Shamrock Half Marathon Recap

Remember my last half marathon recap from Richmond? I had a big goal when it came to the Richmond Half Marathon and it had nothing to do with me, but instead I wanted that to be my husband's first half marathon, not his only half marathon. 

Mission Accomplished.   Just a few short weeks after finishing his first half marathon the hubs was looking for a spring half marathon. His ideal race: mid-March (not a fan of running in the heat), relatively flat course (the man loathes hills), and something within relative driving distance for a long weekend.

Exactly one month to the day after finishing Richmond the hubs and I signed up for the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA. The race fit all of the hubs requirements (elevation went up to a whopping 12 feet above sea level) and the cherry on top was the race was even sponsored by Yuengling! Best yet was my best friend signed up to run the full marathon. Even though we don't usually run our races together it's always a welcome treat to run the same race as her. Especially when I know she's a logistics person and she'll plan the pre-race meals. Since we were "only" running the half we were in charge or post-race meals.

The timing of the race was the most important factor for us. We signed up for the race less than 2 days after finding out that I was pregnant. A few Google searches led me to plenty of other runners who safely completed half marathons early in their second trimesters and I didn't want to go too long past 20 weeks without first talking to a doctor. Actually, if we're being honest here my first appointment with my doctor was extremely heavy on the running and nutrition front and I received approval to run a SLOW half marathon at 18 weeks pregnant.  I'm not fast to begin with, so it was more of you will run at least one minute per mile slower than you run on a decent day type of approval.

Training for this race did not go according to plan. Morning sickness almost made me drop out as I barely ran during weeks 6-13 of my pregnancy. I knew I could beat the 4 hour course time limit by walking the entire race and that kept me going in my training. Thankfully, I started to feel much better during my second trimester and even if a few runs got shifted around, shortened, or skipped due to ice and snow I started to feel like a slower version of my former self. My longest run during this training cycle was a snow packed 10 miles that included quite a bit of walking whenever the trail was too slick. Considering that my last 7+ half marathons have all been a part of a marathon training cycle I was actually a bit worried about only having one 10 mile run before the race. But, onto race day.

Race Weekend: 
Expo: Nothing out of the ordinary to share. I had accidentally left my CamelBak at home and I needed to pick up a hand held water bottle at the expo. I went with a larger 20oz bottle because it had a pocket big enough to fit my iPhone, fuel, and chapstick. In addition to promising my doctor I would run slow, I promised a few worried family members that I would run with water and my phone in case anything happened.

I haven't ordered any maternity running clothes yet because I swear up until week 17 I didn't look pregnant. I barely have a belly and I actually thought a shirt proclaiming I was pregnant would draw unwanted attention to my already sensitive lack of belly. But, at last minute I started to have a belly and I was hoping to find a "mother runner" type shirt at the expo. I couldn't find anything and I was bummed about that.

On race day morning the hubs and I saw a woman wearing a homemade shirt that read "13.1 miles, 13.1 weeks pregnant" and I immediately regretted my decision not to have a fun shirt. The hubs was absolutely adorable and commented, "ha, we beat you! We're more pregnant!" He meant no disrespect and he was just trying to make me laugh. It was funny because I'm fairly certain that was the first time he's said the "we're pregnant" line. It's usually "we're having a baby" or "Heidi is pregnant."

Race Day: 
Our hotel was nearly perfectly situated between the 1 mile difference in the race start and end locations. Obviously, we picked that hotel just for that reason. Neither of us wanted to have to deal with driving and parking on race day.  I would highly recommend picking a hotel close enough to walk to the race in Virginia Beach because I didn't see a lot of options for parking near the start of the half marathon.  The finish line was also the same finish line for the marathon so parking there could have been very crowded. I believe the marathon start line was just a block or two from the marathon finish line.

We left our hotel at 6:30am and within 10 minutes we had arrived at bag check and had already dropped our bag off. Not too shabby considering it took us 8 minutes to slowly walk over to the trucks.

