June 30, 2015 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: 2015 Goals Update

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: 2015 Goals Update

6 months down. 6 months to go. So how am I doing on my 15 goals for this year??

GOALS
FOR

1. Do not get injured.

No major injuries just some nagging foot issues.

ouchy!

2. Run 3-4 times a week ALL YEAR.

Yes, for the most part.

2x before work

3. Continue fitting in tennis and/or yoga once a week.

Tennis, yes. Yoga, no!

4. Do some upper body exercises.

Just a few times. Nothing to write home about.

5. Finish all of my races under 10 minutes per mile (except half marathons)

Yes. Except 15ks and 10 milers.

Cherry Blossom 5k – 8:59
Bacon Hill 5K – 9:00
Delmar Dash 5m – 9:09
Shamrock Shuffle 5m – 9:17
Runnin’ of the Green 4m – 9:21
Spring Run Off 10k – 9:22
Polar Cap 4m – 9:24
Albany Law Day 5k – 9:25
Mastodon Challenge 5k – 9:25
Freihofer Run for Women 5k – 9:28
Betar Byway 5k – 9:28
Mother’s Day 5K – 9:45
HMRRC Winter Series #3 10K – 9:48

6. Run at least one race per month and at least 20 for the year.

Yes. 20 so far…

January – 4

February – 2
March – 3
April – 3
May – 6

June – 2

: 2015

7. Run a race in another state.

Yes. Florida, (almost California), New Jersey and Vermont

West Palm Beach Half in FL

Asbury Park Half in NJ

VCM Relay in VT

8. Run in NYC.
No. Not yet.

9. Get several Age Group awards.

Yes. 9.

: West Palm – Jan 2015

: 2015

: 3rd

: 1st

: 2015 – 27:56

: 1st

: 3rd

: 3rd

10. PR in a half marathon.

Yes.

West Palm Beach Half – 2:09:40

11. PR at another distance.

Yes. 4 mile and 5 mile.

Runnin’ of the Green 4m – 37:27

Delmar Dash 5m – 45:26

12. Join a running group or two.

Yes. Freihofer Training Challenge.

13. Volunteer.

Yes. At the HMRRC Winter Series Marathon and I was a GOTR running buddy.

14. Run over 900 miles.

Not if I don’t get moving. 5 Half marathons and only 404 miles so far. (Last year I ran 911 miles.)

15. Continue to blog almost everyday.

Yes.

So what do I focus from now until the end of the year?

Keep up the weekly runs
Continue signing up for races
Drag myself to the gym now and then
Take a yoga class or two
Focus on speed for the shorter races.
Prepare for my half marathon in October.
Find a solution for my annoying achy feet (besides surgery)
Lose those extra pounds.

That should keep me busy!!!

Happy Running. Did you set goals for this year? If so, how are you doing?

June 18, 2015 by Darlene

Racing with Doubts

So I’m linking up today with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.

I subscribe to Runner’s World magazine and finally sat to read it last week before my half marathon. I flipped right to “No Pity: It Takes a Lot of Courage to Run a Sucky Race,” by Lauren Fleshman. (I guess I thought that my upcoming half may be sucky…)

The title drew me in and I love Lauren Fleshman. I began to read Lauren’s article and proceeded to get teary-eyed.

She described pushing through doubt, facing failure head on in the wake of big goals, and embracing how important it is to try anyway during the Olympic Trials in 2012. The article led me to think about on my own personal courage.

I haven’t been feeling the “running” lately. I have skipped weekday runs. The ones I have done have been filled with walking and a pace of over 12 minutes. My longs runs since April have been non-existent other than the VCM relay. (That one was unplanned and so my goal was just to have fun.)

I doubted my ability to run another half marathon well. Yes, I could finish it. But I was embarrassed to just finish again. I am not injured and I have finished a half marathon this year in 2:09. So why attempt one when I knew the results in advance. I did not train well enough to do well. Should I still try?

On the fear of failing in a very public way and feeling sorry for herself well in advance of any failure, Lauren wrote:

“I would think, This is the very thing that holds people back from trying things. From having experiences. This fear that failing makes you a failure. In our core, we want to believe that trying matters, regardless of the outcome. That having the courage to see things through to their mysterious ends is worthwhile. That fighting well with what you have is enough.”

