Annapolis

A fantastic day for the 50th anniversary of the Annapolis Ten Mile Run

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The Annapolis Ten Mile Run will always hold a special place in my heart. 

I was mainly a treadmill runner and group fitness enthusiast when I signed up for the 2013 race. I didn’t even really consider myself a runner then, though I had run a few 5K road races. I mainly signed up to give myself something to chase outside of work. At the time, I was covering county government for the local newspaper, making less than $35,000 a year to be available at what seemed like all hours of the days, nights and weekends. It was a lot, and I often felt overwhelmed and wondered what the hell I was doing with my life.

That first year, I ran it extremely hungover (because I had spent the day before partying on my now-husband’s boat) in 1:24 and was hooked. Soon I signed up for a half marathon, then another one. Then a marathon. Then I qualified for and ran Boston– 5 times now! I truly believe I have the A10 to thank for that.

I haven’t missed a year of the A10 since I first ran in 2013, except for 2020 and 2021 when the Covid pandemic forced its cancellation. This year, which also marked the 50th anniversary of the race, was my 11th time running it. 

And I ran my second fastest time ever on the course, finishing in 1:10:50, 10 seconds off my course PR from 2022! I won my age group and yes, got my mug this time – as well as the mug I was supposed to have gotten last year!   

Micah, who turned 50 at the end of August, also ran the race for the second time. He had run the 40th anniversary of the race when he turned 40, so it had been a full decade. He doesn’t run much these days and didn’t train at all, but did pretty well all things considered, finishing in just over 2 hours.    

Much like last year, the weather was fantastic. A little humid, but not even 70 degrees at the start of the race, truly a blessing for late August.

The A10 course is challenging and hilly. But it is also very scenic and there is a decent amount of crowd support for a small town race, which always helps pump up my mood. 

I also know the course very well after so many years of running it, which I think gives me a huge advantage. This was easily my best race since, well, last year’s A10. I ran three 10 milers during Boston prep: The Lewis 10 Miler in 1:18:00 (a prediction race where the first half is straight uphill), the Road Runners Club of America 10 Mile Challenge in 1:14:50 and the Shamrock Shuffle 10 Miler in 1:13:23. I actually won the Shamrock Shuffle, but was disappointed in my time, having expected to be closer to 1:10 in that pancake flat race. I did run it two days after a 20-mile long run, though.  

Aside from my familiarity with the course, this year’s race took place 3 weeks out from my September marathon, the Wicked Fast Poconos Marathon, and I felt like I was in peak shape thanks to many of the workouts my coach has given me over the past few weeks! I’ve run lower mileage this training block, but more workouts– each week has a track workout, a tempo run, and of course a long run, but always with marathon pace miles. It’s been tough, but fun, and I think my body is holding up well!  

The race takes you on a tour of historic Annapolis, starting at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and heading downtown, past the Naval Academy and over the Naval Academy Bridge (a tough climb that rewards you with amazing views at the top), through the Pendennis Mount community and then back over the bridge before ending at the stadium. As I mentioned earlier, the crowd support is great. The midshipmen staff a water stop at miles 4 and 9, and they are always cheering loudly and playing great music. Lots of residents of Pendennis Mount come out to support the runners as we run through their neighborhood. 

But my favorite part this year, hands down, was how many runner friends I saw on the course! I said before the race I probably knew a hundred people who were running, and that’s a low estimate. As soon as Micah and I got to the race that morning, I started bumping into people I recognized. “Geez, do you know everyone?” he said with a laugh. It was such a boost to see and hear “go Allison!” from others on the course. I really felt the love this year! A woman who was running near me around mile 7 even said “wow, you’re popular!” I guess this is what happens when you run your hometown race year after year!  

I kept up with the 1:10 group pretty well, but they pulled ahead somewhere around mile 6. Still, I was able to keep them in my sights pretty much the whole way until the finish line, and so I knew a 1:10:xx finish was in the cards. Around mile 8, I saw Coach Beth handing out lemonade and water. She had told our marathon training group she would be out there with refreshments, which was awesome, but at that point I was in too much of a hurry to stop, ha! She later said my running looked “effortless,” but let me tell you, I was definitely working hard at that point. The second trip over the Naval Academy Bridge was soul crushing!