The port-a-potty lines looked extremely long and for once in my life I didn't feel like I absolutely had to go before starting the race. I had already planned on stopping at either mile 6 or 8 to pee during the race because I have found that even being a tiny bit pregnant makes me have to pee more often. :)

We headed over to the start of our wave, which was wave 7. I think we seeded ourselves in the 2:15 time frame because we really didn't know how this whole pregnant half marathon was going to go when we signed up for the race. My "goal" was to finish in the 2:15 to 2:30 window, but if I went longer I certainly wouldn't have been upset.  Right after the national anthem I noticed that the bathroom lines had shrunk considerably now that the first wave was starting. The hubs and I jumped in line and we were done and back to the start of our wave before it even started walking down the street. I believe we started at approximately 7:10am for our wave. During the 10 second countdown to the start of our wave our friend from Richmond found us at the start line! It was crazy. He had overslept on race morning and forgotten his phone, but he knew which wave we were in and he just looked for the red head! He is getting over plantar fasciitis and wasn't going to run, but when he heard I was going with a slow run/walk method he thought he could run with me. The three of us started together, but within a half mile I told the hubs to get moving and he went on ahead of me.

That was always the plan! Honestly, I think running with the hubs would have been more stressful because he would have been asking me the entire time, "how do you feel? are you drinking enough water? do you need to walk?"  I love that man, but we don't have to do everything together.

I'm not going to share my splits because they really aren't all that important to me. I ran three miles and then walked anywhere from .15 - .2 miles and then ran 3 miles. When I was running I tried to stay right around a 10 minute mile pace. There were a few times I would look down and see I was running a 9:30 pace and I would immediately tell my friend we had to slow down.  Like clock work at the water stop near mile 8 I told my friend I was going to use the bathroom. He was so kind to refill my water bottle for me and then walked a bit while I was in the bathroom line. I didn't want him to stop and potentially cramp up. The volunteers at the water stop had no problems with my friend refilling a water bottle, which I've never done before so I wasn't sure if they would mind.

Right after mile 10 I started to get tired. Not so tired that I thought I wouldn't finish, just a bit tired. So my friend told me to walk more. Honestly it was great. We skipped walking after mile 9 because of the water stop slow down at mile 8 and I might have ran a little bit faster trying to catch up. Normally I would have fought through the tired feeling, but since I had promised everyone and their mother that I would take it easy (including my own mother and mother-in-law) I gladly enjoyed a minute walk at the beginning of every mile.  I must have drank a bit too much water during those walking breaks because when I looked down at mile 11.8 I realized I had drank almost my entire bottle of water and it was just refilled at mile 8. Whoops! I told my friend that if we saw a port-a-potty without a line I had to make a stop. Yeah, who stops at mile 12.2 to pee during a half marathon?  The pregnant lady! 

I finished in 2:25:41 and I couldn't have been happier. Could I have ran faster and harder? Absolutely. Did I want to? Absolutely not. My friend and I talked the entire race and it was amazing. I jokingly told him that if I tried to kick it in at the end of the race to pull me back by my pony tail. That was probably the hardest part of the race - not to finish on a speed burst.

The hubs finished in a 2:04 which was just a single minute slower than his first half marathon. It was a weird feeling for him. On one hand he thought he beat his Richmond time because he cruised during the middle miles. His watch unfortunately needed to be restarted out on the course so he didn't have an accurate total time while he was running. However, he was extremely happy with that time because he didn't have as strong of a training cycle this time around. Between the weather and keeping our house functional while I was out for the count with morning sickness, running wasn't the biggest priority. He's already thinking about his next race, which is amazing.

Race Takeaways: 
I plan on running this race again in the future. The course is FLAT. I joked when running over a speed bump, "watch out for this hill" and all of the other runners near me laughed. I think there are two slight climbs on the entire course. And they're nothing in terms of elevation. We got really lucky with the weather and had an overcast morning without much wind. The only section of the course that was a tad windy was the last .7 where you're back near the beach and on the board walk. It did get a bit sunnier for those running the full marathon because it takes longer to run that distance and the marathon didn't start until 8:30am. My best friend said she was getting hot towards the finish of her race.