I realized after reading this article, that my race was more than just a finish time. It was an experience. Running 13.1 miles. Meeting new people. Seeing new places. Challenging myself.

If I didn’t try, I would miss all this.

So I ran the Walkway Half Marathon and gave it my best shot. And I didn’t have a PR. My time was even slower than my last half marathon (that I just ran for fun.) But that was okay and expected.

Trying is enough. Seeing things through to that mysterious end is worth it. Fighting with what I have is enough.

“…the reason we set big goals is not to achieve them, but to set ourselves on a road trip toward them, and that trip is where all the good loving is.”

Happy Running! Do you agree? Did you get a chance to read the article?

June 15, 2015 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

Last Week:

Monday- rest, tennis
Tuesday – ~~3 mile run~~ (rain), movie instead

very funny

Wednesday – 4 mile run

Thursday – rest, walk at work

Friday – rest, walk at work
Saturday – HALF MARATHON, movie

I was slow but still got 3rd in my AG

Sunday – rest, boating

This Week:

Monday- rest, walk at work
Tuesday – rest, walk at work, pack
Wednesday – fly to Denver for a conference, 4 mile running tour
Thursday & Friday – rest, conference (would love to squeeze in a run)
Saturday – fly home
Sunday – 10 mile race, boating

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

June 14, 2015 by Darlene

Walkway Half Marathon Race Recap

Have you ever have a nightmare that these things went wrong before a big race?

The power went out so your alarm didn’t go off
You got stuck in traffic getting to the race start
Your Garmin wasn’t fully charged and said low battery when you turned it on
The humidity was 90%

And yes, all these happened to me for this race. More on that later.

The course for this inaugural race was described as:

an out-and-back course begins at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, located on the eastern banks of the Hudson River. The route continues southwest on the flat, tree-lined William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail, which winds through the Dutchess County towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappingers Falls. The stunning views from the elevated Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park offer runners a wonderful mid-race pick-me-up as they head across the river and onto the Hudson Valley Rail Trail in the Ulster County town of Lloyd. A return trip across the Walkway, and a final downhill sprint brings participants back to Marist and the scenic waterfront.

Believe it not, the race sold out with 2500 runners registered. Not bad for the first year of a race.

I was prepared for it to be hilly and the steepest ones seem to be on the 2nd half (when I always die.):

I don’t see any flat sections..gulp!

Of course, this is what they advertised & I wanted to believe:

Each of the three race courses is primarily flat (with a few gently rolling stretches and bridge crossings). Most of the marathon and half marathon is run on paved rail trails. All three races are fast; many participants can expect new PRs!

At the time when I registered, I thought I would be running better, longer and stronger. After my last two slow half marathon finish times and my achy feet, I knew not to expect much from this race.

Plus I had to leave at 4:30 am to get to the race start. Then meet someone I barely knew at 6:30 to get my race packet.

So now to race morning. Luckily I set all my clothes out the night before.

We had a thunderstorm during the night so I should have known better but I didn’t set my phone alarm in addition to my clock like I usually do when I have an early flight.

I woke up and it was light outside. Uh oh! The clock was flashing and I had no idea what time it was. I ran to get my watch and found out that it was 4:55!!!!

I scrambled and threw on my shirt & skirt and grabbed everything else. I made oatmeal and tea and took it with me to have while I was driving.

Believe it or not, I was in the car by 5:10.

Although my GPS wanted to take me on the back roads, I decided to take the Thruway because I could make up time.

I ate my oatmeal while I was driving (which wasn’t easy) and drank my tea (which scolded my mouth Oy!)

I was scheduled to arrive at 6:30 so not too bad, all things considered.

Then when I got to the entrance of Marist College, the traffic was backed up. That was the only entrance and it was not moving. It took my at least 20 minutes to get in. Yes, now I was really late but I texted my friend with bib that I would find her on the porta-potty line.

The parking was no problem but I had to walk toward the river which was quite far.

I guess this was my race warm up.

I sprinted to the race start to find out that they were having day of race packet pick up (since so many runners did not pick theirs up the day before) and that because of the traffic, they were delaying the start of the race.

