half marathon training

Sub-90 minute half marathon, attempt no. 2: A recap of The 2023 Richmond Half Marathon

/ runningforunicorns / 2 Comments

I thought I’d have a different story to tell about the Richmond Half Marathon. 

I was SO SURE this was going to be my day to break 90 minutes in the half. I’d heard nothing but amazing things about the race. The weather forecast was this runner’s dream – 40s and almost no wind. I’d run a super strong half in Ocean City two weeks prior when it was literally 40 degrees warmer. I felt so ready! 

Instead, I finished in 1:31:57, which was a 6-second PR. Still a great time and a race I am proud of. But it certainly wasn’t the time I was shooting for. 

So what happened? I think I screwed myself by getting ahead of the pace group wayyyyy too early in the race – I should have known better. More on that in a minute! 

The week after Ocean City, I didn’t run much because I was in Orlando for work (with a little fun tacked on.) I managed to squeeze in 4 miles before I left, then two 5-mile runs around the hotel I was staying at, then a 10-mile run when I got back home. I wasn’t too worried about it and don’t think it affected my race in Richmond. The week of the race, I followed the same schedule I did during the week leading up to OC. All good. 

I had the day before the race off of work, so Micah and I drove down to Richmond, hit the expo, and checked into the Virginia Crossings Hotel. We decided to eat at one of the restaurants at the hotel and I had salmon, quinoa, and veggies for dinner (plus two beers, duh!) I don’t normally eat salmon the night before a race, but I thought this seemed like a good mix of protein and carbs. 

Getting to downtown Richmond the next morning was pretty easy and I had plenty of time to pee, get into my start corral, and find the 1:30 pace group. I was really excited to have pacers this time since Ocean City didn’t have pacers. (So– why did I get ahead of the damn pacers then??! I have no explanation for my stupidity!) There was a huge pack of us who clustered around the two pacers, and I was excited about that. Teamwork! 

One of the pacers told another runner they’d be running even 6:52 splits, but now that I am looking back over the splits I ran during the race, the pacers actually went out faster than expected – we ran the first mile in 6:43 and the second mile in 6:46. So maybe it wasn’t all my fault that I went out too fast! That said, somewhere after mile 2 I got ahead of them as I think they dialed it back and I went on running full steam ahead. Miles 3 and 4 were closer to my goal half marathon pace; I finished those miles in 6:52 and 6:50, respectively. 

The next few miles of the race had some rolling hills, but I live in an area with lots of rolling hills and run on them every day, so I felt well-trained for it. This was also one of the prettiest parts of the course, with lots of beautiful fall foliage. I clocked a 7:07 for mile 5 and a 6:46 for mile 6. Mile 6 was, sadly, the last time I’d see a pace that began with a 6 that day. 

I had taken a Maurten gel just before the race started, and my plan was to take a second one halfway through the race, which I did in Ocean City. But my stomach was feeling a little funky, and I wondered if it was the previous night’s salmon that came back to bite me in the ass. Or, it could have been that I was just pushing really hard. Who knows. Either way, I never took my second gel. 

I ran mile 7 in 7:02, and the pace group passed me right about then, which is never encouraging. I told myself I could catch up with them. Spoiler alert, that never happened! The race was starting to feel hard around mile 8 (7:04) and then when I saw a 7:14 on my watch for mile 9, and lost sight of the pace group all together, I felt super defeated. But I told myself I only had four miles left, and that meant less than a half hour of running, so it was time to suck it up! 

I do have to point out that this course really was nice – definitely more interesting than Ocean City, even if there were more hills. And the crowds were awesome! The race, which also features a marathon and an 8K, bills itself as America’s Friendliest Marathon, and I can see why. They definitely pepped me up during the later miles! 

Mile 10: 7:04

Mile 11: 7:06

Mile 12: 7:15 

This race is known for its extremely steep downhill finish, so once I finished mile 12, I knew that was coming. However, I wasn’t counting on being able to run a stupid fast mile down it, because to be honest, I am not a strong downhill runner. I’m too tentative and afraid of falling and hurting myself. (For good reason! Do I need to remind anyone of my epic fall in Boston 2022?) I will say the downhill finish lives up to the hype, and if you are a great downhill runner, you’d love this. Runners were literally flying past me. The best I could do was a 7:08 mile, ha! 