But I am super pumped with how it went and it was a real confidence booster going into Wicked Fast next weekend. When I ran my A10 course PR three years ago, I went on to set my marathon PR later that fall in Chicago. I know my marathon PR is really solid and will be tough to ever beat. But maybe I can get closer to it than I think. I keep saying I’ll be happy with any time under 3:25, and I definitely think that’s reasonable. Plus, Wicked Fast is a point-to-point downhill– designed to run fast. Let’s go see what I can do out there!

The 2024 Annapolis Ten Mile Run: The one where my time didn’t register

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I ran my 10th Annapolis Ten Mile Run last month. The good news – I ran a 1:11, exactly in line with what I was hoping to run! 

The bad news – there was some timing mat/chip mishap that affected everyone who finished between 1:08 and 1:12, so my time never registered following the race and I missed out on getting an award! 

Sigh. This actually isn’t the first time this has happened to me, but it is always disappointing. 

However, I had a good race nonetheless! If you have followed me for a while, you know I run this race every year and I consider it my favorite. It’s certainly not an easy race. The course is hilly, and the weather is often hot and humid – it always takes place on the last Sunday of August. But it is also a very scenic course, I know tons of people who run it, and the premium is always legit. I always recommend it to other runners! 

This year, the A10 fell at the end of my 2nd week of Ocean City Marathon training, and it also happened to come at a time where we were experiencing cooler than usual weather. Like, my morning runs were in the high 50s some days. In August! In Maryland! This is pretty much unheard of. I think it was in the mid-60s with very low humidity when Shannon and I arrived at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on race morning. Fantastic! 

The race kicks off right at 7, and after a few trips to the porta-potty, I was in the starting corral by 6:50. I saw my friend Trish and a few other runners I know and we chit chatted a bit, then were off! 

Since I’ve now run this race 10 times, and I live locally, I know the course like the back of my hand. The first few miles are fast. You leave the stadium and do a lap around it, then head toward downtown Annapolis and down Main Street (I always have to be careful not to trip and fall on the cobblestones here!) I saw a big crew of She Runs This Town friends at the intersection of Rowe Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, and they cheered for me so loudly, which really pepped me up! 

Then it’s past the Naval Academy, over Weems Creek, and toward the Naval Academy Bridge, which is probably the toughest hill in the race (but it sure is a beautiful view from the top!) I ran these miles with my friend Rich, who teased me that my Alpha Flys were too squeaky. They were being quite noisy! 

I was hanging onto the 1:10 pace group until we crossed the bridge and turned into Pendennis Mount, then they dropped me. I felt good, though, and was maintaining a steady pace in the low 7s and feeling like I could hold it. I crossed the timing mat at mile 5 in 35 minutes and some change.  

The next few miles are always a blur for me, and this year’s race was no exception. It’s more rolling hills through miles 6 and 7, and there’s a turnaround point right before you hit mile 7 so it’s always fun to cheer for friends going the opposite direction. Then you turn out of the neighborhood and run onto Route 450 and head back toward the bridge. Yep, you go over it twice – but by the time you get to the top, you’re in the home stretch! The midshipmen staff the water stop at mile 3.5/mile 9, and they’re always loud and boisterous. They’ll also dump water on you if you ask for it, which I definitely have in hotter years. 

I saw the She Runs This Town cheering squad again about a half mile before the finish, along with my 5 Peaks friends Kelly and Matt (Matt was supposed to run, too, but injured his ankle.) And before I knew it, I was making that final right turn and up the last little hill – yes, there is a small hill right there at the finish! I crossed the line, hit my watch and saw 1:11:17. I was hoping for a time between 1:10 and 1:12, but given that I just started to get back into harder training, I wasn’t sure how feasible that was. My fastest time on this course was a 1:10:40 in 2022, when I was in peak shape training for Chicago. Last year, I ran a 1:11:10. So yeah, I was quite pleased! 

I hung out around the finish line for the next hour or so, waiting for friends to finish. As I said, I know a ton of people who run this race! Eventually, Shannon and I headed over to the after party area, where we could get our breakfast beers and listen to a local band, Rickshaw Lizard, play. I was also eagerly awaiting the awards ceremony. In 2022, I won my age group and last year I was the 2nd Masters female, so I assumed my time would get me something this year! 

So, I imagine my surprise when they started handing out awards and I didn’t hear my name – but I did hear the announcer giving out awards to other women in my age group who ran in the 1:13-1:14 range. Huh? That’s when I learned that everyone who finished in the 68-72 minute window didn’t have their time recorded.  

I, along with a few others, approached the organizers afterwards and they reassured us they knew about the error, that we should email the timing company, and it would be corrected in the coming days. 