I found my friend who had my bib and shirt and went to bag check. Well, they couldn’t have put it farther away from the race start. They said that they were afraid of a bomb disturbing the race. Really?

looks like rain

Although it wasn’t raining, it looked like it would at any moment. So so humid!! I was sweating already and I don’t sweat.

ready to begin

It was finally time to line up and wait until they decided to start the race. The announcer played music and an obnoxious train whistle each time he wanted to get your attention.

I turned on my Garmin and it said “Low battery.” Great!! I charged it but obviously it didn’t charge. I wondered how long it would last.

photo by Nin Lei

This was the course. wwhmmap

Right after you start, there is a hill and then there is another hill and another.

Photo By: Martin Weiner

Photo By: Martin Weiner

After you leave the campus and you pass through the tunnel under the rail tracks, there is a fairly significant, steep uphill climb for about .25 mile.

Photo By: Martin Weiner

Photo By: Martin Weiner

Finally you are on the rail trail which is rolling hills but not too bad of an incline. You were on the bike path until around mile 6. You got to see the lead runners. And you turned around and went back. It was now nice to see how many runners were still behind me.

photo by Nin Lei

The bike path was nice because it was shady and the rain never happened. Instead, the sun came out and it was warm.

photo by Nin Lei

There was great crowd support. I was surprised at how many people were along the course. They were very enthusiastic.

My favorite sign was “Don’t trust a fart after this point.”

Eventually we hit the famous Walkway Over the Hudson. It was beautiful. However, it had no shade and it was very windy (which actually felt great.)

Photo By: Martin Weiner

I didn’t realize how long it was – at least 2 miles and we had to run it in both directions. The biggest problem was that it was concrete – painful on the feet and even my back started to ache at this point in the race. On the way back, I bumped into someone from Albany. She had fallen at the turn around and was taking it slow. I ran with her which may have slowed me down but I didn’t care since it was nice to chat with someone.

the runner to my right looks like I felt

Finally we were heading back toward campus.

Now came those same hills. This time they were torture. I thought the race would never end.

I finally saw the finish line. I was relieved that I finished under 2 1/2 hours but a little sad that I was even slower than my last half.

10915074_10155623223140005_2507411780555463451_o

on their FB page – I must be a photo magnet

My official time was 2:25:53.

More thoughts on the race:

There were also a lot of water stops. They started at mile 1.5 and were at least every 1.5 miles or more. There were signs announcing them in advance. At each stop, there was Nuun and Gatorade in addition to just water. I made sure in this heat and humidity to walk through every one! I also ate 3 GUs and walked quite a ways while I ate them.

I also walked up every single hill – so several times during the first and last 2 miles. I just don’t have the strength or stamina to run up them.

Photo By: Martin Weiner

My Garmin did die at little after the halfway point. So I had no idea of my time or place for the second half of the race. And it made me more relaxed. I know it made me slower because I didn’t care if I walked since I had no time to beat.

Surprisedly, my feet were OK until about mile 8 or 9 and I felt blisters forming around mile 10.

After I got my medal and my chocolate milk, I limped all the way to bag pick up. I changed into flipflops and inspected my feet. A slight blister on my right foot but a huge one on the bottom of my left. (I did put moleskin on my feet but not where the blister was.)

So I went to the medical tent to get a band aid. They seem to be bored and several people put antiseptic on my feet, bandaged them and gave me tylenol & gatorade.

Then I walked back to check out the results. Believe it or not, I was 3rd in my age group. Now I had to stick around for the awards ceremony. And I am glad that I did.

pretty cool replica of the bridge

Now I had to trudge back to where I parked the car. It seemed like an even farther walk this time, of course.

Even with all the things that went wrong with this race, I am glad that I experienced it. My half marathon times are getting slower with one but that’s ok. I can run 13.1 miles and that’s all that matters.

Splits:

mile 1: 11:16
mile 2: 10:28
mile 3: 10:17
mile 4: 9:59
mile 5: 10:43
mile 6: 11:29
.62: 9:57
First Half: 1:08:25
Second Half: 1:17:28

I’m linking this post up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update!

I am also linking up with Jessica from The Silvah Lining for the Race Recap Link Up.

Happy Running! Do you race this weekend? If so, how did it go?

June 11, 2015 by Darlene

Half Marathon #14

So I’m linking up today with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.