I wasn’t looking at the elapsed time on my watch, but I knew I was over 1:30. As I approached the finish line, I saw the clock read 1:31:5x and I gave it everything I had to get under 1:32 and officially run a PR, if only by a tiny amount. 

I’m not one to get really upset by missing my goals in races, but this one hurt. I called Micah right after finishing and told him I’d never been so disappointed in a PR. I collected my medal, then my finisher’s hat and blanket (this race had really good swag!) and went to meet up with him. 

I wasn’t hungry at all after finishing, and in fact struggled to have much of an appetite for hours, but I did enjoy a delicious gingerbread stout beer at the after party! I also got to meet up with my Instagram friend Rachel for the first time in person. She had a fantastic race and ran a big PR! 

Of course, since a PR is a PR, no matter how small, I wanted to ring the PR bell! Too bad I was just a tiny bit overzealous and I broke it!! Luckily, Micah was there to put it back together. Yay for husbands who drive you to races and fix the PR bells you break. Ha! 

Given that Richmond is a much, much larger race than OC, I had no expectations of placing. But I finished 4th in my age group and Richmond gives awards to the top 5 finishers in each age group. According to the website, I’ll receive instructions on how to claim my personalized award in December. So that’s something to look forward to! 

So, what’s next? I’m not ready to give up the sub-90 dream yet. I am running the Rehoboth Seashore Half in two weekends and yes, I am going to go for it again. There will be a 1:30 pace group again and my plan is to stick with them no matter how good I think I’m feeling in the beginning. Since there are three weeks between Richmond and Rehoboth, I decided to just follow the last three weeks of my half marathon training plan. I know my training was optimized for Ocean City, but we’ll see what I can do one last time before my fall racing season officially ends. 

Either way, there will be a hell of an after party, so it’ll be a good day!

A metric half marathon and a metric marathon were part of my busy fall racing season

/ runningforunicorns / Leave a comment

I always race a lot in the fall – it’s my favorite time of year to run and to race! – but I think this year takes the cake. I believe I had a race every weekend of September, and most of October, too! 

Since I last posted, I ran two completely new-to-me distances – a metric half marathon and a metric marathon! (Yay for automatic PRs!) Here is how they went. 

Historic Stevensville Metric Half Marathon

I had really been looking forward to this one. In fact, I had wanted to run this race last year, but by the time I learned about it, I was already signed up for another race. I  just thought 13.1K, or 8.15 miles, seemed like a perfect distance, especially since I am training hard for a traditional half marathon. The race was mostly held on the Cross Island Trail on Kent Island, where I had raced the Get Pumped For Pets 10K back in 2019. Super flat and fast.

This race did not go as planned. 

We’ll start with the good part! I came in 2nd female and held on to a 6:53 average pace for 8 miles. 

The bad part was that it was for 8 miles, not 8.15 miles. 

No, the course wasn’t short – it was just horribly marked and a bunch of us up near the front made a wrong turn and accidentally cut the course. (Sound familiar? It’s happened before!) 

When I realized what I did, I was initially pretty pissed, but then just told myself whatever, who cares, just focus on practicing your goal half marathon pace. I crossed the finish line in 55:07 and let the organizers know I had inadvertently cut the course, but they awarded me the 2nd place prize anyway. I guess it’s OK because I wasn’t the only one to make that mistake! 

Overall, though, I enjoyed myself and it was a good test of my fitness. And there was beer at the finish line. Always a win! 

Annapolis Striders Metric Marathon 

This is a race that I have been eyeing for years, but it has never worked with my schedule. The Striders have been running it for years. At 26.2K/16.3 miles, it is the perfect race if you have a 16-mile long run on your schedule – and on Sunday, October 1, I did! It only cost $15 to sign up and the race begins and ends at Southern High School, just 10 minutes away from my house. Can’t beat it! 

I had no idea how I was going to pace a metric marathon, though. I’ve been training to run a sub-90 half, but I knew I wasn’t going to hold that pace for 16+ miles. I wrote on Instagram ahead of the race that I was thinking I’d run 7:30s or so – way faster than my typical long run pace, but way slower than goal half marathon pace. I also knew the course, which followed a loop of country roads in south Anne Arundel County, was fairly hilly!

When I showed up to the race, I realized it was like 70% midshipmen, including lots of members of the Navy Marathon Team. I went out with a group of mids who were running low 7/high 6 minute pace, which seemed awfully fast, but I decided to just roll with it and see how long I could hang on. 