Again, I was disappointed, but there wasn’t much I could do about it, and I knew I had run a strong race and that was the important thing. Although I did wish they had held off on doing an awards ceremony once they realized the times were messed up. But I took my beer, sat my butt down on the ground with Shannon, and we soaked up the sun and enjoyed the band. I also met a couple from northern Virginia who had been running the race for years – since 1998! 

My mom was actually a lot angrier about the whole screw up than I was. When I was texting her about the race afterwards, she said it was so unfair and they needed to give me my award. She was just absolutely livid on my behalf. Parents! I half thought she was going to reach out to the timing company herself. 

I did email them, and the results were corrected that week. Although I don’t think my time is entirely accurate. I am listed as having run 1:11:31, and even if I stopped my watch a second or two early, I didn’t stop it more than 10 seconds early. But it looks like I am listed as the second place female in the 40-44 age group. So then I emailed the Annapolis Striders, who put on the A10 every year, and they said they would be in touch about getting me my award. (The prizes are great– beautiful mugs from Annapolis Pottery.) It’s been almost a month now and I haven’t heard anything, so I guess I should reach out again. 

I will look forward to running my 11th A10 next year – even though my mom told me I should never run it ever again. Ha!

Running late: My recap of the 10K at the 2024 Annapolis Running Festival

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The night before I ran the 10K at the Annapolis Running Festival, I dreamt that my friend Shannon, who was also running the race and was planning to drive us there, came to my house to pick me up 10 minutes after the race started. 

I guess it was something of a premonition, as we sat in traffic for nearly an hour trying to get into the parking lot of the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, pulling in about 5 minutes before the start of the race. And we both had to use the bathroom. And there was a line for the porta-a-potties. 

I was completely ready to write off the race, even saying to her “I’m just going to take this as a fun run. I don’t want to race it.” Last year, I had come in 3rd female in the 10K and hoped to place again, but I knew overall awards are typically given out by gun/clock start time, not bib chip time. So part of me was like, screw it. Might as well just run my party pace! 

But – I couldn’t do it. The second I crossed the start line, probably 8 minutes after the race officially started, my race brain took over and I started pushing hard. I did intend to run the race as my speed workout of the week, after all. 

I don’t have much to say about the race itself. After I crossed the start, everything was pretty much a blur. We ran around the stadium (mile 1), down Rowe Boulevard (mile 2) into downtown, down Main Street, and past the Naval Academy (mile 3), over Weems Creek (mile 4), right on 450, halfway up the Naval Academy Bridge and back down again (mile 5), and then back to the stadium (the end). The miles clicked by quickly, but then I was running a fast-for-me pace. The race is somewhat hilly and my fastest mile was a 6:28 and slowest was 7:02. The weather wasn’t great – cold and drizzly – but I’ll take it over the cold wind we had last year. 

In the end, I ran exactly the time I wanted to, finishing in 42:02, 6:46 average pace. I actually am listed as the 3rd overall female finisher in the race results, but didn’t get an award at the awards ceremony since again they were likely given out by gun time. Age group awards are usually given out by chip time, so I think I will be getting a prize in the mail for winning my age group. 

Initially, I was really bummed about that. But really – what does it matter? I said before the race that my goal was 41-42 minutes, and I accomplished that. I ran a strong 10K five weeks out from Boston. The pace was definitely not easy, but I felt relatively good running it. 

And I had fun! That’s the whole point, right? I got to see and chat with lots of running friends from my local She Runs This Town chapter, which had a tent right there at the start/finish! I enjoyed two canned margaritas that I got as part of my race entry – nothing like getting a buzz on at 9 in the morning. And I got to meet a blog reader, Danielle, and her husband Don! We met while trying to get warm by the fire pit set up for sock burning (it’s a Maryland thing.) She said she’d been reading my blog for a while and I was so excited and flattered to hear that! 

So overall, I’d say the day was a success, despite the fact that it started out as a total disaster. It’s kind of hard to believe this was my first race since Christmas! I’ve been training hard for Boston 2024 and piling on the miles and workouts, but hadn’t done an actual race yet this year. This was definitely a good rust buster.

Next up – the Rock ‘N Roll D.C. Half Marathon this Saturday. Will this be my day to break 90? I’m sure going to try!

Shippin’ up to Boston for the 3rd time: Getting ready for the 2023 Boston Marathon

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I’m less than a week out from running my 3rd Boston Marathon! 