June 13, 2015 7:30 am

Every time, I run a half marathon, I like to look back at my previous races. I can’t believe that this will be my 14th. And 9th after my ankle surgery. (So Dr. Ortho, I can run again!!)

1. My first and BEST was the Naples Half Marathon in January of 2011. My goal was just to finish and I did in 2:28:27 (gun time, no chip timing).

2. I immediately registered for the 1st annual Lake George Half Marathon in April of that year. Unfortunately, I had to run in sleet & freezing rain for 13.1 miles & without my Garmin. My time was 2:22:39 (gun time, no chip timing) and a PR until this year.

3. Out with strained Achilles for 6 weeks during the summer of 2011 delayed my training for the Adirondack Half Marathon (so I walked the 2nd half of the race.) I finished in 2:44:59. It was still fun because I was running it with lots of friends.

I see the finish line!

4. Again impulsively, I decided to sign up for the inaugural Fall Foliage Half Marathon as a training run. This was my hilliest half but I finished in 2:32:50.

my 4th Half Marathon 10-23-11

5. My goal race of that year was the Santa Clarita Half Marathon that I was running with a friend in California. This time it only poured for half the race and I finished with a disappointing 2:30:12.

After 5 half marathons in 2011, there were NONE in 2012. (The year of the broken ankle & foot stress fracture.)

6. My next Half Marathon, the First Watch Half Marathon in Sarasota, Fla came in 2013 16 months after serious ankle surgery and 5 months after a foot stress fracture. I was just glad to be running again. The course was beautiful, my friends were waiting at the end and I was happy with my 2:33:59 time.

7. The Mohawk-Hudson Half Marathon in the fall of 2013 was supposed to be the one where I would be seriously training and hopefully get a PR. Then I broke my foot. With a late start to my training and my weekly miles not what I would have liked, again this half marathon was just “I’ll be happy to finish.” So I did in 2:24:14. I enjoyed it since it was my first half where I slept in my own bed the night before.

Mohawk Hudson Half Marathon

8. For the Love Run Half Marathon in the Spring of 2014, I was injury-free for the whole training but I trained during an awfully cold, snowy winter. Despite running in monsoon rains, I managed to PR at 2:22:35. I made new running friends and we had fun during our weekend in “wet” Philly.

loverun

9. Last summer, after running a 10 mile race, I impulsively registered for the Saratoga Springs Half Marathon. This taught me to never run one in the summer. It was very humid & I felt sick so I struggled to a 2:26:00 finish.

sshm4b

10. Impromptu and free. I registered for the Hangover Half Marathon this past New Year’s Day and ran it as a training run on a cold, windy, lonely, boring course. And it was my fastest at 2:18:33. Go figure?

hangover-059

11. Training in frigid temps and running in Florida in January I thought would give me problems but the stars were aligned and I had the BEST.HALF.EVER in West Palm Beach. Beautiful weather, awesome scenery, a big PR and age group win. I sprinted to a 2:09:40 finish!!!

race_697_photo_14838692

12. I had awesome aspirations for the Asbury Park Half Marathon this past April. But foot pain ended that and I had a disappointing 2:20:18 finish time.

13. The Vermont City Marathon Relay on Memorial Day weekend was an unplanned race. Although, my finish time of 2:25:24 was slow, I thoroughly enjoyed the race.

14. This race on Saturday should be scenic and a good time. I have not trained much since April so I will not be disappointed with a slow time.

Fingers crossed for NO rain and NO pain! (The forecast is for showers & thunderstorms…)

Here are my Goals:

A. Finish Faster than my previous half (under 2:25:24 )

B. Finish under 2 1/2 hours

C. Beat my slowest time (under 2:44:59)

D. Finish happy & uninjured 🙂

And what will I wear?

A combination of the last two outfits – hat, SkirtSports skirt, shoes from Asbury Park and SkirtSports shirt, socks from VCM

Happy Running! Anyone else running this race?

June 8, 2015 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

Last Week:

Monday- 4 mile run on the TM (rain!)