They dropped me around mile 8, but then I caught up with some of them later in the race and even passed a few. The course was challenging, but not horribly so – it reminded me of the A10, just 6 miles longer! When I passed the aid station at mile 12, the volunteers told me I was the first female. I thought I might have a shot at a top spot, but really wasn’t sure where I stood. I was definitely starting to feel spent around mile 12, but told myself to just hang on for four more miles. 

I crossed the finish line in 1:55:14 and a friend, Arnel, who was volunteering told me I won. I was ecstatic! I sat down for a bit, drank some water – it had gotten fairly warm – and then cheered all the other runners as they finished. 

This was a really great race – well-organized and the logistics could not have been easier. There were no frills – I got a medal for winning first, but there were no finisher medals, and no race shirts. It was definitely a race put on by runners, for runners. Sometimes those are the best kind of races! 

Note for if you decide to do this race in the future – it is on an open road, and the roads are windy, so I did feel a little nervous about cars whipping around those corners. Just something to be aware of! 

Aside from those two races, I also ran a 5K in Cape May, New Jersey this month. It went way better than I expected, considering my general disdain for 5Ks. Stay tuned for that recap!

Summer 2023 running recap!

/ runningforunicorns / 2 Comments

When I signed up for the Tracksmith 5000 in DC, scheduled for the evening of my birthday on July 28, I had lofty goals of going sub-20, something I’ve only been able to accomplish once before. The race will be held on a track, and we’ll be lead by pacers and seeded by goal time. Under perfect conditions, I could even be looking at a PR! 

Except it’s July 28 in DC, when the weather is normally gross and swampy. And this year, July 28 is expected to be the hottest day of the year, with the highs reaching into the upper 90s and a real feel of 108 degrees or something ridiculous. 

My heat (literally!) doesn’t go off until 7:58 pm, but it’ll still feel like running in hell. I think I’ll be lucky to break 21 minutes and my main goal is not to die! 

But it’ll be a fun adventure to cap off the last few months of lower mileage as I head into half marathon training this fall. Here’s what I have been up to this summer!

Arbutus Firecracker 10K, Arbutus, MD, 45:25

I’d been hearing about this annual July 4 race in Arbutus, Maryland for years, but had never run it before. I knew it would be hot and humid (duh, July 4 in Maryland) and hilly. So I didn’t have any real expectations of my finish time, but I was a little disappointed when I crossed the finish line (feeling practically dead, I might add!) and saw 45:xx on the clock. That was my slowest 10K in about two years. But as I said, the weather was not ideal and the course was challenging! There was a particularly cruel hill around mile 5.5, though there was a downhill finish. Ha. That said, I had fun. I saw a lot of friends there and the people of Arbutus really came out for this race. So many people had sprinkler systems set up for the runners. One resident even had an inflatable shaped like a rainbow and clouds that had water coming out of it for us to run through!

My time was also good enough for first in my age group and I won $50 cash – can’t be sad about that!

Beebe Health Heroes 5K, Lewes, DE, 20:35

Four days after the Firecracker 10K, I ran this flat and fast 5K in Lewes, Delaware. We were staying in nearby Rehoboth Beach for the week and I saw this was happening so I signed both myself and my husband up. (He hadn’t run since Thanksgiving at the Turkey Trot and was just happy to finish!) It was also very hot and humid, but there is not a hill to be seen in Lewes. I was really happy with how this race went, especially as someone who tends to fly and die in 5Ks. I finished in 20:35 and felt strong – splits were 6:40, 6:30, 6:35. I finished top Master female and third overall female, behind two teenage girls, so I was happy about that! Micah finished in around a half hour, which is great considering he never runs anymore! We also enjoyed all the drinks and food provided by the restaurant Irish Eyes at the after party. The Seashore Striders organized this race, which benefited Beebe Health’s foundation. I’ve done a bunch of their races at the beach before and they are always a good time!

Looking ahead to fall! 

I’ve been running 30-40 miles per week since early June, with speedwork once or twice a week to get ready for these shorter races. I start training for my fall half marathons on Aug. 6 and am following a plan that will peak at 63 miles per week. That’s more or less in line with my peak mileage from marathon training over the last year; the real difference is I’ll be doing more half marathon pace specific work and my longest long runs will be 16 miles. I’m excited to take on a new challenge and work to break 90 minutes this fall, hopefully at the Ocean City Half on Oct. 28! 

What races are you looking forward to this fall? Any big goals?