How am I feeling? Excited. Like I’m surprised how excited I am. It’s my third time, after all. I figured the novelty would have worn off by now – but it hasn’t. I just feel so lucky that I get to do this! 

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but I had a busy March in terms of racing. Here’s a brief recap of what I’ve been up to! 

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup “4 Miler” 

3rd overall female, 24:20/6:40 pace

Why the quotes? Because a bunch of us at the front of the pack missed a turnoff after the wind blew over a directional sign and accidentally cut the course. 

This race in PA was more than 2 hours from my house, but it sounded fun – grilled cheese and tomato soup after, hello! – and the race director Pat is great. He’s the one who organized the Chasing the Unicorn marathon in 2020 and did everything in his power to make that a safe and fun event at the height of the pandemic. So I signed up, hoping to be able to run 4 miles in 26 minutes or so to test my speed.

The race was held in a municipal park and it was windy AF, a common theme of pretty much all of my runs this training cycle. In fact, it was windy enough that one of the directional signs after the mile 3 mark blew over, and so a bunch of us missed a turn and accidentally ran 3.65 miles! Pat didn’t DQ us, I guess because so many people effed it up, and I was awarded the 3rd overall female prize – a nice blanket! I had fun and pushed hard.

Annapolis Running Festival 10K

3rd overall female, 42:44/6:53 pace

I said to friends a few times I wasn’t planning on the Annapolis Running Festival – I’ve done so many races on that course over the last decade that I just wasn’t excited about it. But then I saw I had 10Kish worth of speedwork on my plan the week of the race and I’d rather do that in a race than on my own! Plus, my friend Shannon was running it, too. 

The weather pretty much sucked – it was once again super windy and I tried my best to draft off other, taller runners! My shoelace also came untied right before mile 3, costing me precious time. I didn’t really have a time goal, but I thought 41-42 miles was doable. I also had no expectations of placing and it was really hard to gauge where I was in the race since there was also a 5K and a half marathon and we were all mixed together at various parts of the race. So I was pleasantly surprised when I crossed the finish line and the volunteer handed me a card that said I was 3rd female. 

I’m glad I ended up doing it – just wish we’d had better weather! The after party was a lot of fun, and the band playing was awesome, but it was just so cold and windy. That’s March in Maryland for you – you could get 20 degrees or 80 degrees. 

Barlowe Bolt 5K

1st overall female, 21:28/6:42 pace  

Well, this one was a cluster. 

A little background about me and the Bolt – I am not new to this race. In fact, this was the fifth time I’d run it – I ran in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. I even won it in 2020 and 2022 and was hoping to win it again this year. (It’s a pretty small race.)

But!! Even though I had run it multiple times in the past, I couldn’t remember the course, so I made a wrong turn about three-tenths of a mile into the race. I was running up at the front with two teenage boys, so I led them astray – sorry! When I realized my mistake after we literally ran into a dead end, I was so annoyed with myself. 

We turned around and I hauled ass to get back in first place, which I paid for dearly with a huge positive split in the end. I did manage to still win and in the end I added about a tenth of a mile onto my race, so it could have been worse. I mean, I ….could have cut the course again.

My mileage hasn’t been as high as it was last fall when training for Chicago, but I’ve averaged between 55-60 miles per week, peaking at 62 miles. Basically, I took Pfitzinger’s 12/55 plan from Advanced Marathoning and modified it to add a few more miles each week. Thinking about doing 12/70 this fall again for Richmond, but that is a heavy training load and I don’t think I can mentally (or physically) handle it every marathon training cycle.

The plan included two 20-milers, the second of which I ran during the B&A Marathon last month. I didn’t register for the race, but the trail was open to the public and I knew so many people running either the half or the full that I thought it would be fun to run alongside them. I ended up running mostly with a fast friend of mine and averaged 7:29 pace for 20 miles. That is obviously WAY faster than I would normally ever do a 20 miler, but I also ran the Charm City Run 20 Miler three weeks before Chicago last fall at a 7:25 pace and it didn’t hurt me in the marathon.

When your training run coincides with a race, you show up in the pictures!

Goals/plans for Boston

I don’t know! LOL. Enjoy myself and get another BQ.

My Garmin thinks I’m running a 3:03, but it’s clearly full of crap. That would be a 15-minute PR and I do not think I am in PR shape – that 3:18 I ran last fall is really solid, plus I ran it on a flat course in damn near perfect weather. The Boston Marathon is a tough course and the weather is looking warm and wet. Not the worst, but not the best either. I do think a 3:2x is doable and I should be able to BQ (3:40:00 or faster) unless things really go to hell. 

