half marathon

I ran a sub-90 minute half marathon at Rock ‘N Roll D.C.

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After three failed attempts last fall, I finally did it. I broke 90 minutes in the half marathon at the St. Jude Rock ‘N Roll D.C. Half Marathon on St. Patrick’s Day weekend! My official time was 1:29:27, good enough to win my age group and finish among the top 50 females at the race. 

I’m honestly still on cloud 9. Yes, Boston has been the focus of my training, but the desire to run a sub-90 half never went away and when I registered for Rock ‘N Roll D.C. a month out from Boston, I definitely thought “maybe this is my shot.” And it was! 

Here is my recap of my first sub-90 half marathon! 

I was originally registered to run the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler – I had gotten in as a seeded runner, meaning I was able to bypass the lottery because of my time at Cherry Blossom 2022 (still my 10 mile PR.) But when I registered, I did not realize it was 8 days before Boston and I knew I did not have the discipline to not race it all out …. So I transferred my bib to an Instagram friend’s husband. That’s when I decided to register for Rock ‘N Roll D.C. on March 16. I had run this race before, wayyyy back in 2015, as I trained for the Pittsburgh Marathon. I ran a then PR of 1:46 on a day with torrential downpours. I really enjoyed the course, even though the weather blew. I knew there were some rolling hills, but nothing crazy (or so I remembered!) I also ran the marathon, which no longer exists, in 2016. So I decided to register for the 2024 race. 

I wasn’t expecting there to be any pacers, as I couldn’t find anything on the website that said anything about pace teams. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was a 1:30 pacer, whom I met at the expo the day before the race. He told me he planned to go out slightly ahead of pace due to the infamous hill in Rock Creek Park. I did remember that hill from when I ran the half marathon and marathon years ago, but didn’t think it was going to be all that bad. (Spoiler alert: It was.)

On race day, I got up extremely early and got to D.C. by 6 am, even though the race wasn’t starting until 8. Ridiculously early, yes, but I was still scarred from my experience getting to the Annapolis Running Festival so damn late. At least I wasn’t rushed!! I checked my bag, used the porta potties about 100 times, LOL, chatted with other runners, and did a 1-mile warmup before hopping into my corral around 7:45. The weather was perfect. Low 50s, very little wind. The cherry blossoms were also blooming and looked beautiful! It was sunny enough that I didn’t wear arm warmers with my tank top and shorts, and felt very comfortable as soon as I started running. 

Rock ‘N Roll D.C. is a big race – over 13,000 people in the half, I think. (There is also a 5K.) I was put in corral A, just behind the elites, and the course was initially very crowded and I felt boxed in at the beginning. My goal pace was 6:50, but I ran the first mile around the National Mall in 7:07, which did not inspire much confidence for the rest of the race. Still, I told myself it was only the first mile. Lots of time to make up the difference.  

Mile 2 was a 6:52 – OK, much better, and I was locked in with the pace group by then. There were probably about 15 to 20 of us running with the pacer, and we were almost elbow to elbow as we ran across Arlington Memorial Bridge and back.

Those miles flew by, and I ran a 6:39 for mile 3 and a 6:18 (maybe?! The buildings could have messed up my Garmin) for mile 4. At that point, I was like, shit. 6:18 is faster than my 5K PR pace, so the fact that I ran that fast so early in a half marathon – if it was indeed accurate – was a bit alarming. But I was feeling pretty good and was able to get down a Maurten gel, and I continued to hang with the pace group. At that point, we were running down Rock Creek Parkway, and I knew the Rock Creek hill would be a little more than halfway through the race. The next few miles were also ahead of pace, but they were pretty flat: 

Mile 5: 6:43 

Mile 6: 6:36

Mile 7: 6:44

The hill came around mile 7.5. And. It was SO MUCH WORSE than I remembered. Heartbreak Hill ain’t got nothing on this incline. The Naval Academy Bridge is a piece of cake in comparison. This hill crushed my soul and I thought my race was over when I got to the top of it and the pacer left me (and a bunch of others) in the dust. I almost wanted to walk for a second, but there were so many spectators lining the course there, including a sergeant yelling “come on! It’s only a speed bump! Get to the top!” Haha. When my watch beeped for mile 8, I saw I had run a 7:06, so I definitely slowed down significantly, but not as much as I’d feared. But still, getting back up to speed wasn’t easy and I had lost track of the pacer, which was discouraging. I told myself to just do the best I could. 

I had been told that the race course was mostly flat and downhill after you turn onto Calvert Street following the Rock Creek hill, but honestly, that’s BS. There are a lot of rollers in the later part of the race. But I was able to drop my pace to sub-7s again. The race was definitely getting harder and the sun was glaring in my eyes despite my sunglasses, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. 

Mile 9: 6:58

Mile 10: 6:41

I hadn’t set my Garmin to elapsed time, and I actually had no idea how much longer I had to break 90. And I can’t really do math under the best of circumstances, so forget about trying to do it in a half marathon. I just tried to run as fast as I could, and I threw down some surprisingly fast miles in the final 5K of the race. There were more spectators around at that point as we headed toward the Capitol, but to be honest, I was so in the zone that I can’t remember much.

Mile 11: 6:37

Mile 12: 6:26

Just after I hit mile 12, I saw the pacer right up ahead of me! I had caught up! I thought he was probably aiming to finish just under 1:30 and I told myself, just hang on. You’re almost there. You might really be going sub-90! The main thing I remember is that around mile 12.5, the last band on the course (as it’s a Rock ‘N Roll race, there are bands every mile or two) was playing a rendition of the ‘90s R&B slow jam by Mint Condition, Pretty Brown Eyes. Love me some ‘90s R&B, but that was an interesting choice late in a half marathon. 

I ran mile 13 in 6:53, made the final turn toward the finish line, and gunned it as best I could. I’ve  never been great at that final kick, but I ran the final 0.29 (guess who was crap at running the tangents? I was probably weaving around other runners too much in the earlier part of the race) in 1:44. I immediately stopped my watch and saw 1:29:29 (official time was 1:29:27), let out a scream, and went up to the pacer and hugged him. My pace according to my Garmin was 6:44/mile over 13.29 miles. Again, I did not excel at running the tangents in this crowded race. Maybe if I’d run an actual 13.1, I could have been under 1:29! Oh well.   

Why did I finally succeed at sub-90?