I ran an accidental half marathon PR

/ runningforunicorns / Leave a comment

If you’ve been running for many years, as I have, you know that PRs get harder and harder to set. I’m also turning 41 in a few months, and while I don’t plan to stop running hard any time soon, I also know that I will likely be slowing down over the next decade. 

But not quite yet. I ran an unexpected half marathon PR last weekend –1:37:58 at the Halfity-Half Marathon in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania! That’s a 45-second PR, and it got me 1st place in the female Masters division. 

How did that happen? I really have no idea. Honestly, I wish I could share a training regimen or some insights or something of substance, but I really can’t. I had three Reese’s martinis the night before the race — maybe that’s the secret. 

I wasn’t even planning to run this half marathon. Micah and I went to Hershey to celebrate our 5-year anniversary last weekend, and a few days before, I decided to look to see if there were any races happening in the area. Lo and behold, there was a half marathon happening on May 16 in nearby Harrisburg. (A half-half marathon, 6.55 miles, was held the day before.) I eagerly signed up. I saw that the half started and ended at City Island, and the course went along the Susquehanna River, just like the Lucky Charm 5K I did back in March with Staci. I really liked the area and was looking forward to running a longer distance there. 

Since we were celebrating our anniversary, we packed a lot into the day before the race — Chocolate World, a trolley tour, a chocolate-infused pedicure for me, shopping, a delicious dinner at the Hershey Lodge. It was there that I had the three martinis, which included peanut butter whiskey (I don’t even like whiskey), Godiva chocolate liqueur, and other liquors that didn’t even taste like liquor. When I ordered my third, Micah side-eyed me, saying, “Aren’t you running a race in the morning?” I didn’t feel particularly buzzed, so I waved off his concerns. And obviously, it didn’t affect my performance (unless it was for the better!)

I woke up early Sunday to a beautiful day– mid-50s with no wind and some cloud cover. Just about perfect for running! City Island was only about a 15-minute drive from our hotel, and I enjoyed driving down Route 22 into downtown Harrisburg and seeing the state Capitol building come into view. It really is a pretty city — one I’ve barely spent any time in, despite having grown up in southwestern PA. Packet pickup was at one end of the parking lot in City Island, and that was a simple and easy process. Gotta love the logistics of small races! 

When I registered, I chose the elite corral — LOL. To be placed in the elite corral, as a female runner, I had to run a 1:50 or faster half, and I figured I would probably be in the low 1:40s. Pretty surprised that qualified me for the elite corral, but hey, I’ll take it! My wave went off promptly at 7 am and runners were lined up six feet apart and went off every 10 seconds to allow for social distancing purposes. Although the CDC has recently loosened mask guidelines (and to that I say hallelujah!), every place and organization is still kind of doing its own thing in regards to COVID mitigation. I think it’ll be that way for a while. 

Most of the race course was along the Susquehanna. After we left City Island, we ran over an open grate bridge that I had run over in the Lucky Charm 5K, then onto a path by the river, then back and forth over another bridge. I ran my first mile in 7:43, then got faster from there. As I mentioned earlier, the weather was absolutely perfect and that always makes a world of difference. After we got off the second bridge, we spent miles three through 10 back on the path by the river. It was flat and beautiful, and I clicked off a string of 7:18 miles — probably the most consistent pacing I’d ever done. My only gripe, which was definitely not the fault of the race, was that there were geese everywhere. I mean, duh. We were running by a river! But I was nearly attacked by a mama goose who thought I was getting too close to her goslings when I was a kid, so they always make me nervous. There was also goose poop everywhere, which was gross, and I was wearing a new pair of Hoka Carbon X shoes. Luckily, the bottoms didn’t look too soiled afterwards. 

Around mile 10, the path took us away from the river and through a wooded area, then back over another bridge to City Island. I really felt so strong the whole way through and didn’t have that feeling of wanting to be done until maybe there was a mile left of the race. When I crossed the finish line, I hit the button on my watch and it said I ran the race in 1:38:00 — PR! Yay! But then when I checked my official time, I found out I actually ran a 1:37:58 — even better! I shrieked with delight. It took me 20 half marathons to get under 1:40, so to run a 1:37 is really exciting. It also means that I’m within a minute of qualifying for the New York City Marathon. You can qualify with a half marathon time, and a woman my age needs to run a 1:37:00 half to qualify. I’m not really an NYC person and have never been dying to run that marathon, but I know a lot of people love it …. So maybe if I qualify, I will run it. 