Other than that, no major goals. Sometimes it’s more fun that way anyway!

Recapping the Bigfoot Endurance 10-Miler + an update on a last-minute marathon

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First of all, I’d like to start out by saying that I love the idea of trail running. I love being out in the woods — hiking in places like Shenandoah National Park is one of my favorite leisure activities. I love the peacefulness and solitude. I love the scenery. And I admire the relaxed vibe of trail runners and the fact that trail runs always seemed to be followed by craft beer. I can totally get on board with that. 

Problem is, I’m just not very good at trail running! Or, I should say I’m just a much more comfortable and confident road runner. 

Last weekend, I ran the inaugural Bigfoot Endurance 10 Mile Trail Run with Rip It Events. Bigfoot Endurance’s races raise money for Parkinson’s disease research, and this was Rip It’s first time partnering with them. The race, which also included a 5-mile option, happened to fall on a weekend where I was supposed to run 20 miles one day, 10 the next. So I decided to sign up for the 10-miler, knowing I’d likely be pretty sore from the 20 miler the previous day. 

I actually wasn’t that sore, but man, that race was HARD. It was hilly, though no worse than the Little Patuxent River Run. However, the terrain was pretty uneven, with roots and rocks all over the place. I estimated that I almost fell about a dozen times. And I was running conservatively and trying to watch where I was going! 

The race took place at Rockburn Branch Park in Elkridge, Maryland, about a half hour or so from where I live in Anne Arundel County. Even though it’s been an extremely mild winter, temperatures were in the mid-20s on race morning– surprisingly, much colder than Little Patuxent was! Runners were lined up by their estimated pace, and I lined up with the 8-minute/mile group. (I ran my last 10-mile race at a 7:27/mile pace, but that was on pancake flat roads in Delaware. I had no idea what to expect at this race.)

Runners doing the 5-miler ran one loop of the course, and 10-mile runners did two loops. I could tell not even a mile into the race that it was going to be a challenge because of the technical terrain (and I do not own trail running shoes, so I was wearing my trusty Brooks Ghosts.) It was a really pretty course, and we even crossed a few streams. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful, if cold, day. But it was also pretty muddy in some parts, and as I mentioned, there were roots everywhere. By the time I finished my first loop, I was pretty spent and wished I could just be done then. However, I am not a quitter and my marathon training plan did tell me to run 10 miles, so of course I continued. 

I heard later from a fellow Rip It ambassador that one runner had fallen and broken her leg, and I feel like that could have so easily been me! This is no reflection on the race — it was perfectly safe and well-organized — but trail running is just riskier.

At least I knew what to expect with the second loop, but I ended up running it about three minutes slower than my first loop. Maybe the 20-miler the previous day caught up to me, I don’t know. My finish time was 1:28:10, my slowest 10-miler ever by about four minutes, but I didn’t really care too much. I was just glad to have finished uninjured! I came in sixth in my age group and ninth overall female, which I was pleased with. 

Oh, and there was beer afterwards from Hysteria Brewing Co. and a taco truck with vegetarian tacos as an option, so of course I was happy about that! I think if I do this race again, I’ll run the 5-miler. I’m just not coordinated and sure-footed enough for longer trail races. Maybe someday I will be! 

Just thinking of that post-race beer

(As a Rip It Events ambassador, I received a free entry to the Bigfoot Endurance 5 & 10 Miler. Contact me for a 15 percent discount off of any 2020 Rip It race!) 

Signing up for a last-minute marathon

I’m running the B&A Trail Marathon on Sunday, March 15, breaking two big rules I have always followed as a runner. (ETA: This race is on a paved trail, so it’s not really a “trail race” despite the name.)

  1. I don’t run marathons as a way to train for a goal marathon (in this case, the Coastal Delaware Running Festival.)
  2. I don’t run the same marathon twice, unless it’s Boston (I ran B&A two years ago.)

So, why am I doing it? One word: CORONAVIRUS. Unless you are living under a rock, you know about the novel coronavirus/COVID-19, which has spread around the world and has led to cancellations/postponement of events including road races (the Paris Marathon, the Tokyo Marathon, the Rome Marathon…..) I initially wasn’t too worried about Coastal Delaware being canceled; it’s a smallish local race, without a lot of runners traveling from other countries to run it. However, my husband has made me really paranoid and started telling me several weeks ago that I should find a backup marathon in case everything really went to hell and Coastal Delaware was canceled. 

