I made it! I went out too fast in the heat , stuck with the 2:10 pace group for 6 miles, then crashed and dropped way down to finish at 2:27, my worst time ever.
But I finished, I had a strong start, and I’ve got a medal earned and a lesson learned! (Train for long races. Don’t cram it into four weeks and pray. Especially if you’re an atheist.)
Greg did great on the other hand – came in 55th overall out of over 3,000 runners with a time of 1:31:34. No big deal.
Then after the finish Matt Frazier from No Meat Athlete came over to talk to us because he knows Greg and we were wearing his shirts.
Also no big deal.
I saw Will and Andrew with my inlaws twice on the course, and it was awesome to see them!
The race was well directed and organized – it was hot and hilly, but I’d consider doing it again.
I should be ecstatic… my third half marathon! One year ago, I was struggling to run a 10k for the first time.
When I ran my first half marathon, I was happy just to be there, excited just to finish. When I ran my second, I had great company the whole way, and no expectation of improving much from my first since it’d been less than two months of running in between. It was glorious. I felt legitimate, I improved by 10 minutes, I was thrilled.
Now, I run my third… feeling less prepared than I did for either of the first two. Spring came late, I only did four long runs in preparation, and only 3 that were over 10 miles.
There are signs that I’m a stronger runner than I was in the fall – I did two races on hilly courses pushing the double jogger and came in at under 30 minutes for each one. When I ran a 5k with NO stroller two weeks before my first half marathon, I barely made it in under 30 on a flat course.
I’m stronger, right? I’m faster, right? I still have 13.1 in me… and as fast as in the fall, right?
In a way, I don’t deserve to have any expectation of improvement, since I didn’t work hard this spring to improve.
Yet… I’ve been running 7 months longer. I have those first two half marathons in my legs and in my brain, propelling me forward, changing my mitochondria (you’ll have to google that).
Hope is a four letter word, all right.
What do I hope for? To finish? To finish not that much slower? To finish faster? To get that third necklace, to STILL be here?
I’m disappointed, before I start, because I’m not sure that’s enough anymore.
I’m no longer happy just to be here. I want to be here, and be excited to see what my hard training will earn me. I want to have done that hard training so I can be proud of it.
I think I’ve learned a lesson before I even get on the course tomorrow – I love the half marathon because it makes me feel proud of myself. And I feel proud when I train adequately, make sacrifices to get my runs in, complete my miles, and then get to show off to myself on race day.
Even if I nail it tomorrow, it’ll be only as much pride as I can feel in myself about 2 hours and 10-30 minutes of hard running. My 3 year old is proud just putting his underwear on the right way… that’s because it’s hard for him and he worked at it.
When I completed my first half marathon, my pride was not just in those hours… it was in everything I did to get to the starting line.
Tomorrow morning I will pull on my running clothes, I will show up to the start line, and I will run my heart out. I will have to be content with keeping myself in enough running shape that I can make it across that finish in under 2:30 (and I will, oh… I will). And hopefully, I will give myself a little credit for tooling around town pushing 70 pounds of kid and stroller, squeezing in runs when I can, and using my precious baby sitting hours for the four long runs I did manage before I needed to taper.
But inside I know that I’m disappointed by my mediocre preparation. I want to actually train. I’m ready to do interval workouts. Hill repeats. Better long runs. More miles.
I want to feel how good, how sweet, how satisfying it is to cross a finish line beaming because no matter how many freaking people are in front, I EARNED my spot, with sweat, exhaustion and dedication. I want that feeling back, and I’m going to chase it.
Last night I had the chance to go to a Red Sox game! I don’t think I’ve been since before Will was born. My brother was going to be in the state for business, and my husband was already going to the game with a friend and suggested that I find a babysitter and go with Alan. One of my husband’s coworkers had season tickets that weren’t being used, one of my babysitters was free, and just like that we were at the game!
These were our seats. No big deal. (!!!!!!!)
The only thing is… I’d scheduled my last long run before my June 8th half marathon for today while Will was at school and a babysitter watched Andrew. I could push it off to the weekend, when we’ll be in Maine visiting with family, but I don’t want to take the time. I could not drink any beer while unexpectedly at Fenway Park for a Sox game for the first time in almost 4 years, and the first time ever with my big brother (and even bigger Red Sox fan).
OR – I could drink three beers over the course of a few hours, chow down on peanuts and french fries, watch a couple drunk guys get kicked out of the park, sing SWEET CAROLINE with the joyous frivolity only that third beer can invoke, and have a damn hell of a time of it…. and then get up the next morning and do my long run anyway.
After all, I accepted a month ago that this half marathon wasn’t going to be a PR. I just want to run it and enjoy it and keep motivated to be in shape enough to run half marathons.
So I ran 7 miles this morning instead of 9, but I had an AMAZING time last night, I have all weekend to focus on being with my family, and I know I’m going to make it across that finish line on June 8th. I didn’t let the Sox game prevent me from my run, or my run prevent me from enjoying the Sox game. I feel pretty much awesome. (Which is better than I felt after a late night and waking up to Will at 5:45 a.m. hell bent on the earliest breakfast EVER.)