Tuesday – rest, tennis, dinner out

last nite of indoor tennis for he season

Wednesday – 4 mile run

Thursday – rest, walk at lunch

Friday – 3 mile run, mah jongg

Saturday – rest, day trip to NYC

11391303_10153889750874428_1403621323606731820_n

to the Metropolitan Museum of Art & the Neue Galerie

Sunday – 5k race & 1 mi race + 1 more mile, boating

1551781_10153891899859428_7910917156181319162_n

3rd place AG awards in both races

11390132_10153891900069428_4905516916876408313_n

my happy place = on the lake

This Week:

Monday- rest, conference, proctor LSATs, tennis
Tuesday – 3 mile run, movie
Wednesday – 4 mile run
Thursday – rest, walk at lunch
Friday – rest, walk at lunch
Saturday – HALF MARATHON
Sunday – rest, boating (weather permitting)

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

June 4, 2015 by Darlene

May Update

May Goals:

Run 3-4 times each week. YES!

Get some strength training or yoga done. Nope! Maybe someday…
Go for a walk everyday at work. Not everyday but many days.

Continue running with a training group. Yes on most Mondays but not all.

even ran with the mayor

Do long runs on the weekend to train for half marathon on May 24. Just one.

10K followed by 4 miles

Complete a 15K race. NO!! Ran a 10K and a 5k instead (due to a sore foot)

Spring Run Off 10k instead of 15k

Mastodon Challenge 5k instead of 15k

Win an age group award ~~for a 15k~~. Won for Spring Run Off 10K and for Mother’s Day 5K

1st for the Spring Run Off 10k

3rd for Mother’s Day 5k

Run a 5K with my GOTR running buddy. YES!

Run while on my tennis vacation in Florida. YES! 4 times (13 miles)

Complete Half Marathon #13. YES!!

Vermont City Marathon Relay

Complete a 5K race. YES. Four of them!

Mastodon Challenge 5K

Mother’s Day 5K bRUNch

Run my 5k and 10k races under 10 min. mile pace. YES! (Note: the 10k was the fastest.)

Spring Run Off 10k – 9:22 pace

Albany Law Day 5k – 9:25 pace

Mastodon Challenge 5k – 9:25 pace

Mother’s Day 5K – 9:45 pace

Freihofer Run for Women – 9:28 pace

Run at least 85 miles. Nope. Not even close!

What else?

We went boating for the first time this season.

I celebrated my birthday.

dinner with my former co-worker, Michele

cake with the mah jongg ladies

1508071_10153802254859428_8318378114823220880_n

dinner with my hubby

I went the annual tulip fest with Amanda & her sons.

I spent 8 wonderful days with friends in Naples, Fla.

June Goals:

Run 3-4 times each week.
Get some strength training or yoga done.
Go for a walk several times a week at work.
Run a 5K.
Complete Half Marathon #14.
Complete a 10 mile race.
Lose at least 5 lbs.
Run at least 80 miles.

Happy Running! How was your May? Anything special planned for June?

May 26, 2015 by Darlene

Vermont City Marathon Relay Race Report

May 24, 2015

As I have mentioned before, lucky AJH got us accepted in the VCM relay. I was surprised and excited. I have heard so many good things about this race.

We named our team: Age Groups Rock (Bib #6084) after AJH’s blog.

Since this half marathon was unplanned and I have another one in 3 weeks, I planned to run this race for fun – Just enjoy the experience and the scenery without the pressure of a getting a certain finish time.

I also developed a sore foot during my last half so my training had been not been spectacular. In fact I haven’t run more than 3 miles at a time in weeks.

Plus spending 8 days with 9 of your closest friends and playing tennis, shopping, going to the beach, restaurants, etc. is exhausting.

AJH was nice enough to let me stay with her the night before so I didn’t have to do the long drive in the morning and could go to the expo.

It was about a 3 hours drive from my house. So I arrived in Vermont on Saturday around 11 am. What a beautiful drive. AJH really lives in the country and the scenery was gorgeous. After I arrived, we immediately headed to the expo.

I had never done a race this big and the energy was contagious.

I took advantage of ALL the free samples and only bought a VCM tee shirt and hat.

The highlight however was a chance meeting of Deena Kastor and getting her autograph.

After the expo, I got a brief tour of Burlington which included Church street.

Then we went out to lunch at a restaurant called “The Skinny Pancake.”. We needed to start carb loading for the next day.

Then we walked around the waterfront where the Marathon would finish the next day.