I went back and forth about it and last week, decided to go for it and sign up — and saw on the website that the race was full. Balls. OK, I guess it wasn’t meant to be, I thought. 

But then, two days later, I saw the Annapolis Striders posted on Facebook that there were actually less than 10 spots remaining in the marathon! So with 11 days to go until the race, I registered. 

I figure this could go one of two ways. I know I can run the marathon distance now, but am I ready to run the race I want to run and have been training for? Best case scenario, I have an amazing race, PR the crap out of it and punch my ticket to Boston 2021. Worst case scenario, I have a mediocre-at-best race (as I did in 2018) and then it kind of throws a wrench into my training for Coastal Delaware. (I’m still banking on that race being a go.) It’s a total gamble, and I’m not adequately tapered and I’ve only run one 20-miler (sufficient for a marathon finish, but in my opinion, not sufficient for me to run a marathon PR.) 

But. I am going to go for it. And now I’m pretty excited about it.  So wish me luck!

Hilly and chilly: The 2017 Annapolis Running Classic

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I went into this year’s Annapolis Running Classic feeling really confident (well, maybe even a little cocky.)

I set my half marathon PR, 1:41:01, on this course a year ago. Which was somewhat of a surprise — the half marathon course in the Annapolis Running Classic is not what anyone would consider a PR course. It is extremely hilly — think the A10, just hillier and longer! But last year, the weather was absolute perfection and I run so much around Annapolis that the hills are really familiar to me. That said, with all the training I’ve been doing the last few months, I was expecting to kill it this year and get a brand new PR.

But it wasn’t meant to be! I finished five minutes slower than last year (five minutes, three seconds, to be exact!) In fact, it was one of my slowest half marathon times ever. My husband was waiting near the finish line to watch me finish and he said he could tell I was struggling. I’ve never really felt like I hit “the wall” in a half before, but I totally did on Saturday, and it was no fun.

So what was it? I think it was a combination of two things: The wind (which was absolutely terrible all weekend and also hurt me at this morning’s Turkey Chase 10K in Columbia … stay tuned for more on that) and a tough week of workouts. I’m in taper mode now for the Rehoboth Marathon, but I did six hill repeats Wednesday on my favorite bridge and then had a really brutal kickboxing class on Thursday. I just felt tired on Saturday morning. Oh yeah, and my cat woke me up at 3 a.m. that day just to be annoying, so there was that.

The race kicked off at 7:30 a.m., and my plan was to run with the 1:45 pace group until about mile nine or 10, then speed up and finish in the low 1:40s or better. It was a bit crowded in the beginning of the race, which slowed me, but I quickly caught up to the 1:45ers. I did notice they seemed to be running pretty fast for a 1:45 finish — we ran the second mile in 7:25. I’m guessing their strategy was to take the flat portions of the course fast and slow down for the hills, but I wasn’t necessarily expecting that. It came back to bite me in the butt later on.

I was feeling pretty decent and keeping up with them just fine until around mile seven, which is right after the half marathoners cross the Naval Academy Bridge for the first time and continue their climb up a long incline on Route 2. I stopped at a water station — I have yet to master the art of drinking while running — and the pacers kept on running. After that, I was probably like 20 seconds behind them, and the gap between us continued to widen.

The race continued up Route 2, then turned onto Winchester Road, which is another long, steady incline. I’ve been running up it every weekend because it connects with the B&A Trail, where I have been doing my long runs. As I was about to hit mile eight, I said to myself, c’mon! You run this all the time! But my legs were already starting to feel fatigued and I knew there were still plenty of rolling hills ahead of me, plus another trip back across the Naval Academy Bridge. Mentally, I felt the wall coming on — and again, that wind! I was running into the wind no matter which direction I was going! Is that even possible? That morning, it was!

Around mile nine, I started to take a few walk breaks for maybe 10 or 15 seconds at a time, and I knew I was never going to PR, nor even finish with the 1:45ers. I told myself I wanted to stay ahead of the 1:50 pace group, and I was relieved to see on one of the turnarounds that I was probably still a few minutes ahead of them.

The run back down Winchester Road (mile 10) felt good, but once I was back on Route 2, I began to struggle. I had a chocolate Gu in my Spi Belt, so I sucked that down, but I don’t feel like it helped much. (Side note: When my husband saw me at the finish, he said I had Gu smeared on my face, so I clearly didn’t do the best job of ingesting it. Classy.) I tried to keep a smile on my face as I headed back over the bridge, but I think I was really grimacing. I did high five a woman standing on the bridge dressed as Santa and didn’t yell at her for wearing a Christmas costume five days before Thanksgiving, so there’s that.

