I had a great Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday. Tony and I decided to run together again this year (you can read about our first Chilly half together here). Neither of us expected a PR from the season, so Tony suggested we ditch the GPS watches and just enjoy ourselves.
So we did. We had no idea how fast or slow we were running, we just ran it based on how we felt.
And it was perfect.
We finished in 2:21:35, but the time wasn’t really important. Our goal was to run a steady race while enjoying ourselves, and finish strong. And we did.
The course was actually less hilly than in previous years, and while my legs appreciated the change in altitude, the views on the run weren’t quite as spectacular. Still, an enjoyable course with plenty of New England foliage.
Tony was good at pointing out the best views of Crystal Lake as we went by, and the moments when the angle of the sun would light up the leaves of a red maple.
Grateful for the ability to run long, and the perfect fall weather and leaves.
I realized preparing for this race that I’d finally lost track of the number of half marathons I’ve done… I thought I was preparing for number 7. It was number 8.
If I had to summarize my triathlon strategy, it would go like this:
Swim: Watch where you’re going!
Bike: Hammer down!
Run: Just don’t stop.
As expected, I was pretty slow on the swim. (The point was to make it, and I did!) What was unexpected was that I’m comparatively a better cyclist than I am a runner! My bike time was 181 overall, and my run time was 318 overall.
I’m happy with every single part of the race. I wanted to become a swimmer and a road biker, and I did. Moreover, I absolutely LOVE biking. I love it. It’s amazing, and without this race as incentive, I’m not sure when I would have gotten out there.
More importantly…
I wanted to raise money to help fund cancer research and prevention, and we did.
As I was leaving the transition area to go out on the run, a man was standing to the side, clapping for every runner, and saying “Thank you, you helped save my mom.”
When I looped back on the run, 32 minutes later, the same man was still standing there, thanking every single athlete heading out on the run, telling them they helped save his mom.
I wonder how long he stood there.
His mom is alive, but he hasn’t forgotten.
I thought a lot about the people I know who were lost to cancer on that run. It was a very heart-felt run. During the last half mile, I told myself I was going to pick it up for Connie. And then Erica. And Cousin Jackie. Let’s pretend the names stop there. But they don’t. There are too many.
I saw Will and Andrew with Greg and his parents on the run course, and I ran over to give them a hug. I was so emotional at the time that the photos look like I’m about to cry, even though I remember seeing them there as one of the happiest moments in the race.
I had a ton of family come see me finish; I got to hug my Dad right before walking down to the swim, and my niece has evidently been playing “Aunt Kelly” and pretending to swim, bike and run. I have a father-in-law to whom I can toss a wetsuit with no explanation, a mother-in-law who always has an umbrella, and a sister-in-law who will trudge around a race course carrying a sleeping toddler through a downpour. Words can’t begin to cover how supportive Greg has been of the idea, the process, the training, the event… I’m a lucky woman.
I am so proud and touched to have participated in Tri For a Cure. The women who raced raised over 1.6 million dollars for the Maine Cancer Foundation. There were survivors who had never been active before cancer, who have now become triathletes. There were generational relay teams consisting of three generations; my mother saw two team-mates practically carry their runner across the finish line.
It’s an incredibly powerful event, filled with remembrance, hope and strength.
Thank you to everyone who supported me on this journey; I am so grateful to have been part of it.
My 6th Half Marathon is over! I have another 13.1 miles of continuous running to my name.
How the race went: I started out strong, then I hit the hills and tanked. I kept trying to pick the pace back up, but general fatigue hit, and my watch kept reading at 11 plus minute miles. I just kept going, and kept trying to pick up the pace, but no matter how hard I tried to stick with a certain runner, they inevitably pulled away as more people passed me from behind and my legs refused to quicken the pace. The harder I tried to speed up, the more my legs threatened to quit altogether and the fear of stopping made me ease up slightly. I tried to find the maximum exertion I could put into it and still keep going.
