't matter to Greg! I create his plans by understanding his strengths and areas for improvement. I give him workouts that challenge him without burning him out. For this cycle, I had him running most of his weeks in the high 50's, with some of them into the low 60s.  He naturally has a lot of speed (he ran a sub-40:00 10K on New Year's day of this year), so if he developed his endurance, he should be able to run a sub 3:10 marathon. 

So I don't give him a ton of speed work. For this cycle, I gave him a medium-long run (11-13 miles) and a long run each week. I incorporated progression runs, marathon pace work, and lactate threshold work. He also needs needs a lot of recovery so I gave him a rest day each week and had him run no more than 5 miles the day after his long run.

Mile 2, photo by Fredman

Given all of this, he wanted me to pace him at 7:40. His plan was to start the race as 7:40 and then speed up if he could. I told him not to look at his Garmin and not to get ahead of me, but just follow my lead and to trust me.

I was able to pace him fairly accurately and the only hiccup we ran into is when the 1:40 half marathon pace group passed us on the boardwalk, crowding the area and making it hard for us to stick together. Greg said he didn't like running near pace groups because of the crowding and I agree with him. The benefit, however, was that the boardwalk was windy and the large pace group helped block the wind.

I carried a water bottle for the first few miles and I took a Maruten gel 15 minutes into the race.

I had so much fun running with him and being his pacer! I was so excited for what lay ahead of him and I knew I was setting him up for a strong finish.

Mile 1: 7:41
Mile 2: 7:39
Mile 3: 7:35
Mile 4: 7:37

Miles 5-8
As we approached the break-off point at 4.5 miles, I said my final words of encouragement to Greg as he continued onto a gravel path I turned around with the half marathoners. My plan was to speed up just slightly after leaving Greg and then gradually get faster and faster, depending on how I felt. I didn't have a goal time, but I wanted to see how much my legs could give me after running a 10K PR just 9 days prior. 

Mile 7, photo by blog reader Megan

It had been a slow recovery from that 10K because I pushed myself harder than I typically do. It wasn't until Wednesday (6 days later) that my legs felt good again and on that day I ran a track workout. I was definitely asking a lot of my body!

As I started to speed up I began to wish for my adidas Adios Pro shoes. The New Balance Fuel Cell wasn't really responding to my increased effort and the shoes felt bulky. They were great when I was going at a more relaxed pace but trying to push the pace felt a little awkward.

It wasn't long until I caught the 1:40 pace group and then passed them. It felt awesome to be passing so many people and leaving the pace group in the dust. I've had many experiences when they have come up from behind me and left me in the dust! I took my second Maurten gel at 55 minutes into the race which would be enough to power me through to the finish. 

The gravel section started just before mile marker 8. Up until then the race had been on the road and the boardwalk. I wasn't too worried about the gravel. Even though the gravel in my most recent marathon posed a challenge, it didn't pose that much of a challenge when I did this marathon in 2018. 

Mile 5: 7:27
Mile 6: 7:22
Mile 7: 7:22
Mile 8: 7:21

Miles 9-13
One of the coolest things about this race was the fact that so many people recognized me from my blog and from Instagram. There must have been 10-20 people who called out to me while either running or while cheering for Greg. They also took photos of me and sent them to me.

The gravel was more challenging than I remembered. It could have been due to the leaves on the ground making the surface more slippery than in 2018. Regardless, I still continued to pass people on the gravel section. My legs were beginning to tire and I wasn't able to continue to speed up as planned. By mile 11 I was ready to be done with the race, but I kept pushing because I knew I needed to finish fast to have time to see Greg at mile 19.5. I honestly did not care about my time at all; I just wanted to make sure I would be there for Greg.

I continued to pass runners and nobody passed me. Finally, I could see that up ahead the gravel was ending and we would be back on the road.

As I came out of the gravel section, I noticed a group of at least 8 half marathoners joining the course from another direction. This confused the heck out of me. Where did they come from? They were fast too. I only had one runner in my line of sight, and there were way more of these other runners. Did I somehow miss a turn? I didn't think so! 