By this point, my watch had died, which was probably a good thing — I wasn’t stressing about my pace. The 1:45ers were within sight, so I thought I probably wasn’t running as badly as I thought. At that point, I just wanted to be done.

In the last mile of the race, which leads back up to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, I took another brief walk break. I never do that at the end of a race because hey, I’m almost done at that point and I can usually push myself to keep running — plus, that’s where everyone is lined up to see the finishers! But oh well. My legs were just dead by then. I do feel like I ran the last quarter of a mile hard and had a strong finish overall.

1:46, while far from my best time, is still a pretty decent half marathon, especially when I felt like the last four miles sucked so hard. Truly,  I haven’t felt that bad while running in a long time. I’ve heard that you have to have a bad run to really appreciate the good ones, so I am trying to keep that in mind. I finished 10th out of 164 women in my age group, which is nothing to complain about (although I will point out that last year, I finished fourth!)

Afterwards, I met up with a friend from work and one of her friends — this was the first half marathon for each of them! This race was the first half I ever ran, too, and it’s definitely not an easy introduction to half marathons! They both did great.

Unfortunately, because it was so cold and windy, I didn’t feel like sticking around for the awesome after party, which included music and craft beer (wah). I really hate to turn down free beer, but …. I hate being cold even more!

This was my 14th half marathon and my fourth time running the Annapolis Running Classic — and my second year serving as an ambassador for the race. Even though I didn’t have the best race, I still love running it every year, and hope to be back as a member of the #NapRunATeam in 2018!

As an Annapolis Running Classic ambassador, my entrance fee for the race was waived. All opinions are my own!

5 reasons you should run the Annapolis Running Classic!

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I distinctly remember what made me sign up for the Annapolis Running Classic half marathon in 2013.

I had just run the A10 about two weeks earlier, and felt pretty good about myself. I reasoned that if I could run 10 miles, well, then I could surely run an extra 5K beyond that and call myself a half marathoner. I saw the Annapolis Running Classic was being held in November, so I paid my registration fee, started training and ran the race in a time of 1:53. I loved everything about the race and knew I wanted to do more half marathons (and eventually, marathons!)

Sure enough, the 2017 Annapolis Running Classic will be my fourth time running this race, and my 14th half marathon overall. And this year, I’m serving as an ambassador for the race for the second year in a row!

That means I have a discount code to share: Sign up using ALLISON17, and you’ll get 10 percent off the registration fee for either the 10K or the half!

Undecided about whether you want to commit to this race on Nov. 18? Here are five reasons why you should sign up today.

  1. The Annapolis Running Classic is one of the most scenic races you’ll ever run. All 10K and half marathon runners start at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, then head through historic downtown, around City Dock and across the Weems Creek bridge. The 10K and half marathon courses split at Route 450, and half marathoners head right and run across the Naval Academy Bridge. The half marathon course goes over the bridge twice, just like the A10 does. Sure, it’s the hardest part of the race, but the views from the top are amazing!
  2. BEER. You thought I’d name this first, right? In all seriousness, the Annapolis Running Classic has a really sweet post-race party. Obviously, most runners love a cold one after a race, and finishers this year get their pick of Fordham Copperhead and Gypsy Lager, Michelob Ultra, Bold Rock Cider and Old Dominion Root Beer.
  3. Oysters! Runners get a dozen oysters after the race, both grilled and on the half shell. Oysters not your thing? There will be lots of hot soup and other snacks, too.
  4. The Annapolis Running Classic gives back to the community. In the race’s first six years, more than $220,000 has been donated to local organizations.
  5. You get a really pretty medal, and a quality premium. This year’s medal features the historic Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse. The ribbon for the medal features a photo of the Annapolis Yacht Club Wednesday Night Races set against the backdrop of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This year’s premium has not been revealed yet, but you can see last year’s here.

Have I convinced you to sign up? If so, don’t delay– the 10K is about 75 percent sold out right now. Plus, the prices for both races go up on Oct. 31.

Any questions? Let me know!

As an Annapolis Running Classic ambassador, my entrance fee for the race was waived. All opinions are my own!

Hill yes!

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I’m no stranger to running up hills.