I lost Greg’s co-workers in the first mile; they were targeting 9:30s but ended up running stronger than that. I’m so glad they pulled away so I didn’t slow them down! While I maintained that target pace for the first mile, it slowly crept down and I was in the 10s for miles 6 and 7, and then the 11s for the remainder of the race.
The weird splits in the middle are where I kept pressing the lap button instead of the display, trying to change it so I wouldn’t have to see how slow I was running. I figured it out, and saw just the time stamp for the last three miles.
How I’m feeling: I’m disappointed. I hired a trainer and ran higher mileage weeks than ever before because I wanted to run this race faster than last year, not slower than the past two years. More miles, worse race performance. That’s hard emotionally. Am I a better runner, and I just had an off-day? Or did I miss too many key training runs this year because I was sick and didn’t run the Maine Half Marathon? Did I start training seriously too late in the summer? Maybe I didn’t run enough repeats, because I was focusing on adding miles rather than intensity.
I don’t know. What I do know is that I need to accept that this same experience is a possibility next year. I may just be a 2:10 – 2:20 half marathoner. I am not complacently accepting this or giving up the possibility of improvement, but I also need to be realistic going into training next year and not expect that my results will automatically reflect my training efforts. Because they didn’t this year. And that stinks. I need to accept that possibility even as I enjoy trying to get faster.
If I’m going to do this again, which I most likely am, I need to continue to enjoy the journey and not focus on the destination.
Some awesome things: This race motivated me to start running 4 or 5 days a week instead of 3, giving me the added confidence and flexibility in my training schedule because I no longer avoid running back to back days. This race introduced me to strength training and the TRX, something I am going to focus on achieving a better base-line in this winter, so I can do 50 squats come spring and still be able to run the next day.
This race motivated me to get out and run long, something I enjoy and take pride in being able to do. I watched the sun come up, I ran by fall foliage and beautiful lakes, I made running a priority when I otherwise wouldn’t have.
I get more than enough aerobic exercise to be physically fit and healthy. That matters, and this race helped me stay motivated to do it.
The best part of the race: My in-laws (who are expert race spectators) brought Will and Andrew to see me on the course. I got the biggest, most beautiful hug from them around mile 4. I was still feeling great, running sub 10 minute miles, and thrilled to see them. I didn’t care that it would slow me down, I ran right over to them and gave them a hug and thanked them for coming to see me run. Knowing now that I wasn’t going to be running fast later, I’m so grateful that I followed my heart and spent those 30 seconds to be with them during the race.
Greg came back for me: I remember a moment at mile 9 when I looked down at my watch and saw that I was giving it everything and running 11:35 pace. I knew I was going to be “late”. I knew Greg was going to be worried. I tried so hard to pick up the pace – I kept looking at my watch and thinking of him standing there, minutes ticking by, wondering if I was walking, or crying, or injured. I wished I had my phone so I could text him “slow but sure”.
I was right – he was thinking of me. He was wondering how I was. He ran 2 miles into the course to find me. After running a 1:28 half marathon and coming in 34th out of over 1200 people, he jogged 2 miles into the course looking for me to make sure I was ok and run alongside me the last two miles in support.
Except… 2 miles into the course, he still hadn’t found me. I was so slow that he was afraid he’d missed me. He didn’t want to not see me finish, so he sprinted back to the finish line. 2 more miles. After throwing down a PR, he ran 4 extra miles, 2 of them at top speed, to be there for me when I finished.
If only I’d been a little faster; he must have turned around just before he would have seen me.
I can’t imagine running that course and then turning around and running more. To run an extra 2 miles as fast as I could to see someone finish? I cannot imagine what that felt like, and I’m humbled that Greg loves me so much that he would make his legs do that, for me. Especially when it was already clear that I was not going to be finishing proud.