My theory is that I finally accomplished my goal because I have been running higher mileage this spring. I’ve averaged around 60 miles per week in my Boston training, and have peaked at 65 miles per week. I am a runner who frankly does better when running a lot of miles. Less is not more for me. I saw a major breakthrough in my marathon time when I increased my training mileage from an average of 42-45 miles per week to an average of 52-53. Then I had another big PR when I started averaging 60+ miles each week. I am probably lucky that my body can handle that kind of training load and that I have the time to fit all the miles in – not everyone can, or wants to, of course. Last fall, when I first started trying to break 90, my weeks averaged around 55 miles and I only broke 60 miles per week twice in my 12-week training plan. That may not have been enough to accomplish my goal, even though I was doing way more half marathon specific pace work. Anyway, that’s what I think!   

Now it’s on to Boston! I was aiming for a 3:15, but this half time indicates I could be a little faster than that. Of course, Boston is a tough course and the weather is unpredictable at best…. But I am feeling optimistic and excited! 23 days to go!  

My running goals for 2024!

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Here we are already in the 2nd week of February, and this is my first blog post of the year! 

I guess I haven’t had that much to say. I haven’t had any races recently and I don’t have any planned for February. My first race of the year will be the 10K at the Annapolis Running Festival in March. I came in 3rd place female last year and would love to place again, but as always, you never know how you’ll actually perform or who else will show up who’s a lot faster!

I did want to take a quick moment to jot down my running goals for 2024! Here we go! 

Boston Marathon in 3:15 or faster! 

I think I have it in me to run a 3:15 marathon, possibly faster than that if I have a great day in Boston. My recent 1:31 half indicates a marathon finish time of 3:12-3:15. Is Boston a hard course? Yes, it certainly can be if you go out way too fast and get crushed on the Newton Hills. It can also be a relatively fast course if you play your cards right, i.e., start conservatively and then crush the later miles. I blew up in the final 10K in 2019, my first year running the race. But then in both 2022 and 2023, I came within about a minute of my then-PR both times. I don’t think PRing in Boston is impossible by any means. I’m going to go for it! I am currently following a modified version of Pfitzinger’s 12/70 plan, turning it into 12/65. Peaking at 70 miles per week is just a little too much for me. I’ve only done it once, when prepping for the 2022 Chicago Marathon. It did get me a 3:18 PR, but then for Boston last year, I peaked at 62 miles per week and ran a 3:19. So, mileage-wise I want to shoot for something in between that. Plus, running 15 miles on a random Wednesday before work is overkill to me and takes away from my enjoyment of marathon training. 12 miles is kind of my limit for a weekday run.  

Run the Ohiopyle Marathon for fun

Or maybe for a PR if Boston is a Dumpster fire. 😉 

If you’re a regular reader, you might remember that I asked my husband to sign me up for a bonus marathon this spring as part of my Christmas present. He picked a tiny marathon in western PA, about an hour from where I grew up, called the Great Allegheny Ohiopyle Marathon Race Festival. I was sure he would pick either Buffalo or Gettysburg, so I was very surprised and excited! Ohiopyle is really a pretty area – I have been there, but it’s probably been 25 years or so. My plan is to race Boston and run Ohiopyle for fun, kind of like I did when I ran Chicago and Philly in 2022. But again, if my race in Boston goes to hell, I’ll have this one to fall back on! 

Sub-90 Half! 

Still chasing that dream! I actually had no plans to run another half any time soon, but then I decided to sign up for the Rock ‘N Roll D.C. Half Marathon on March 16, mainly as a way to test my fitness a month before Boston. But let’s be real, I’ve been open about my goal to break 90 minutes in the half and I absolutely am going to try to do that again at this race. I ran this half marathon once before, in 2015, finishing in 1:46 – a PR at the time! I’ve obviously gotten a lot faster since then, so I know I can at least count on a nice course PR unless things go horribly off the rails. I also ran the marathon in 2016! 

So, that’s this spring. I haven’t thought much beyond that. I am most likely going to try to run the New York City Marathon in the fall. I did meet their qualifying standards, but that’s no guarantee I’ll get into the race – the race accepts qualifiers from New York Road Runners races first, and I have never run any of those races. If I can’t do NYC, I might sign up for Richmond. We’ll see! 

What are your goals for 2024?

Third time wasn’t the charm for sub-90: The 2023 Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon

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The Rehoboth Half was my last ditch attempt at a sub-90 minute half marathon this fall. 

Third time wasn’t the charm for me. I finished in 1:31:45, another very modest PR – this time by 12 seconds. 

Honestly, though, I am not nearly as disappointed as I was after I finished Richmond. It was still a PR. I got second in my age group and finished 8th overall female out of more than 1,000 women. And, as I’ve written on my blog before, the after party at this race is insanely fun. You will not find a better after party at any race, anywhere! So, I went into this race knowing that even if it was a total shit show, I was going to have a great time. 

It wasn’t a total shit show (just a minor shit show, really), and I definitely did have a great time! Here’s how it went down.

Before the race 

On Thanksgiving Day, I ran the Turkey Trot in my hometown of Greensburg, PA, which I do every year. The course is brutal and hilly, but I ran a pretty significant course PR of 20:19 (previous fastest time on this course was 20:45.) So that was a huge confidence booster going into the half marathon. The weather was expected to be in the low 50s for the race, which is pretty good. No rain or crazy winds. Last year, it rained quite a bit for my final three miles of the half – I felt bad for the marathoners! 

My sister Catherine came to town the day before the race and she, Micah and I headed down to Rehoboth after I wrapped up work. Speaking of weather, it actually was disgustingly rainy that Friday, so the two-hour drive to the beach took more than 2.5 hours! We met up with Shannon, who was also running the half, once we got there and had dinner and drinks at Dogfish Head, then headed to the condo I rented near Lewes.

By the time I got into bed, it was close to midnight, which was not ideal. Sure enough, when I woke up the next morning, my Whoop told me I got less than 5 hours of sleep and my resting heart rate was elevated. Great! (I should know better than to look at that thing on race morning, to be honest. What good does it really do?)

Race day!

We got to downtown Rehoboth around 6:20, so I had plenty of time to use the bathroom before the 7 am race start. I ran into my friend Vanessa, who told me she saw a 1:30 half marathon pacer. I was excited about that, because I wasn’t expecting one! As in Richmond, there were quite a few of us who formed a pack around the 1:30 guy (there were also a bunch of marathoners running with the 3:00 pacer, so for the first few miles we were running with that group as well.) 

We went off promptly at 7 and I felt pretty warm almost immediately. Even though it was only in the 50s, it was more humid than I was expecting. I wore a tank top and shorts and wished I’d had a crop top or sports bra on instead. The first few miles felt OK. Not amazing. I was grabbing water at the water stations and pouring it on myself because I was that warm. They changed the course for this race a few years ago, and now you get to run the whole length of the boardwalk. Unfortunately, because it had rained quite a bit the previous day, the boards were slippery!