Would I have made the same decision if I’d trained really seriously for this event and wanted a solid last long run under my belt? Probably not. But luckily for me, I slacked off this spring, so I can live life to the fullest! Also, nothing detoxes you from $30 worth of stadium beer like a 7 mile run. Sweat it out, guys, sweat it out.
DO IT. CARB LOAD. YES.A whole food, vegan option at Fenway Park – AND a baseball classic! Doesn’t get better than that. (But don’t forget the french fries, those were another good moment in my night.)I love seeing fans who still fill out scorecards… this gentleman was so intent, and I could just picture him here at Fenway 40 years ago with a different score card in hand, contentedly filling in each statistic and soaking up the atmosphere of the ball park.
YIKES! I’m so excited. Months and months ago, while I was training for my first half marathon, I connected online with another new runner and mother named Amy. I was a new runner and mother, she’s a new runner and mother… and she followed my journey towards my first half marathon while she worked up to running her first 5k.
Amy is a blogger too – you can read her blog about life here at “So this is me”.
Today, less than a year later, she’s running her first half marathon.
If you go back through her blog and look at her running posts before her first 5k, you’ll see her post about the challenges she faced. Motivation. Feeling tired. Schedule conflicts and weeks she didn’t run much.
Right… and TODAY SHE RUNS HER FIRST HALF MARATHON.
This is incredible. She went from doing Couch to 5k, and then STUCK WITH IT, and then believed that she could dedicate the time and energy and patience it would take to get all the way up to the starting line of a HALF MARATHON. (For new runners, this means running for over two to two and a half hours AT LEAST. Which is crazy.)
No matter what happens today, the work is done – she DID it. She believed in herself and put in the long hours for the long runs, and she got to the starting line with her family there to cheer her on.
I am completely in love with the process of transformation that happens when people start running and then believe in themselves that they can go the distance. For the rest of her life, she will know that she had the courage to believe that she could accomplish something that sounded crazy, and the strength of will and dedication to follow through and run for longer and longer until 13.1 was doable. Even though she’d run her first 5k less than a year before. The knowledge that you have that kind of strength sticks with you when you face life’s challenges… and she’s earned it.
“But 6 months ago the thought of me running at all was laughable. So who knows. I will keep running one step at a time and see where the road takes me.” -Amy
Maybe it’s because I’ve had the same thoughts… traveled the same road… been transformed the same way by the dream of 13.1, but reading those words and knowing that TODAY she is at the starting line for her first half marathon… it literally brings tears to my eyes.
Amy – you are awesome.
I hope Amy has an amazing and wonderful race, and I can’t wait to read her race re-cap of how she feels after she accomplishes this new and challenging distance.
For all you new runners… think about what a beautiful gift it is that Amy can look back at her posts where she wrote about being tired (but running anyway) or taking some time off from running for the holidays (but getting back into it) or heading out in the freezing cold (and still making it a few miles). Now she can remember all those things she overcame to still stick with running AND become a long distance runner.
If you want it… if you dream about it… if you think it would be amazing to have accomplished it… then look at your medical history for any reasons you shouldn’t, ramp up slowly, and go read some running blogs of people who are training for their first big race.
They felt the discouragement you feel, the exhaustion, the guilt from taking breaks… None of these things meant they couldn’t do it, or wouldn’t do it, or shouldn’t do it. They just meant they felt even more accomplished when they overcame them and made it to that start line.
Amy – cheers to you. You’re an inspiration to us all 🙂
The Chilly Half Marathon in Newton, MA was my second half marathon! It was a great race. The weather was ideal, going from 43 degrees at the start to 50 degrees at the finish, with rain finishing minutes before the start, leaving a cool, overcast humidity for the duration of the race.
The course wound its way through Newton, MA, with gorgeous views of foliage, Crystal Lake, and beautiful neighborhoods. It’s advertised as a challenging, hilly course, but it was all paved and the elevation gain was less than that of my first half marathon, so I found the course less challenging than I’d anticipated. Isn’t that a great feeling!
Race packets were available for pickup two days prior to the race, and since we’re local, I was able to pick up our shirts and bib numbers, leaving us more time before the race for sleeping, eating, and warming up rather than worrying about race registration logistics! Greg warmed up by running. I warmed up by hanging out in the car. (13.1 is enough for me in one day, thanks! Being a novice runner, the endurance is still the biggest part of the challenge, so I warm up on the course.)
Greg and I, staying warm in the car just minutes prior to the start! It’s like we knew we would both PR 🙂
I went into the race hoping to do better than I did at my first half marathon. On one hand, I was skeptical, because I felt as though I’d had little extra time to train in the 7 weeks between races. I had to recover, I had to taper, and that left only four serious weeks of training that included long runs of 10 or 11 miles. On the other hand, that’s four extra double digit runs under my feet, five if you include the first half marathon as “training”! My body was a lot more familiar with running, and running long distances, than it was when I tackled 13.1 the first time.