Soon it was time to head home and get our stuff ready for race morning and have our pasta dinner at home.

We got up early the next morning (around 5 am). I was still pooped from my Florida vacation and I never sleep well before a race or in a strange bed so I was nervous.

Would I have enough energy to run? And my feet? Would they hurt less than my last half!! Would I not keep AJH waiting too many hours?

I had my usual breakfast of oatmeal and tea and we were on the road by 5:45.

I had asked AJH if I could do the first half since I would be too nervous to wait around… She’s done the first leg before and was nice enough to agree.

We got there early and got a great parking spot and walked to the start. It was quite cool – in the 50’s with a breeze but the weather was predicted to be sunny and 80 degrees.

I did keep my jacket on until the last minute and then handed it to AJH with a bag to bring to my finish/her start.

Believe it or not, in a crowd of thousands, I bumped into Andrea, my roommate from the Love Run Half last year.

She was running the full. I also got to see her finish.

Soon it was time to line up. I started with the 10 min pace group and chatted with a lovely lady who was running the relay with her daughter.

It was very crowded and it took me almost 3 minutes to pass the start line and even longer to start actually running.

from Burlington Free Press

I was feeling great at the start. Unfortunately that didn’t last. But I thoroughly tried to enjoy my experience at this race in spite of anything negative I was feeling physically.

I saw AJH and her friend Heather twice at the beginning and Heather once later. The crowd support was amazing. The best I have ever seen at a race!

I didn’t see any the photographers but there were some near the start for the first leg and near the finish for the 2nd. I never really looked at them but it seems that I was happy the time I passed them. That will change as you will see.

I loved running through the streets and neighborhoods of Burlington. The enthusiastic crowded really helped to make this a great race.

running up Pearl St – from Burlington Free Press

running down Main street – from Burlington Free Press

running down Church St – from Burlington Free Press

Eventually we would leave the crowds and run on the Beltline – 2 miles out and 2 miles back. This was my least favorite part. It seemed like a endless uphill. It wasn’t steep but it was long and there weren’t many supporters.

– from Burlington Free Press

The good part was that the predicted warm sun left us. It was cloudy, breezy and a little chilly.

The bad part was that my left foot (the one I thought would hurt) felt fine but right one which is always uncomfortable was painful the whole race. And at this point I was feeling my lack of training. The missed long runs was causing me to slow down and walk. But I was ok with walking the hills and the water stops. I had no time goal for this race and I wanted to enjoy it. On this part of the course, you got to see the fast runners and then after the turn you got to see the runners behind you.

Finally we left the Beltline and returned near the start. The crowded were back but I was tired!!!

not happy

No more smiles!! I wanted to done. And now it was raining on and off. Sunny and 0% of rain???

So I walked more and more. There were lots of water stops and in addition to ones organized by the race, there were many in between by supporters.

Pine St – mile 10-11 – from Burlington Free Press

The worst part of the race for me came at little after mile 10. I got really bad stomach cramps. (Never had that happen during a race.) I did make to the finish without a disaster but it was not fun. I could barely run for the last 3 miles.

Finally you can see the finish line but you have to run around the neighborhood with an annoying uphill before you get there.

I was happy to cross and my time wasn’t as bad as I had feared. I handed my wristband to AJH and she gave me our bag of clothes.

happy to be heading to the exchange area

Then I got my medal.

At this point, the sunshine and warmth that they had predicted arrived. I was worried about AJH having to run in these temps. But she was fine.

Oakledge Park -runners leaving the exchange area – from Burlington Free Press

After using the porta-pottie, I grabbed some food but really was not feeling hungry – there was fruit, chocolate milk and bagels.

My feet were toast but I had to walk a long way (a half mile that seemed longer) to catch the shuttle to the finish. After the shuttle dropped you off, you had to still walk more. Oy!

I passed the drummers which was cool.

When I approached Waterfront Park, I was overwhelmed.

Wow, was it crowded! I instantly felt better. The enthusiasm from the finishers and their supporters was contagious.

I wandered around searching for the food tent. Everything was so organized. In addition the usual, they had a bag of Moe’s and pizza. There was also a beer tent.

I walked and walked in order to find a spot at the rail to watch the runners approach the finish line.