We also went out hot – too hot. My splits for the first three miles were 6:49, 6:42, and 6:51. Then we split mile 4 in 6:44. Yikes. My goal pace was 6:50-6:52, so well ahead of what I should have been running. But again, I felt OK, if not fantastic. I saw Catherine and Micah on the boardwalk around the mile 3 mark, and that pumped me up! 

The half marathon splits off from the marathon at Cape Henlopen State Park, and then the half marathoners run back through the neighborhoods in Rehoboth and then onto the Junction and Breakwater Trail. I was still running with the pack then and we ran mile 5 in 6:57, mile 6 in 6:56 and mile 7 in 6:51. I saw Catherine and Micah again at mile 6. Catherine was SO loud, haha! It is always nice to have such enthusiastic spectators!

Catherine got this pic of me around mile 6!

Unfortunately, right after I saw them is when my race basically started to go off the rails and each mile got progressively slower until the final mile of the race. Womp womp.

You start to enter the Junction and Breakwater Trail around mile 8, which is mostly crushed gravel/dirt. I’m very familiar with the trail, given that I’ve run this race many times in the past and I run on the trail when I’m in Rehoboth for vacation. It’s not what I would call technical, but because of the previous day’s weather, it was muddier and more slippery than usual, and I was definitely afraid of tripping and falling. I clocked a 7:00 flat for mile 8, and a 7:14 for mile 9, but the terrain wasn’t the only reason I was slowing down. I was simply paying for the earlier, too fast miles. I also had planned to take a Maurten gel halfway through the race, but then just like in Richmond, didn’t feel like I could stomach it. Need to figure that out! 

Once I hit mile 10 (7:17), I told myself the after party was waiting and I’d be there soon. The 1:30 pacer had left me in the dust at that point, but I was trying to smile and wave at runners who were running in the opposite direction. 

The next two miles heading back to the town of Rehoboth continued to trend downward – 7:20 and 7:22 for miles 11 and 12. 

I was able to pick up the pace during mile 13 (7:03). When I turned the last corner to run toward the finish, the man running next to me said, “come on, let’s go, we’ll be under 1:32” and I mustered all of my energy to have somewhat of a finish line kick – never really my strong point – and finish in 1:31:45.

Was I disappointed? Yes, but not devastated. I knew sub-90 was always going to be tough. I met up with Micah and Catherine, sat down for a few minutes, then headed back to the finish line area for Shannon. She had a great race, and finished 15 minutes faster than she did in Ocean City!

Then, it was on to the after party! (Honestly, I think this is the whole reason my sister came down to cheer me on! Haha!) Runners get three beer tickets for Dogfish Head beer, and your friends and family can buy their own wristbands and have access to the beer and food. There’s a DJ, and he always plays such fun music, especially for those of us in our 40s (since we all love our ‘80s and ‘90s music.)

“Do the limbo holding your award”

Last year, I tripped and skinned my knee reaching for a shot of Fireball at the after party, so I said not doing that was my main goal this year aside from breaking 90 minutes. I turned down several offers to take a shot this time, so at least I accomplished one of my goals.

Lessons learned and what’s next

Well, in Captain Obvious takes, going out too fast will blow up my race. I’m not mad at the pacer by any means, but maybe I shouldn’t rely on them too much. I’ve had such good luck with pace groups in marathons, though! 

As for what’s next, I am shelving the sub-90 half marathon goal for the time being, only because I am not signed up for any more half marathons in the near future. I’m taking some down time before I start training for the Boston Marathon in January. I am signed up for a 5K on Christmas Eve, which I will race, but I don’t have any big goals for it. Other than that, so far I am only registered for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in April, two weeks before Boston. I was able to use my 2022 Cherry Blossom time – still my 10 mile PR – to get in as a seeded runner and bypass the lottery, so I am excited about that. 

I’m optimistic that my half marathon training block set me up well for this spring. My 1:31 half time indicates a marathon time in the low 3:10s, and I would love to break 3:15 in Boston! I know it is a hard course, but it will also be the fourth time I have run it, so I have that on my side. 

Also! I asked my husband to sign me up for a “bonus” spring marathon for Christmas. I told him I wanted it to be after Boston and before Memorial Day, so I’ll find out what he signed me up for on Christmas. I can’t wait!

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

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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!

I won the Ocean City Half Marathon in Ocean City, Maryland!

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I won the Ocean City Half Marathon at the inaugural Ocean City Running Festival last month! 

No, I did not break 90 minutes, but I did break that finish line tape. It was an amazing moment and easily the highlight of 2023 for me. 

My official time was 1:32:03, which was a PR by 1 minute and 16 seconds. I thought I could run faster that day, but then again, I also thought it would be a lot cooler. 

It was 84 degrees by the time I finished the half marathon. On October 28 in Maryland! 

I’ve been living here long enough to know that you really never know what fall is going to be like. It’s not uncommon to have summer-like days into November, especially these days. That said, 80+ degrees at the end of October is certainly not the norm. When I checked the forecast a few days before the race and saw meteorologists were calling for possibly record-breaking temperatures, I just rolled my eyes. Of course. I knew sub-90 was going to be a challenge on the best of days, and really freaking hard on an unseasonably hot day. The half wasn’t starting until 9:15 am, either! 

But what can you do? I was still planning to run the best race I could. And that’s what I did. 

My friend Shannon and I left work early on Friday and made the 2.5 hour drive from Anne Arundel County to Ocean City. Packet pickup was at the convention center, and we were staying at a hotel on the boardwalk, within walking distance of where we needed to board the buses to get to the start line on Assateague Island. We had dinner at Shenanigans and I got my standard veggie burger and fries, plus two beers. I joked afterwards that the extra beer was the reason I won.

The Ocean City Running Festival included a marathon, a half marathon, an 8K and a 5K, and the half was a point-to-point race that began on Assateague and ended at the inlet on the Ocean City boardwalk. I was wearing a sports bra and shorts to walk to the buses, and I wasn’t remotely cold at 7:30 in the morning, so I knew I was in for a steamy one. Once we got to Assateague – my first time there, which is kind of crazy! I didn’t see any wild horses, though – we used the bathroom, hung out with other runners, and then lined up at the start around 9. There were no pace groups, but there were signs that directed runners to line up by their expected pace per mile. The fastest was 7:00/mile, so I lined up there. They played the Whitney Houston recording of the National Anthem, which is always a good sign – I’ve run a PR literally every time I have heard that at the start of the race! Before I knew it, it was go time. 