I’d also learned the hard way to incorporate hills into my regular running. After being so challenged by hills during my first half marathon, I stopped using hills as an excuse for a walking break during my training runs, and I started to sprint or run the hills leading into my neighborhood that I used to walk as a “cool down” after my runs. I didn’t think it had added up to much, and was feeling negligent because I hadn’t done hill repeats, until I got onto the half marathon course. The hills didn’t phase me the way they did during my first half. They took more effort, I slowed down, I lost my breath… but I maintained a reasonable pace, I didn’t take a walking break during or after the hill, and I made up the slowed pace on the downhill. It was like I was a different runner. I can’t tell you how good that felt! Plus, if you run the hills, you get to the top a lot faster, and it’s really nice to get them over with!
The Real Reason I Did So Well – An Unexpected Running Partner!
The running I did in preparation made the race possible, but an unexpected running partner made the race enjoyable, and kept me motivated and steady-paced enough to PR by ten minutes, with a finish of 2:16:04!
Just after the start, I heard two runners from Greg’s company shout hello to one another… one of whom I remembered had a goal to finish in 2:20. Since my last half marathon was 2:26, I thought that’d be an ambitious but possible goal for me, too. Luckily, after I found him at the start, he agreed to let me run with him! Since he was a very experienced runner, I found myself running a very steady pace, losing track of miles thanks to our conversation, and determined as ANYTHING not to be the one who got in the way of his goal. There was no way I was going to slow down and cost him his race, and I worried that after a few miles he’d feel bad leaving me behind. So I ran it.
When I got really tired at mile 10 and subconsciously sped up because I wanted the race to be over, he held me back. When we hit mile 12.5, he suggested we pick up the pace for a strong finish, and if I wasn’t so determined to finish with him, I probably would have slowed down at the end rather than giving it everything I had left! We didn’t sprint, but we dropped our pace down to about a 9 minute mile for the last .5, so that our last full mile averaged a 9:43 pace, with the first half being 10:30 ish and the last half mile dropping the average mile pace down those extra 45 seconds. Smart… because it’s safer to spread out any reserved energy over the last .5 rather than sprinting at the end which can cause injury, but also REALLY HARD. Again, not sure I would have done it, or believed I could do it, if I didn’t have an experienced runner next to me with whom I really wanted to finish. (Ok seriously, who is running my next race with me?)
Took a little long at the first water station, impacting mile 3, otherwise – steady pace with a strong finish!
Would I have decided to walk some of those hills if we weren’t trying to stick under 10:30 pace and didn’t have time to lose? Probably. Would I have lingered longer at the water stations? Probably. Would I have been bored and full of doubts by mile 8? I certainly wouldn’t have been surprised to discover it was mile 8, and I was this time, thanks to having such great company! I KNOW I only finished that fast because I was with him. What are the chances I would find another runner with such a compatible goal? This race will always stick with me in my memory as one of the most beautiful, fun races ever. Gorgeous fall scenery, a running partner/coach keeping me on track, and miles that actually slipped by, not to mention a 10 minute PR. It doesn’t get better than that.
My mom, waiting at the finish line with Andrew, who refused to wear his own hat and mittens but loved wearing hers!
This race was extra awesome because I knew my family would be waiting for me at the finish – my parents had driven down to see me run the half marathon and to watch Will and Andrew for us so that Greg and I could both run! (He and many of his co-workers run this half marathon, so it’s kind of his race!) Greg was hoping to break 1:30… and he did. I kept asking what time it was during the race and picturing him crossing the finish line while I was running. Just before we headed to the finish, some of Greg’s coworkers spotted us and I was able to find out that he’d met his goal – it put me in such high spirits that I’m sure it contributed to my strong finish!
“I WILL smile for my parents!”
My parents had only seen me run one race before, a 5k where I was trying to break 30 minutes for the first time. I did, by two seconds, but I couldn’t even wave or smile to them as I entered the finish. It was not my most spectacular of races. I started too ambitiously, walked halfway through, realized I still had a chance, and then ran so hard that I almost dry heaved across the finish and I left my parents, grandparents, and in-laws all seriously questioning whether it was actually healthy for me to run. They certainly had trouble understanding why I claimed it was so much fun for me! They kind of had a point. (You can see a photo of me looking pretty destroyed going into the finish at that race on a blog post I wrote for beginning runners on my parenting/life blog. The post was so popular I decided to start writing a blog about running… and here we are.)
Anyway… not this time. I was determined to smile and wave going into that finish, and you know what? It wasn’t forced. I had a fantastic race. The miles slipped by, we finished strong, and my running partner promised that not only would I smile for my parents this time, but he would, too. We did. Knowing we’d beaten our goal by several minutes didn’t hurt 😉
Yup – you’re supposed to pour this stout this way! Nothing like a celebratory drink after a great race 🙂