I wish, for him, that I had been able to run faster. Not for a second did he make me feel as though I’d let him down… and that’s almost worse. He believed I’d be finishing sooner, and I didn’t. He believed in my ability, and I feel like I let him down. He ran four extra miles to see my 7 minutes shy of a PR finish.
He’s crazy.
I’m lucky. Greg did that extra running because he cared about how I was doing, and being there for me at the finish.
He cared about how I was feeling, not how well I was running. He could not be better or more supportive. I wish I were a faster runner for him; but he doesn’t care how fast I run, he cares about me.
I hope you had a good running weekend, and have people in your life like Greg who care only about how the race went for you, not how fast you ran it. We could all use a Greg in our life!
Babson Runs for Rett: The 5k on Saturday went well! It was very powerful to see the group of runners and supporters gathered together to raise money for Rett Syndrome. The race organizer, Matt, gave a moving speech about how girls with Rett’s Syndrome understand a great deal more than they’re able to communicate, and that we [strangers] shouldn’t be afraid to say hello or point out something beautiful we see as we would to another child. If you’re interested in learning more about Rett’s Syndrome or contributing to the research, you can visit RettSyndrome.org.
My friend took this great photo of us racing in to the finish – Greg paced me the whole race with the boys in the stroller and then let the boys watch me finish strong 🙂
Race Results: Well, my official race time of 26:03 looked like a PR, but the course actually clocked in at 2.8 miles on my Garmin, not 3.1, so while I put forth a reasonable effort up those hills, it wasn’t enough to either make Greg’s legs burn (which I’m secretly suspecting is impossible) or capture a PR. I would have needed to get under 8:58 pace for a PR, and I ran at 9:09 pace. Solid, but not quite enough! Good thing it wasn’t the last race I’ll ever run 😉
Will’s Birthday!It was also Will’s birthday this weekend 🙂 He’s 5! One of the highlights for me was seeing him ever so carefully cut and serve his birthday cake to everyone at the table. He had a wonderful birthday, and although I can’t believe he’s really 5, I’m glad he had a great day.
We had family visiting and served an eclectic lunch of his favorite foods; pasta with marinara sauce, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crusts cut off, cucumbers, carrots, sliced red peppers, sweet potato crisps, apple sauce, and sparkling water with chocolate cake for dessert.
Blood Moon: Greg and I both photographed the gorgeous eclipse last night. I thought my snapshot was more realistic. 😉 I took the photo while leaving a mothers forum event. As I drove home, I could see all kinds of people out in front of their houses watching the end of the eclipse.
It was really enjoyable to see everyone out on their lawns gazing up at the sky. It was such a great eclipse, and so wonderful to see the number of people cozy in flannel pjs or wrapped in blankets standing outside to watch.
What my camera captured…What Greg’s camera captured…
Mothers Forum Event! I had a great time at a mothers forum event last night. I had a chance to speak briefly with my co-president about all the wonderful things the organization offers, and it renewed my appreciation for how wonderful the forum is.
It was great to see so many mothers socializing. I’ve attended this event ever since I started volunteering for the forum, and it’s been fun seeing the percentage of people I know in the room grow and grow.
Many of the new members who attended last night knowing perhaps one or two people will be at this event in a few years and know several dozen. It’s amazing the ways this organization connects people and facilitates friendships for mothers of young children.
Me in red with one of my great friends and fellow volunteers, whom I’m so grateful to have met through the forum!
The forum has been a great match for me, but there are lots of different groups you can join that will give you a regular outlet for making social connections, whether it’s a volunteer organization, a special interest group, or even taking a class at your local rec center and getting to know your classmates.
I hope you had a good running weekend, and that you have something like the forum in your life!
We had a fun morning at the inaugural Cambridge Robot Race and Human 5K! There was a kid’s fun run, a human 5k, and a robot race with multiple robot heats competing to travel around a cone and return with a paper cup of confetti.
Andrew in his blue jacket starting the Kids Fun Run.