I ran the first mile in 7:05, then 6:50 and 6:54 for miles 2 and 3. Then I got into a really good rhythm, clicking off a 6:47, 6:50, and 6:53 for miles 4 through 6. I’m not going to sugarcoat it – the race course wasn’t the most interesting. It’s almost entirely flat except for the Verrazano Bridge that connects Assateague to the mainland, and you spend the first 8 miles, I think, on Route 611. It’s a long straightaway and there isn’t much shade, which was especially brutal on such a hot day. It was mentally tough– and did I mention it was hot? I was grabbing water from every aid station, not just to drink but to dump on my head! 

I ran mile 7 in 6:58 and passed a guy who was taking a walk break. “Come on, stay with me,” I urged him. “You know you’re the first female,” he said. I told him that couldn’t be right. I was positive there were some women up ahead of me. He insisted I was in the lead. By the way, I wish I had been able to hang with him – I saw him after the race and he finished in just under 90 minutes! 

I clocked a 6:47 mile for mile 8, and then I think that’s when we finally made a right turn off 611 and toward Ocean City. The race was definitely starting to get tougher then. We ran through some random park and ride and then over another bridge. There was a lot of traffic stopped on the bridge and people inside the cars were cheering the runners on. I ran mile 9 in 7:01. At this point, I think someone told me I was in second place. 

When we got into Ocean City, I heard someone calling out “Shortstack!” (This is my nickname in kickboxing class – long story!) It was my friend Jessica and I was so excited to see her. If she hadn’t been on the other side of the road, I would have given her a big hug. Seeing her was a huge pick me up! I was surprised to see that I ran a 6:51 mile for mile 10, because I was definitely feeling like I was on the struggle bus.   

The last few miles were on the boardwalk, and quite frankly, they were brutal. Because it was so warm out, a ton of people were at the beach for the weekend, and the boardwalk of course was open, so there was a lot of dodging people/yelling out “on your left!” That said, a lot of people were enthusiastically cheering the runners on, so that was nice! And again, zero shade on the boardwalk. It was also a looooong out and back. We entered the boardwalk at the inlet and basically ran past where the finish line was (mean), then ran way down the boardwalk, then turned around and headed back to the finish.

My pace definitely tanked here, but not too bad: Mile 11, 7:11; Mile 12: 7:18. What’s that saying? Positive splits for positive people! Someone around this point called out to me that I was the fourth female, so I really had no idea how I was doing. I just knew I was ready to be done with the race! 

I hit mile 13 in 7:10. As I was coming down the last stretch, I heard the announcers say, “here comes our female champion in the half marathon!” 

And then I turned the corner and they were holding up the finish line tape for me! 

It was WILD. I just kept saying, “What? Oh my God. I can’t believe it!” With around 800 total participants, 500 of whom were women, this is the biggest race I’ve won.

After I collected myself, I went to find water– I was so dehydrated! And then I came back to the finish line area to see Shannon finish her first half marathon in 12 years! She crushed it, but said the heat was really tough (and she loves warm weather!) She also completed the Chessie Challenge, meaning she ran in the Annapolis Running Festival, the Baltimore Running Festival, and the Ocean City Running Festival.

My award is made out of wood from the boardwalk – pretty cool! 

So my sub-90 dream lives to see another day. But tomorrow I am running the Richmond Half Marathon and I am going to see what I can do there. I will have a 1:30 pacer, which always helps a lot, and it’s going to be around 38 degrees at the start, warming up to 46 by the end. SO much better running weather than what we got in OC. I can’t wait to see how it goes!

My big goal for fall 2023: Running a sub-90 half marathon

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Back in February, I signed up for the 2023 Richmond Marathon this coming November. I put down my expected finish time as 3:15, but I was really hoping to break 3:15 and run closer to 3:10 for a sizable PR.  

But as I trained for Boston 2023, logging the miles and pushing hard in my workouts, I started to feel the slightest hint of marathon training burnout. 

And that scared me a little bit. 

Though I’d been a reliable gym rat and treadmill runner for years, I started getting more into running in 2013 to cope with job-related burnout. I was about a decade into my career in local journalism and the work felt more tedious and thankless with every passing year. At that time, I was covering county politics, a beat I’d never aspired to, and fielding emails and texts and calls from editors and sources at what felt like all hours of the day and night. It probably would have been stressful for someone who was a political junkie, so imagine what it was like for someone who didn’t loooove politics. Oh, and I made less than $35,000 per year. I could barely scrape up the registration fee for the 2013 Annapolis 10 Mile Run, but I did (let’s be real, I probably put it on my credit card). And this gave me something to focus on, and a goal to chase, outside of work.

The 2013 A10

I eventually left that job for another journalism job, which came with its own set of challenges, though I was happy to no longer be covering politics. In 2017, I finally made a much-needed career change, but my new gig wasn’t all roses and sunshine, either. It was OK for a few years, but 2020 almost broke me. Seriously, I don’t know what I would have done had I not had running to distract me that year! 

In early 2021, I landed my current job and it has been such a blessing. I like the work, I’m paid fairly, I work normal hours – no expectation that I be available all the time – and my leaders like and respect me. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that my running really took off over the last 2 years, either. (While I have used running to cope with work stress, said stress can still have a negative impact on running.) 

The last thing I want to happen is to start to feel burned out on an activity that’s been a true source of joy and sanity over the last 10 years. I truly love marathons and plan to run many more, but I’ve been going hard over the last 8 months or so. I trained my butt off for Chicago last October, then I ran Philly in November, then I ran Algonquin 50K in February, then Boston in April. That’s a lot of marathon and ultramarathon training! When I started to think about training for a sub-3:15 marathon in Richmond, I wasn’t feeling excited. But the idea of focusing on the half marathon distance and really crushing it – THAT lights me up. 

So I officially dropped down to the Richmond Half Marathon and I put my expected finish time down as 1:29:30. But I’ll be happy with a 1:29:59. My big hairy audacious goal is to break 90 minutes in the half marathon! 

I set my PR last December in Rehoboth, running a 1:33:19, meaning I have less than 4 minutes to take off. But when you are in your 40s and have been running as long as I have, that’s actually harder than it sounds. Still, hard is not impossible. I already found a training plan from who else, Pfitzinger, and I plan to start following that in August. I’m also signed up for the Rehoboth Half in December again, so if I miss my goal in Richmond, I’ll have another shot a few weeks later.

It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was determined to break 1:40 in the half. I can’t wait to see what’s next!    

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Run hard, party harder: The Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon

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It took me 20 half marathons to finally break that 1:40 barrier – and then another 10 to break 1:35.

On December 3, I ran my third Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon and 30th half marathon. I was determined to beat my then-PR of 1:37:58, which I felt was pretty soft given my recent 3:18 marathon finish in Chicago. 

