Note: I apologize for my weather related freak-out last week. The races (though 20deg different) were mostly sunny and dry.
Anyway, let me give you some race recaps and a few pictures along the way.
Applefest - Saturday, Oct 6th
This was a small but very efficiently run race. They should have it down...the race is 30yrs old! Registration was seamless, bag check was very easy, and the start was well executed - except for the canned Lee Greenwood national anthem, but you can't do everything right. The course was especially pretty. We ran through back roads covered with leaves, beautiful vistas with lots of color on the trees. We even passed an alpaca farm. I may or may not have made a Napoleon Dynamite joke...
Around mile 9 we hit an especially challenging hill which slowed us down, we had consistently be running between 10:15 and 10:30's. Another big on at mile 10 had us walking up it, then we picked it up and finished out the race with an even pace of about 10:45's. As soon as Jocelyn saw the 13mi marker she became another person and took off. I did not stay with her...I tried but she had turbo boosters under her capri pants or something. I ended up with a 2:21:58, she was 7sec faster.
Here are some pics:
The medal doubled as a bottle opener. I tested it out later that evening.
That brings us to Sunday!
BAA Half Marathon, Oct 7th
The BAA always puts on a great run and this was no exception. The race started much earlier than Saturday's so I was up before the sun and on the T by 6:30am. There was a shuttle from the T station to and from the start of the race - this is something that is always done well by the BAA. TONS of buses, hardly any waiting time, and they were warm.
It was much chillier on Sunday, 45 deg at the start as opposed to 67 deg. I much prefer the 45deg but with just a light long sleeved shirt, I think I over dressed. With the sun, it warmed up pretty quickly on the course. Speaking of the course, it was very scenic. We ran through the Arboretum, the Emerald Necklace, and finished by running through the Franklin Park Zoo. It was tough course with a significant hill at mile 11. Perhaps it seemed especially tough due to running a half the day before... While ticking off the miles, I silently converted them from half marathon miles to full marathon miles; instead of mile 8, I was at mile 21, etc. It made me feel better and a little bit more BA. :) Whatever works, right?
The last two miles left a little to be desired. We ran through the zoo and at a few points needed to be single file. Then we were ushered into a stadium (I have no clue what one) onto a track where we had to go halfway around to the finish line. Not that big of a deal, but at that point I was sick of all the turns (and turn arounds - 3 in the course) and just wanted to finish already.
After I finished, I grabbed my bag from the baggage check and headed off to find John and Brian. They both PR'ed and John (who ran the BAA Medley - a 5K,10K and the HM) finished in 11th place overall in the Medley. Incredible. I finished almost 5min faster than the day before with a 2:17:50. If it were a marathon, I would have PR'ed - 4:39:48 (or something like that...) Below are some pics from Sunday.
Why is my bagel from Dunkin's triangle-shaped?!
Before and After
Overall, it was a great weekend!! I'm so glad I did it...even though it was a bit crazy. Not sure I'll try something like this again, but it's exciting to push yourself to see how far you can go - not just with running, but with anything in life. We don't know our limits until we push them. I proved to myself that I could do this...now I wonder what limit I can push next. Perhaps a legitimate PR in Memphis in Dec? Who knows...
1 comment:
I ran a race in 2008 when I was in South Africa (and training for my 1st marathon). It was 15k, it went up and down a mountain it gave out water AND coke and it gave me a medal at the end that doubles as a bottle opener. I like to bring it to parties and show off just like I did this weekend.
Congrats!
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