I continued to run hard but I was worried that I had run the wrong course. I kept thinking the finish line would be at 12.6 or 12.7 because I had taken a short cut, but no- that did not happen. I did, in fact, run the correct course but that group of runners made a wrong turn after coming off the trail and ended up having to double back. (I found this out later on Strava. Some of them ran 13.45 miles). 

Mile 9: 7:23
Mile 10: 7:24
Mile 11: 7:36
Mile 12: 7:36
Mile 13: 7:15
Final 0.21: 6:29 pace

Transition from Runner to Spectator
I gunned it hard to the finish line for an official time of 1:38:40. As I finished, the announcer said, "Elizabeth Clor finishing. She has a great Instagram! You should follow her!" I was shocked but also beaming with excitement. The announcer knew who I was! This race was so full of wonderful support from my followers!

I somehow finished next to a guy dressed similarly to me!

I collected my medal and my cape, walked for a minute to see if I was going to vomit, but did not vomit! I guess that only happens when I race full-out. The hotel was 0.6 mile away. I jogged for 0.5 mile and walked the last 0.1. It was not easy to go right into jogging after that hard effort! I totally felt like superman running with a cape around me and holding a medal!

At the hotel, my first order of business was to get my hands functional. I soaked them in a sink filled with warm water along with my wrists and lower arms. Because of my Raynaud's, my hands go numb in the cold even if the rest of me is warm (which it was in the 51 degree weather).

Once I had the use of my hands, I used a wet washcloth to wipe all the sweat off my body and changed into warm dry clothes. I grabbed my phone and headed back out. I realized that I had less than 10 minutes to get to my spectator spot to see Carrie. I expected her at around 9:20 and in order to make it there in time I had to once again jog. Ouch, that hurt! I wasn't exactly sure where I was going either so I had to keep checking the map on my phone.

Cheering for Greg and Carrie
With less than one minute to spare I reached my spot and Carrie came flying by looking strong! Five minutes later I saw Greg and cheered very loudly and enthusiastically for him! He said that it was already hard, but that's to be expected at mile 19.5.

After that, I posted an Instagram story about the race and cheered for other runners as they passed. Then I relocated to the finish area, which was close by, and cheered the for the finishers. I absolutely LOVE watching marathon finish lines. Everyone is working so hard and it's so exciting to watch them as they chase down that final stretch!

I cheered for every runner, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Carrie and Greg. Carrie came into view and I cheered her into the finish. Greg followed shortly after looking strong. 

I met up with them both after they had collected their medals and they were very happy to be done. Greg ran a time of 3:21:24, which makes this his 3rd fastest marathon, right behind CIM (3:20). Greg might write a guest blog here on Racing Stripes with more details! He was happy with his effort and I am very proud of my athlete!

After Greg finished, he wanted to go back to the hotel immediately. I needed food. I had not eaten anything after my race and the hunger was setting in. He walked back to the hotel and I ate a biscuit + gravy, a waffle and some mac 'n cheese. As I walked around, I ran into several people who introduced themselves as Instagram followers. One of them actually lives about 20 minutes away from me and she runs around my same pace! She's doing Boston in the spring too and suggested that we do a training run together. I love meeting new runners. 

Before heading back to the hotel I found Greg's "throwaway" shirt in the bin and wrapped it around my waist. Once I got back to the hotel, he napped while I enjoyed the heated pool inside the hotel, which is actually more like a large hot tub. A fun day for everyone and a really well-organized race. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was harder than expected! It's crazy to think that I ran the full marathon on this course at an average pace of 7:25, and I couldn't even average that pace for a half marathon! (My average pace was 7:32). Granted, I wasn't racing it full out, but it still has me totally respecting my accomplishment from three years ago. And of course, wondering if I will ever beat that time!

• I placed 31 out of 931 women.
• I ran a negative split.
• It's really fun to pass a lot of people at the end of a race.
• Running a race as a workout is more fun than racing a race!
• Doing a workout in a race setting makes you push harder than you otherwise would

Within a 4-week time period, I ran a marathon, a 10K, and a half marathon. WOW! That's definitely a lot and more than I typically do. But I am having a blast and I will run a few 5Ks before I start to train for Boston.