And I did, running a 1:33:19, finishing 12th overall female and second in my age group! As always, this race was a complete blast and the after party was lit, and I cannot wait to sign up for the 2023 race. 

Here is my recap! 

Rehoboth is my happy place

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know I have been traveling to Rehoboth Beach since I was very young and that I have run many races there. In fact, I ran my first BQ five years ago (!!) at the Rehoboth Seashore Marathon and smashed my longtime goal of a 3:30 marathon at the 2021 Coastal Delaware Running Festival. I was signed up to run the Rehoboth Seashore Half in 2020, but we all know what happened that year. I would have run it last year, but then Coastal Delaware was postponed from April to November due to COVID, meaning it was just about three weeks before Rehoboth Seashore. So I deferred to 2022. 

It ended up working out great, because our good friend Shannon was in nearby Bethany Beach celebrating her 50th birthday and invited Micah and me to stay at the Airbnb she rented for a long weekend. The race is always on a Saturday, so Micah and I went down after work Friday night, picked up my race packet, and had dinner at the Cultured Pearl sushi restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants in Rehoboth and also the location of the inside portion of the race after party. I had two eel rolls and two sakes, which I suspect turned out to be a poor choice. More on that in a little bit.  

The forecast was looking to be less than ideal, with rain the whole time and heavy winds (haha, like I didn’t experience enough wind in Philly??!) But it was also supposed to be warm, around 56-58 degrees. I dressed in shorts, a singlet, arm warmers because of the wind and rain, and a hat, but I could have easily ditched the arm warmers and I almost did during the race! 

Micah dropped me off at the race start around 6:40 and went to get brunch at Egg, and the race started right at 7. We had a gorgeous sunrise that I wish I could have taken a photo of, but before I could, we were off and running. And for now, it was still dry, but warm for December. I lined up between the 1:30 and 1:40 pacers. I thought 1:30 would be a little too fast for me, but I expected to be way ahead of 1:40. 

The course had changed since I’d last run in 2019. We left the bandstand and went down Rehoboth Avenue, then turned left and ran through the neighborhoods along Silver Lake, then down the boardwalk before running into north Rehoboth and, for the half marathoners, turning around at Cape Henlopen State Park. I really liked running down the boardwalk, and lots of people were out spectating! 

I ran my first 3 miles in 7:10, 6:59, and 6:55. I knew it was risky to be ripping off those sub-7s so early, but I just went with it.

Tummy troubles

It was at about mile 4, after the turnaround at the park, that my stomach started to bubble a little. If you read my recap of the Chicago Marathon, you’ll recall that I had stomach issues and felt like barfing during the last 8 miles. I blamed the rich Italian dinner from the night before, but for lunch the day before, I had also had sushi and sake, just like I had at the Cultured Pearl. Sooo……

It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me! 

The night before Philly, I had my tried-and-true veggie burger and fries, and felt great during the whole marathon. Food for thought. Literally. 

Also around this point, I was seeing a lot of other runners who were a mile or so behind me on the other side of the road. One woman called out to me “You have a fighting chance at top 10!” so I knew there weren’t many women ahead of me. I did start to notice it was getting windy and there were a few times when I ducked behind taller men in front of me to draft off of them. However, the wind was still nothing like what it was in Philly, and again, it was about 30 degrees warmer. 

These miles were pretty fast, too: 

Mile 4: 6:50

Mile 5: 6:48

Mile 6: 7:05

We headed out of the town of Rehoboth and toward the Junction and Breakwater Trail at mile 7, and then entered the trail right before mile 8. The trail is a mix of crushed stone and gravel, but it’s pretty easy to run on, in my opinion. I ran mile 7 in 7:10 and mile 8 in 7:04.

At mile 9 of the half marathon and mile 23 of the marathon, runners run beneath what’s called Flag Alley, which is where flags from all over the world are hanging up above the trail. There are also volunteers playing music, and you run over a timing mat. When I ran past, I smiled and waved my arms and one of the volunteers said “Here’s Allison from Edgewater, bringing the energy today!” 

Which was a nice pick me up, because I was really starting to feel like crap. I was burping and tasting that morning’s coffee and I really thought it was going to come back up right there on the trail. I also started to slow down a bit, running mile 9 in 7:15 and mile 10 in 7:19.

But I knew I was going to smash a 1:37 half and told myself to keep pushing – I could puke at the finish line.

The rain also started coming down pretty steadily when I reached mile 10, and continued through the last few miles. I felt bad for the marathoners, most of whom had several hours to go! 

I noticed another course change around mile 11.5 from what I had previously remembered. Instead of turning left and heading back toward the finish on the road, we went straight on the trail until it intersected with Rehoboth Avenue. This portion was my only complaint about the new course– there were so many fallen leaves on the ground and given that it was now pretty wet out, I was a little afraid of slipping and falling. But I didn’t, and soon enough we were off the trail and back on the road to the finish. Mile 11 was 7:11 and mile 12 was my slowest mile of the race at 7:34. 

Around mile 12.5, I saw 2:45 half marathon pacer Vanessa (here’s her recap of the race!) and I yelled out that I was getting a PR. I knew I was under 1:35, and definitely well under 1:37, but I didn’t have my Garmin on elapsed time so I didn’t know how far under. I just knew the 1:30 group was a few minutes ahead. To be honest, I kind of like being able to race by feel instead of staring at the damn watch the whole time. 

I ran mile 13 in 7:04. 

When I made the final right turn to the finish line, I saw 1:33 on the clock and threw up my hands in excitement. I also expected to, well, throw up in general. But a volunteer handed me water with my medal and heat blanket and I sat down for a minute and then felt better. I still blame the sushi and sake combined with hard running – as much as I love my sushi and sake, perhaps it is best to avoid it the day before a race! 

This was my first time getting an age group award at this race!

Party time! 

This race has become known for its insanely fun and wild after party. There’s a huge food buffet, plus all runners get three Dogfish Head beer tickets (and, uh, it’s never a problem to get more. My PR from a previous year was seven tickets, and Micah had to physically remove me from the party.) And, of course, Team Fireball. In pre-COVID times, the members of Team Fireball – they have personalized hats and all – passed around a bottle for people to chug from, but this year, we were a little more public health friendly and took shots out of plastic shot glasses. 

I started boozing pretty much as soon as I walked into the party tent shortly after 8:30 and continued through the early afternoon. Even though the food is always great, I didn’t really feel like eating and made the stupid decision to have a liquid brunch/lunch. At one point, I tripped while reaching for a shot of Fireball and skinned my knee (and here I was afraid to trip on those leaves on the trail!) Micah came and picked me up around 2 in the afternoon and took me back to the Airbnb. 