I think I was here for about an hour and really enjoyed it.

Of course, you got to see the 5 person relay racers who looked still energetic and some of the marathon finishers who looked like death.

I got to cheer on AJH

and Andrea who was finishing the marathon.

I then met AJH at the food tent. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much left.

26.2 miles complete and medals to show for it.

So we stopped on the way back to the car.

perfect post race treat

AJH told me about her leg of the race. I almost regretted my choice to start first. I would love to run along the bikepath and I think finishing along the water would be nice.

So if I do this race again (and I want to), I would like to try the second leg of the relay:

At the half-way point of the course, enter Oakledge Park and run alongside Lake Champlain for 2 miles. Mile 15 brings the Assault on Battery; 6 blocks climbing Battery Street. You’ll see musicians and throngs of spectators to inspire you up the hill. The next 6.5 miles take you out North Avenue on gently rolling terrain through many shaded neighborhoods. A steep downhill at mile 21.5 brings you to the Burlington Bikepath, which provides beautiful lake views and flat to slightly downhill terrain over the last 4.5 miles. Your finish and all post-race festivities occur in Waterfront Park where you’ll be greeted by thousands of cheering spectators.

All in all, I am satisfied with my time. I didn’t train well. I had foot and stomach issues and I didn’t let them ruin the race.

Splits:

mile 1 – 10:02
mile 2 – 9:46
mile 3 – 9:59
mile 4 – 9:49
mile 5 – 10:17
mile 6 – 10:50
mile 7 – 11:09
mile 8 – 11:48
mile 9 – 12:35
mile 10 – 11:11
mile 11 – 12:44
mile 12 – 13:21
mile 13 – 13:03
.14 – 9:42

Chip time – 2:25:24

Hey, we came in 2nd in our AG.

As you can see, my race went downhill after mile 6 and got ugly after mile 10.

Well, there will be more races…like in 3 weeks. Gulp! I also have one scheduled for Oct. 10.

This was my 13th half marathon – 6 have been faster and 6 have been slower.

If my feet continue to fail me, I may just have to settle for running shorter races. And that’s not so bad. It’s still running!!!

I’m linking this post up with Tara at Running n’ Reading for her Weekend Update!

I am also linking up with Wendy for Taking the Long Way Home, Jessica from The Silvah Lining and Meredith from FitNiceRunner for the Race Recap Link Up.

Happy Running! Anyone run the VCM or another race this past weekend?

May 21, 2015 by Darlene

Marathon Relay (Half Marathon #13)

So I’m linking up today with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.

May 24, 2015

As I have mentioned, lucky AJH got us accepted in the VCM relay. I was surprised and excited but not exactly training for this one.

I asked AJH if I could do the first half. (I would be too nervous to wait around…)

She’s done the first half before:

hope she doesn’t mind borrowing her photo from 2011

So this will be my route:

Since this race was unplanned and I have another half marathon in 3 weeks, I plan to run it for fun – Try to enjoy the experience and scenery without the pressure of a PR.

And I developed a sore foot during my last half so my training has been not been spectacular.

I have been doing my short week day runs but the weekends…

April 18 – 13.1 painful miles
April 26 – 5k plus 6 more painful miles = 11
May 2 – 10k plus 4 more painful miles = 10.2
May 9-10 – two 5ks in 2 days = 6.2 (should have been 12)
May 16-17 – 3 miles in Florida (should have been 8)

Since I skipped my long run last weekend when I was on vacation in Florida, this will be my last long run, as well.

Speaking of last week, spending 8 days with 9 of your closest friends is exhausting – tennis, shopping, beach, restaurants, etc. but it also was fun.

AJH has been nice enough to let me stay with her the night before so I don’t have to do the long drive in the morning and can go to the expo.

Will I have enough energy to run? And my feet? Will they hurt LESS than my last half!! I hope so and not keep AJH waiting too many hours.

My post ankle injury half marathons have been between 2:35 and 2:09 but none has been really hilly. And then’s there the foot… and the lack of long runs. We’ll see.

So I guess my goal is to finish around 2:30… but if I have to walk a lot, it may be closer to 2:45.

I am hoping that this half will be less painful and more enjoyable than my last one. (Foot, be good, please!!)

Happy Running! Anyone running or have run the VCM?