Once again, I do wish I could explain why I had such a great race. I haven’t done a lick of speedwork since March. Since the marathon on March 27, I’ve done just two double digit runs — one 10-miler and one 12-miler. My weekday runs are usually between three and five miles. I often worry that I am taking these easy runs too fast– I typically run between an 8:10 and an 8:25 pace, depending on how I feel — but maybe not if I can bust out a half at a 7:28 average pace.    

In any event, I am ecstatic with how the race went and am looking forward to more half marathons this year — including one tomorrow on the C&O Towpath in D.C.! It’s supposed to be going up to a high of 90 degrees (ugh– when summer comes to the DMV, it comes in with a vengeance) so I am not expecting another PR. That’s also a flat course, and it starts early and there’s a lot of shade, so maybe it won’t be too bad. 

I love marathons, but I think I love half marathons more. I get to tap into my strengths as an endurance athlete, but they don’t leave me totally wrecked at the end. And the training isn’t all-consuming, either. What is your favorite distance?

I won a half marathon — but I almost screwed it up

/ runningforunicorns / Leave a comment

I ran a real, live half marathon yesterday! And — I won! 

What a great outcome for my first live half marathon in more than a year. I typically run at least four half marathons in a year, but of course COVID-19 has put a halt to that. I did run two virtual half marathons in 2020, which I count because I ran them at race effort, but I hadn’t run an in-person half since the Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon in December 2019. 

As I’ve written previously, I am training for the Runners Marathon of Reston on April 11, and I had a half marathon on my training plan for this weekend. I didn’t think I’d find one — in normal times, it’s not that easy to find a half marathon in February in the Northeast. Add in COVID, and it’s even harder. But I actually did find one. Virginia-based Bishop’s Events was putting on the Before the Game 5K, 10K and Half Marathon at Lake Accotink Park in Springfield, Virginia the day before the Super Bowl. The race benefited the Boulder Crest Foundation, which works with combat veterans and first responders who deal with post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues. I’ve run a few of Bishop’s races before and they always benefit similarly worthy causes. I know they’ve been having small, socially distant races over the last few months in D.C. and Virginia, so I wasn’t too worried about the race potentially being canceled. So I signed up. 

Springfield is only about an hour away, and the half marathon didn’t start until 8:30, so Micah and I drove down Saturday morning. (Reston is also about the same distance away, but I booked a hotel room for the marathon in April. It starts at 7:30 and I don’t need the stress of driving from Maryland to northern Virginia on marathon morning.) It was cold (duh, February in Virginia) but clear and sunny. I decided to dress up like a human Maryland flag and donned my Maryland flag print tights from Route One Apparel, my matching arm warmers, my Maryland flag headband, and my Maryland flag neck gaiter with my Rip It Events singlet. Oh, and my Maryland flag print face mask, because 2021. I was definitely cold while standing at the start, but knew I’d warm up quickly. There was snow and ice all over the ground near the dam, and Micah warned me to watch my footing. 

Just before the race started, Travis Bishop, the owner of Bishop’s Events, announced that the ice around the park had forced a last-minute change in the race course. He explained that half marathoners would run one small loop that would equal 5K, followed by another, longer loop that would equal 10 miles to bring us to 13.1 miles. He joked that we probably wouldn’t like that, but it seemed fine to me. I hadn’t even looked at the planned course map before the race, so I had no expectations anyway. 

We took off shortly after 8:30 and though we were allowed to take off our masks while running, I kept mine on for the first two miles just to keep my face warm! I had never been to Lake Accotink before and focused on taking in my surroundings, while also watching where I was going. Much of the race was on a dirt trail, and there were lots of roots and stones all around. And it was pretty hilly, though mostly small, rolling hills, nothing crazy. Pretty park — I’d love to return when it’s warmer outside. I ran the first mile in 8:06 and then dropped down to a 7:20 for the second mile. 

I was feeling really good and knew that I was the first female, behind three men (and I wasn’t anywhere close to the top two guys, as they were definitely running a 6:xx pace.) I kept hoping that I was headed in the right direction since there wasn’t anyone around me and the course really wasn’t very well-marked — probably because they’d had to pivot at the last minute. Once I hit the first turnaround point at around mile 1.55, I felt reassured. I passed a bunch of runners on my way back who called out “Go Maryland! Love the outfit!” which put a smile on my face. I ran all the way back to where we started to finish that first, smaller loop, then back out again for the second, longer loop. 