In other years, I’ve been able to rally and hit the Purple Parrot for karaoke in the evening, but this year my hangover hit me like a ton of bricks around 7 pm and I just sat on the couch for the rest of the night and went to bed early. I blame not eating at the party. Rookie mistake! I guess this just goes to show that I may still be able to run relatively fast, but I am nonetheless 42 years old. 

I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser.

That’s what you get for running in Vegas: A recap of the Golden Night and Day Half Marathon

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Does drinking bottomless mimosas chased by a to-go beer sound like a recipe for a successful half marathon? Probably not, right? 

Unless you’re in Las Vegas, where anything goes and a morning of drinking can give way to victory at an afternoon half marathon. 

Last month, I ran the afternoon version of the Vegas Golden Night and Day half marathon and won it – despite the fact that I’d been day drinking. 

How, you may ask? Honestly, I don’t know. It was a small race. And maybe everyone else was drunk or hungover, too. 

First, let me back up. When I heard I was going to Vegas for an in-person (yay!) work conference, my sister Catherine, a Vegas enthusiast, suggested that I tack on a few extra days and she could fly out and we could make it a girls weekend. I immediately started searching for any local races I could jump into. I love running in new places, and I especially love racing in new places. I found the Vegas Golden Night and Day race, which included a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon. (For the non-hockey fans, the name was a nod to the Vegas Golden Knights NHL team.) There was a morning race at 8 am and an afternoon race at 4 pm. Assuming we’d be out late partying the night before, I opted for the afternoon race. I chose the half marathon, as that would be my long run for the week, and Catherine said she’d run the 5K. 

Long story short, she got to Vegas later than planned after a total fiasco with American Airlines, in which she flew from Pittsburgh to Charlotte and got stuck overnight in that airport, sleeping in one of the terminals. So instead of arriving around 10 pm Friday night, she got in at 9:30 Saturday morning. Fortunately, I was able to meet up with a childhood friend who lives in the area on Friday night, so that was fun! When Catherine finally arrived, we headed to brunch in the Venetian casino. The food was bomb and the drinks were better. It only made economic sense to get the bottomless mimosas, and we are super responsible people, of course. 😉 After we finished up our meal, we took our mimosas to go, downed those and then stopped at another bar in the casino for beers. At this point, we had less than five hours to go until the race. YOLO! (We were tipsy, but not falling down drunk. Again, we’re responsible! LOL.) 

Catherine looks so excited! Keep in mind, she’d spent the night in an airport!

After playing the slots for a while, we headed back to our room at Treasure Island to get ready for the race, which was being held in Sunset Park about 20 minutes away. We took an Uber there and figured the start of the race would be easy enough to find. Uh … not the case. The Uber driver dropped us off and we wandered around for a good half hour (fortunately, I insisted on getting there 45 minutes early!) trying to find the race. And we weren’t the only ones …. We saw a few other runners who were also walking around, totally lost. There were no signs pointing the way or anything! Finally, we found the start line and picked up our bibs with just a few minutes to spare. We lined up and the race director started talking about the course and the loops we’d be running and how you had to pay attention to where you’re going because there weren’t many volunteers out there and then … “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!”   

Seriously, she went from giving race instructions to suddenly just sending us off. OK. Sounding like the race was a bit of a hot mess? Yes. It was. But I was just happy to be running it. I had no real expectations for how fast I’d run, especially since I’d been boozing it up, but was hoping to come in around 1:40 or slightly faster. The dry, cool weather was almost certain to work in my favor. 

I went out at a pace of around 7:30 and it felt challenging, yet sustainable. The park was pancake flat and the half marathon was something like 3.5 loops around. The race director wasn’t lying when she said you had to pay close attention – I saw like two volunteers on the course and there were signs telling you what mile you were at, but because there were multiple distances, it was pretty confusing. They did have arrows on the ground, which was what I used to guide me, but I heard a bunch of runners got lost anyway. Catherine missed a turn in her race and ran almost 4 miles. She told me afterwards that one of the 10K runners also way overshot her race and was super pissed. I would have been, too!  

Everything felt pretty good and my splits were consistent. I was wearing my Maryland flag running shorts and a few other runners called out “go Maryland!” Our flag is quite noticeable! I didn’t feel nauseous or anything, which was kind of surprising not only because of the drinks but because of the heavy breakfast I’d eaten. Again, I think the weather – low 60s, zero humidity – helped. My real beef was with the headlamp I was wearing. Race management said if you ran the afternoon half marathon, you had to wear reflective colors and a headlamp because we’d be finishing in the dark. So I wore my Noxgear light up vest and borrowed a headlamp from Catherine, who goes camping a lot. The headlamp was super uncomfortable and I wanted to throw it in the bushes by mile 10. Oh well. 

With multiple loops in the half, and few volunteers and zero spectators, the race itself got a little boring after a while. But I needed to do a long run anyway as part of Boston training, and like I said it is always fun to have a change of scenery and run in a new place. I did get to see an awesome sunset toward the end of my race, and had I not been racing, I would have surely stopped to take a #sunsetselfie. 

At around mile 11, I was holding a steady pace but knew I was ready to be done (mainly because of the damn headlamp!) I pushed through the final two miles and came in at 1:39:18. Not a PR, but sub-1:40. It took me 20 half marathons to break 1:40 and now I know I can do it after a few drinks. That’s pretty cool! The volunteer at the end told me I’d won the half (I later found out I was the first finisher, period, not just first female) and they gave me a nice water bottle as a prize, plus a finisher’s medal. Yay! 

We were supposed to get free race pics, but the would-be race photographer sent out an email after the race to all participants where he basically said “sorry, had another commitment and couldn’t figure out how to clone myself.” OK then. Like I said, the race was a bit of a hot mess. 

This was the first time I wore my Alpha Fly super shoes in a half marathon, and I’d be curious to see what kind of half marathon time I could throw down if I had taken the race more seriously. But that wasn’t my goal – I was in Vegas, after all! I just wanted to have fun and do a race in a new state and I did just that.

Checking two races off my running bucket list: The St. Michael’s Half Marathon and the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run

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In the past month, I’ve checked two races I’ve always wanted to do off my running bucket list — the St. Michael’s Half Marathon in St. Michael’s, Maryland and the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington, D.C. Both are traditionally spring races, were canceled in 2020, and rescheduled for late summer 2021. And I was able to run both of them! 