Kid’s Fun Run: Andrew decided to run, even though he was probably the youngest participant. Greg and I reminded him that the goal of any race is just to finish: and he did. I like to think it helped that we stressed the goal of finishing, and not worrying about the other kids, because it’s fun enough just to run and make it to the finish line. He was the littlest, got off to the slowest start, and almost got run over when the older kids circled the cone and headed back. A little confusion he had at the turn-around meant he ran to the finish alone (except for the compassionate race director who’d turned him around). People were cheering, and he had a grin plastered across his face. We were so proud. There were so many minutes he could have lost his smile or given up. Starting off so far behind. Never catching up. Seeing the crowd of kids turn at the cone and stampede towards him. Mixing up where he was supposed to turn around. Running towards the finish alone with everyone staring at him. So many, many opportunities for him to lose composure… but he didn’t. He ran as fast as his little legs could, followed directions as best as he could, and he finished to thunderous applause. (And possibly some tears, but I was wearing sunglasses, so you’ll never prove it.)
Greg heading into the finish for 8th place overall with a time of 19:02.
5K: Greg ran a solid 5k with a PR time of 19:02, coming in 8th overall. I have this weird feeling of pride, as if him being a fast runner reflects on me even remotely. I’m impressed and happy for him that his running continues to improve, but I’m also like… hey, everyone, check out my race entry. That’s right. I’ve got a top tenner right here. I’m with this guy. #186 fan club, right here. See those kids? Their Dad is super fast. Also, those are my kids. Yeah.
The Robot Costume: Another highlight of the 5k was seeing a guy in a cardboard box robot costume come in 3rd place. You just know everyone at the start line was like… dude, I’m not getting beaten by THE GUY IN THE ROBOT COSTUME. And uhhhh… they were wrong. All but two of them. And one of those guys was only seconds away from losing to a guy in a cardboard robot costume. If that’d happened, the only guy to beat the guy in the cardboard robot costume would have been:
John Wichers, age 48, finishing in 17:25. I love seeing these experienced runners come in and clean house. That’s inspiring. I won’t be winning races at age 48, but I plan to be running them, and I love seeing reminders at every race that it’s a realistic dream to be a life-long runner.
Man vs. Robot coming in FAST for an under 18 minute finish!The man behind the Robot Costume! Frank May placed 3rd overall. Wearing a cardboard box. That’s AWESOME. (Thanks to Frank for making us all smile, and for letting me share your photos!) Also – I googled this guy, and he won the Yulefest 5k in Cambridge wearing a Banana costume in December. It’s possible he’s having more fun in life than we are.
Robot Race: After the human 5k was a robot race. Robots competed in smaller heats to travel to a cone and return with a cup of confetti. My boys were riveted watching the robots. Not only was it perfect weather to be outside, but the participants and spectators all seemed in great humor as their robots attempted to complete the task. Many of these robots had been built for other robotics competitions and then re-purposed, so we didn’t always see the best of what these machines were capable of. It was impressive nonetheless, and an amazing spectator opportunity. The boys spent the entire time Greg was running watching people prepare their robots for the competition, and even getting some robotics lessons from friendly participants.
Spectators line the streets to watch the robots race to a cone and bring back a paper cup of confetti.
Race Review: Overall, it was a wonderful event. Parking was good, the finish line and start line were right near an indoor lobby with restrooms, things started on time, and there were food trucks for a fun picnic lunch afterwards. (We had Vietnamese food and the vegan options were clearly labeled… ahhh.)
Rumor has it they’ll be doing the event next year – and I hope we’ll go back!
More Photos:
Happy spectators cheer Dad on at the start line.
Andrew lining up for the kids fun run with his brother watching from the side.Running without hesitation after the bigger kids 🙂After some confusion at the turn around, one of the race directors runs him back to the start – he’s still smiling and determined to finish!About to cross the finish 🙂