This is where I screwed it all up.

As I mentioned, the course wasn’t marked all that well, and I don’t really fault the race organizers for that — they had to scramble at the last minute. And because there were other distances mixed in with the half marathoners, it was a little confusing trying to figure out who was running what. But then once I approached the initial turnaround point again (now at just past the 4.6 mile mark for the half marathon), the volunteer told me to keep on running straight ahead. So that’s what I did. 

This part of the course was mostly paved, which was nice, though there was one pretty icy patch that I had to be careful on. I just cruised from there, but was concerned again because no one was around me and there were no signs. Was I headed in the right direction? Did I miss the turnaround and mess up my race? My Garmin beeped to let me know I had hit six miles and I still didn’t see a sign telling me to turn around or any volunteers. I hit 6.5 miles and thought, OK, well, that’s halfway through the race — I guess we’re just supposed to know to turn around here! 

Except, whoops, that math was entirely wrong. Think about it– I’d run a 5K out and back, then another 1.55 miles to equal about 4.65 miles, then another 1.85 miles for 6.5. If I ran from that point back to the start, which was also the finish, that would only equal …. Not even 10 miles. 

But I didn’t realize I’d effed it up until I got back to the volunteer at the first turnaround. She was clearly surprised to see me so soon. “ Wow, you overtook those guys?” she said, clearly meaning the men who were way ahead of me. I looked at my watch and saw that I was only at like 8.3 miles. “No, I think I f*cked up and turned around too soon,” I told her. I was so pissed at myself since it seemed like I was the first place female and I sure didn’t want to win the race by cheating/cutting the course. “It’s OK. I’ll just double back and run some of the course again to make sure I get to 13.1 miles,” I said. 

Sooooo…… that’s what I did. Feeling like a dumbass, I turned back around and ran another mile and some change in the direction I had just come from, then turned around again. When I passed the volunteer again, I was at just over 10 miles. But…. I knew she was 1.55 miles from the start/finish. Shit. I was going to have to backtrack again!  

I ran back toward the start/finish, and was at mile 11.6 when I saw another volunteer directing runners about a quarter or so mile from the finish. “I screwed up the course!” I yelled at him. “I’m only at 11.6, I’m going to turn around and cover the extra distance!” He probably thought I was a moron. But once again, I turned around and ran back the way I came. Once I saw my Garmin hit 12.3, I thought I was probably safe to turn around again, that I would be at 13.1 miles at the finish or possibly a little more. 

I ended up crossing the finish line in 1:41:50, not my best (I know I lost a solid minute when I stopped to chat with the volunteer after I realized I messed up the course), but I also had 13.22 on my watch when I finished so I did run a little tiny bit extra. A volunteer handed me my plaque for coming in first overall female. I thanked him, but explained that I’d messed up the turnarounds and had to double back a few times to hit 13.1. I showed him my watch, too. But they were totally cool about it — one of the many nice things about a smaller race! 

Proof that I really did run a half and then some

A few other runners congratulated me afterwards and Micah said he saw me make that last turn, then turn back around again. “I couldn’t figure out what you were doing,” he said. Yeah, clearly neither could I. LOL. 

I felt really good after finishing, though on the way home I started to develop baaaddddd stomach cramps. Like what I’m guessing menstrual cramps must feel like (I’ve never had them. I’m a freak of nature, I guess). Only thing I could figure out is that, uh, I didn’t poop before the race. Sorry for the TMI, but I have no idea why I didn’t feel the urge. Usually coffee takes care of that problem on race morning, or any morning, really. So that was quite unpleasant and they didn’t go away until early afternoon.

Despite those hiccups, though, it was a really fun morning! I’m so glad I got to run a LIVE half marathon and I thought Bishop’s did a great job with COVID protocols — staggered waves, masks required at the start and finish, etc. Half marathons really are my favorite distance. Next up is Rip It Events’ Little Patuxent River Run in a month, which will be a trail half marathon on Saturday followed by a 10K on Sunday. I’ve also signed up for the St. Michael’s Running Festival half marathon in August. That race usually happens in May, and I was registered for the May 2020 race before it was canceled. This year, the organizers are planning for August. I’m hopeful it can happen and that life will have returned to some semblance of normalcy by then. Then again, I once thought fall 2020 would be business as usual, too, so what do I know?