St. Michael’s was fun — absolutely nowhere close to a PR, but I was not expecting to PR on a hot, humid August day when I hadn’t done any speedwork or structured training all summer. Cherry Blossom was fun AND I had a pretty significant PR, smashing my old PR from 2017 by more than two minutes! I’m so happy about that! 

Here are my recaps of the two races. 

St. Michael’s Half

The St. Michael’s Half Marathon is part of the St. Michael’s Running Festival, which also includes a 5K and a 10K. It is always held in May, and I was supposed to run it in May 2020. But of course, like all spring 2020 races, it was canceled due to COVID. I ended up donating my race entry and registering for the 2021 race, scheduled for Aug. 21. I knew the weather would likely be miserable. But I didn’t really care, especially once I found out that my favorite August race, the Annapolis Ten Mile Run, was canceled for the second year in a row. My sister Catherine and her husband Justin, who live in Pittsburgh, signed up for the 5K and came down to visit. Neither had ever been to St. Michael’s before and I was excited to have a fun day with them. 

We woke up STUPID early on race day to make sure we were there in time for the 7 am start. I had tried to find an Airbnb in St. Michael’s, but there was nothing, so we stayed at my house in Anne Arundel County about an hour away and woke up at 3:45 am. UGH. But the thought of being late stresses me out, so there was no way I wanted to be rushing around. We got there by 6 or a little thereafter, with plenty of time to use the bathroom and line up for the race. My plan was to start with the 1:40 pace group, and hopefully finish sub-1:40, but again, it was hot and humid and I had no real expectations for the race. 

Which was good, because…. The 1:40 pacer went out of the gate like a bat out of hell. 

I really don’t want to come off like I’m throwing shade at the pacer, because he was lots of fun and very entertaining when I was able to keep up with him! But I knew within the first half mile that we were going way too fast, particularly considering the weather. We ran the first mile in 7:19. 7:19!!! A 1:40 half marathon is roughly a 7:39 per minute pace, so 20 seconds faster than we needed to be going, in the first mile of a half. Yikes. Once we hit the first mile marker, he said “Is anyone tired yet?” Well, I wasn’t tired yet, exactly, but I definitely felt like I was working harder than I should be at that point in a half. 

The St. Michael’s Half bills itself as the flattest and fastest half in the mid-Atlantic, and the course is definitely flat as a pancake. But there’s also not much shade, so the sun was beating down on us pretty heavily. I was able to hang on with the pacer, who was hitting some of the mile markers probably at least 20 seconds before he needed to be (we ran mile 3 in 7:15), until around mile 7. Then I knew it was a lost cause. And apparently I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. My husband told me later that the pacer came through the finish line all by himself — I bet just about everyone fell back! Maybe there were a few that finished ahead of him? I don’t know. 

Anyway, after I knew I wasn’t going to be under 1:40, I just focused on enjoying myself and taking in the scenery. I was pushing as hard as I could, but my splits were definitely a hot mess. Mile 8 was 7:52, 9 was 8:08, 10 was 7:51, 11 was 8:05, 12 was 8:13, 13 was 8:15. Ah well. They can’t all be perfectly executed races. I was for sure ready to be done by mile 12 and was excited to see my husband, sister, and brother-in-law waiting at the final corner before I made the left turn toward the finish.

About to finish!

At the finish line, volunteers were handing towels drenched in cold water and it felt so good around my neck! My final time was 1:42:36, which got me second in my age group! 

My favorite running store, Charm City Run, sponsored the race and put on such a fun after party with great beer and music! I missed race after parties so much. We walked around St. Michael’s afterwards, had brunch, and then headed back to my house. We were quite exhausted after our early morning (middle of the night?!) wake up call and we all took long naps once we got back. 

I’d love to do this race again on its traditional spring date! 

Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run 

I wasn’t even planning to run this race. 

As the name indicates, this race usually takes place in April, when the cherry blossoms in D.C. are in full bloom. The race is extremely popular and you have to enter a lottery to get into it, so when I learned it was rescheduled for Sept. 12, I decided to throw my name in. Except I belatedly realized that the race would conflict with an annual girls trip to Dewey Beach, where I always run the Bottle and Cork 10 Miler. Whatever, I thought. I won’t get in anyway. 

Except — shocker!– the demand to run the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run without cherry blossoms just wasn’t there, so everyone who entered the lottery got into the race. And there were still enough spots left for runners to register after the lottery had closed! 

Thinking I was still going to Dewey that weekend, I tried to pawn off my entry on someone else, but there were no takers. But in early August, my beach plans fell through, leaving me free to run the race! And I am very glad I did. 

This race required another 3:45 am wakeup call. OK, maybe if I were the type of runner who could just roll out of bed and go to a race, it would be different. But I like to wake up, eat breakfast, have my coffee, use the bathroom a bunch of times, and as I said above, not feel rushed …. Plus, I had to take the Metro into D.C., which always really stresses me out. The New Carrollton Metro station is about 25 or so minutes away from my house, so I got there around 5:30 and I think I was at the Washington Monument, where the start line was, by 6ish. This left me with a ton of time to kill before the 7:30 start time, but again, I wasn’t rushed and I was happy about that.    

This race also had pacers, and my plan was to line up with the 7:30 minute/mile pace group (1:15 finish time) and hopefully finish ahead of them. But when I got to the starting corrals, I saw that I was placed in the second corral, while the pace group I wanted to run with was in the first corral. Balls. I knew they were going to go off several minutes ahead of my group, so I figured I would either try to catch up with them or just run my own race. And my experience in St. Michael’s taught me pacers can be hit or miss anyway! 

I was wearing my new race shoes that I had splurged on, the much hyped Nike Alpha Flys. I really went back and forth over whether to spend close to $300 on running shoes. Is that really necessary for a hobby runner like myself? I ran my marathon PR in Brooks Ghosts. Hell, I ran the freaking Boston Marathon in Brooks Ghosts! But I had a gift certificate to Charm City Run from my birthday that covered part of the cost and just decided to go for it. And maybe they helped me in this race. 

I will tell you that I ran faster than I ever thought I could. Like, I’m looking back at my splits and shaking my head in disbelief: 

Mile 1: 6:55

Mile 2: 7:06

Mile 3: 6:52

Mile 4: 6:56

Mile 5: 6:58

Mile 6: 6:58

Mile 7: 7:13

Mile 8: 7:16

Mile 9: 7:09

Mile 10: 7:13

I mean, I definitely slowed at the end, but I was running directly into a headwind during those last few miles. But look at that string of sub-7 miles! I usually struggle to run a 5K at a sub-7 pace, and I ran five miles at sub-7?! Like huh? I had also run a 16-mile long run the day before, which was definitely not a smart race strategy. But I needed to get my long run done and I also wanted to run the race … and it worked out. 