Annapolis, where I do almost all of my training, is hillier than one might think (the A10 is often described as a challenging race partly because of all the rolling hills.) Most of the hills here aren’t super long or super steep, but they are definitely there.

That said, I’ve never done any dedicated hill training before now, as I work to BQ at the Rehoboth Marathon on Dec. 2.

I missed a BQ by two minutes and 15 seconds when I ran the Charlottesville Marathon in April (talk about hills.) To be honest, I thought it would be cool to run a BQ time — for me, that’s three hours, 40 minutes — but I wasn’t intentionally training for one. After I came so close, I thought, well, if I really push myself next time, maybe I can do it!

Enter Hal Higdon’s Advanced 2 marathon training schedule, which includes hill repeats every third week. The plan starts with three hill repeats, and progresses all the way up to seven hill repeats. They’re relatively short runs, but they will get your heart pumping and your legs aching.

I’ve been doing my hill repeats on the Naval Academy Bridge, which is one of my favorite places to run in Annapolis.

Why is it one of my favorite places? I mean, look at this:

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That was the view from the bridge at sunset the other night.

It was just the best reward after four rounds of hill repeats.

The Naval Academy Bridge is a solid choice for the hill workouts, too, because you can run up one side, catch your breath at the top, take in the pretty view, jog down the other side, then run back up. It’s perfect!

The Rehoboth Marathon is a flat course, so I’m hoping that a solid foundation in hill training will give me an advantage in my quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Do you do hill training as part of your workouts? What advice do you have for me?

The Annapolis Ten Mile Run: My favorite race of the year

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It’s fitting that I kick off this blog by talking about the Annapolis Ten Mile Run, which I ran for the fifth time on Sunday.

The A10 is the first major race I ever did, and I believe it’s what made me a marathoner.
Back when I signed up for my first A10, on a whim, in 2013, I was a loyal gym-goer and a regular treadmill runner who was a little intimidated by the idea of running in a race with thousands of other runners. What if I totally sucked and embarrassed myself? But I decided to take a leap and run it anyway.

The day before the 2013 A10, I spent the day on my now-husband’s boat, carbo-loading with beer after beer. My sister partied so hard that she ended up in the Chesapeake Bay. Needless to say, when I woke up the next morning, I was in rough shape. But I powered through. I mean, I almost puked around mile 5, but I finished strong and wanted to sign up for the following year’s A10 almost immediately.

Lesson learned: No more than one beer (OK, maybe two!) before a long race! I’ve mostly stuck to that ….

In the years since, I’ve run countless 10-milers, a dozen half-marathons and three marathons. I like to say the 2013 A10 was my gateway drug. It made me fall in love with racing, and it made me proud to be a part of Annapolis’ wonderful running community.

The weather could not have been more perfect for the 2017 A10. And any runner knows what a difference the weather can make! A hot, humid day can really slow you down– and since the A10 is always the last weekend of August, well, there have been some muggy race days. On Sunday morning, the temperature was in the high 60s, the sun was shining and there was no humidity whatsoever (a rarity for a summer day in Maryland.)

The A10 follows the same route every year. Runners start at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and head through historic downtown Annapolis before running over Weems Creek and the Naval Academy Bridge. Then, you run miles 4.5-7.5 through the Pendennis Mount neighborhood before heading back toward the bridge (yes, you run over it twice. And yes, it’s steep and challenging!) Runners finish at the stadium.

The race is hilly, but I think the difficulty is what makes it appealing for a lot of runners. But aside from that, the course is so scenic. Running over the Naval Academy Bridge may kill your quads, but you’re rewarded with the most beautiful view at the top. The crowd support and the volunteers are just awesome, too. One surprise this year– a group of nuns in full habits who were out cheering on the runners around mile 9.5. Maybe they thought the runners needed some extra prayers!

The Annapolis Striders, the local group who organizes the race, also don’t skimp on the swag. Aside from the hoodies runners got as the finisher’s premium, we also got hats and these fantastic commemorative bottle openers:

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I finished the race in 1:15:37, my personal best for the 10-mile distance! I felt like the race went by SO fast, probably because I know the course so well at this point. I truly loved every mile.

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My friend Kree and I. We both PR’d!

I’m actually running another 10-mile race in two weekends — the Bottle and Cork Ten-Miler in Dewey Beach, Del.– so we’ll see how my times compare. That’s a much flatter course, but the weather can be just as hot and sticky.

Thanks to the Annapolis Striders for putting on another quality A10! I’ll see you next year!