My finish time was 1:11:17, a 7:08/mile pace, which got me 13th in my age group out of 476 women. It was a very competitive race! 

Excited about that PR!

Was it the super shoes? The flat course? The cool morning? (It’s still pretty hot and muggy here most days, but we actually had nice weather for this race.) Was it my marathon training? At the time of the race, I was three weeks into my training plan for Coastal Delaware, so it’s hard for me to imagine that I would have gotten into 10-mile PR shape that fast. But who knows. All I know is that I was SUPER pumped.  

As for the race itself — I really liked the course, which winds through the Tidal Basin in D.C. As I just mentioned, it was very flat, though I could have done without the wind whipping off the Potomac in the later miles. I liked how in the last mile, there were markers indicating that you had 1600 meters, then 1200 meters, then 800 meters, then 400 meters to go. Would it have been a lot prettier with the cherry blossoms in bloom? For sure. So I’d love to come back in the spring. And as long as the standards don’t change, it looks like my time will qualify me for a seeded bib and allow me to bypass the lottery next time, which is pretty darn cool! 

What’s next? I’m about to finish up week four of a 12-week marathon training plan from Pete Pfitzinger’s book Advanced Running. It’s pretty challenging and has me running several double-digit runs during the week in addition to the long run on the weekend. I’ve never done that before. This past week, I ran 5 easy miles Monday, 11 easy miles Tuesday, rested Wednesday, 10 miles with five at half marathon pace Thursday, rested Friday, 17 miles today and 5 easy tomorrow. (I also went to kickboxing class on Tuesday and Thursday, because I am a firm believer in the importance of cross training! On those days, I ran early before work and went to class after work. Keeping hard days hard!) So far, so good! 

My next goal is to PR the 10K at the Baltimore Running Festival on Oct. 9. I technically PR’d the distance in the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, so I think I could do it at an actual 10K. My current 10K PR is from 2017 and I would love to take that down! 

And then of course I am also hoping to PR the marathon this fall. My marathon PR is ALSO from 2017. See a pattern? 2017 was a really good year for my running … but I think 2021 can be even better!

I fell in a half marathon, and kept on going

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Sometimes you accidentally PR a half marathon. 

And sometimes you trip and fall and skin your knees and hands at mile 11.5 of a half marathon, and run one of your slowest times in years. 

Guess which one was the Georgetown Half Marathon? 

Yeah, that was fun. 

I did manage to come in third place, though! 

Last weekend, I ran Bishop Events’ Georgetown Half Marathon. It was a week after I ran a 1:37:58 at the Halfity Half Marathon in Harrisburg, and I wasn’t planning on beating that time, i.e., running another PR. Which was fine — all races can’t be PRs. And then I saw the forecast — humid, with a high of 91 degrees. On May 23! Yuck! When summer comes to the DMV, it comes in with a vengeance. The older I get, the less I like to run in the heat, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from coming out and giving my all at the race. It’s been so long since we’ve had a plethora of live races to choose from, and now that they are coming back, it’s taking serious restraint for me not to sign up for alllllll of them. 

The race was on the C&O Towpath in D.C., where I have run many times before, including other races with Bishop Events. It benefited Operation Turbo, a local nonprofit that sends care packages to troops overseas. As far as half marathons go, the course is about as simple as you can get — 6.55 miles out, 6.55 miles back! Easy peasy. And it’s flat as a pancake, too. The surface is a little rocky and uneven, though. More on that later. 

Things kicked off right at 8 am sharp, which was nice because I live about 45 minutes away so I didn’t have to get up THAT early….. But bad because it was already pretty hot and sticky by then. At least the course is mostly shaded, I told myself. Except that wasn’t entirely true. The first four miles were pretty shady, and then the trail opened up and the sun was beating down on me in full force. So, I guess the middle part of the race was in the blazing sun. Lovely! The race organizers did set up water stops every three miles, which was great. I drank a cup of water at each one (mind you, when I ran the Halfity Half the weekend before, with temperatures in the 50s, I didn’t take a sip of water — didn’t feel like I needed it) and also dumped a cup of water over my head. 

My mile splits were in the low- to mid-7s until about mile 9. And then it all went to hell. (Felt like it, too.) I was overheating so badly — luckily, I had opted to run in a sports bra rather than a tank or T-shirt — and I was just over it. I started to take walk breaks — no shame. Another woman on the course, whom I’m pretty sure finished in second place, saw me struggling and tried to encourage me. “Come on girl! You look so strong! You have more than enough in you to finish the race!” she told me. “It’s just so hot,” I whined. “I ran a 1:37 last weekend!” (Because that was vital info to share? Like I needed to prove that I was fast or whatever? LOL.) 

Then I ran with two men for a while, and they helped me keep a somewhat steady pace. I’m glad they were there, because they helped pick me up when I took a tumble late! 

Like I said earlier, the trail is a bit uneven — nothing terrible, and if I hadn’t been so hot and gassed at that point, I probably would have been paying more attention and may not have tripped over some rocks in the middle of the path. But I was, and I did. Man, that hurt. I reflexively braced myself with my hands, so my palms got all torn up, and then my knees and my right thigh got all scraped up. My shorts were filthy, and blood was running down my left leg. I looked like I was in a tough mudder, not a half marathon. But even though it hurt, I didn’t do any major damage. No fractured knee or anything like that. So, with the help of my running buddies, I picked myself back up and trudged to the finish line. Running hurt, but honestly no more than it did before I fell! (I’ve been running this past week, and even though my left knee feels tender to the touch, it’s not causing me any pain when I run. Yay!) 

By the time I got to the end of the race, I wasn’t even looking at my watch anymore. But when I crossed the finish line, I yelled out “thank God!” and stopped my watch and saw I finished in 1:44:36. My official time was actually 1:44:29, so I guess I stopped my watch a few seconds too late. Definitely one of my slowest times in quite a while, but still pretty solid considering the conditions and my fall. After I finished, Travis, owner of Bishop Events, handed me a plaque and congratulated me for coming in third female. The first place female finished in the high 1:20s, and the second place female, whom I think was the lady that encouraged me on the course, ran a 1:39 and change. 

All in all, I am really proud of that race. Maybe as proud as I was of my PR the weekend before. It’s one thing to run an incredible race when all the conditions are perfect — flat course, cool weather, you feel good, etc. That was the case in the Halfity Half Marathon. But it takes a lot more grit to gut it out when the weather sucks and especially after a hard fall. I’m not going to lie — I felt like a total badass crossing the finish line all bloody. 

A closer look at the bruise on my left leg.

Have you ever fallen in a race? If so, were you able to finish?