The on course support volunteers were amazing! Seriously, adorable kids and teenagers in yellow ponchos were helping out everywhere. They cheered, high fived, and provided lots of entertainment. There was more free beer (and mimosas and bloody mary's) on this course than any race I've ever run. This of course was not officially sponsored and was all done out of the goodness of those kind folks who live in the area. You guys were awesome even if I couldn't participate in the drinking. There were so many musical acts, both official and unofficial, that I think this race had more music than a Rock n Roll race. And I heard that from someone who ran the RnR race in DC the previous weekend :)

Post Race Party & Swag:
This race delivers on the race swag. The technical shirt handed out at the expo was a short-sleeve shirt and it had a curved hem for the ladies tees. I like it. I ordered a medium so I can get some wear out of it this spring and it's cut roomy, but definitely feminine if that makes sense. At the finish line every runner got a beach towel, running hat, giant race medal, water and food. I ate my Shamrock cookie immediately and it was really tasty!

Look, we're beer and whiskey people. So a Shamrock race is kind of perfect for us. The post race beer tent was pretty packed when we finished our half marathon, but we were able to make our way over to the beer area and get beer. I promptly handed off my beer after safely transporting it to a little clearing. Honestly, it was weird to have a beer in my hand and not drink it! Self control people, it can happen! The beer tent was great because even though it wasn't cold outside, the tent was warmer and blocked the wind.

The post race tent was much more calm when we came back to cheer on my best friend who was running the full marathon. The half marathon had 8865 finishers whereas the marathon only had 2180 so that made sense.

The funniest part of the weekend: I was so freaking proud of my best friend for running negative splits and throwing down her third fastest marathon time. Again, given the tough winter training cycle that was amazing and this is the earliest in the calendar year that she's run a full marathon.  She told me that she was more proud that I ran a half while pregnant than she was of her own time. I guess that's why we're best friends - we're always rooting for each other!

Anyone else run Shamrock? What were your thoughts? 

2014 Richmond Half Marathon Recap

About 16 weeks ago my husband came up to me and said, "don't make a big deal about this, but how long would it take to train for a half marathon?"  My follow-up question was, "can I run a half with you?"  I honestly didn't know if he would prefer to be off on his own or if he would want my company.  He said I could run with him. That's love. 

For a self-identified "non-runner" who prefers running on the treadmill to running outside and doesn't really care for running more than 3 miles, this was kind of a big deal. We quickly settled on the Richmond Half Marathon for his first race. The timing was right on schedule to give him a month to start running and then 12 weeks to train. We loved the experience we had last year at the marathon and we hoped for a mid-November race we wouldn't have too major of weather issues. 

Off he went on his training program that incorporated lots of cross training days and increased his long runs from a base of 3 miles all the way up to 12 miles. Most training plans for a half marathon only have people run 10 miles as their longest run, but the hubs really wanted the peace of mind knowing on race day that the last mile of Richmond is pretty much all down hill and it was only one more mile than his longest run. 

And he logged a lot of 9:30 pace miles over the course of his training program. It actually became bit of an inside joke because it didn't matter if he was doing a 3 mile run or his 12 mile run - the man runs 9:30 miles like clockwork.  

Come race day morning the weather was a chilly 26 degrees at the start of the race. That drop in temperature was a bit of a concern for both of us. The hubs hadn't run in such cold yet and was a bit worried overall. He threw on an extra short-sleeve shirt under his long-sleeve shirt to keep his core warm. I was worried that my lungs would take forever to warm up and I wouldn't be as "chatty" as needed during the race. My goal was to talk to the hubs, especially during the last few miles, to try to keep his mind off the distance. I was also worried that some lingering soreness in my legs would stay frozen solid during the race and I wouldn't warm up. With those fears in mind I tossed on a thick hat, which is not something I normally wear when racing. Then again, I wasn't racing. I was pacing. 

The race was a lot more crowded than I remembered from last year and we actually missed the start of our wave because we were still lined up in a port-a-potty line. We hopped in with the tail end of wave HB, which was the 2:30 pace group. That actually worked out to be brilliant because we started out slow and steady, especially that first very crowded half mile. 

Mile 1:  10:05

Mile 2:   9:32

Mile 3:   9:33

Mile 4:   9:33

Mile 5:   9:28

Mile 6:   9:34

Mile 7:   9:19

Mile 8:   9:50 (we got separated at a water stop)

Mile 9:   9:33

Mile 10: 9:34

Mile 11: 9:36

Mile 12: 8:45

Mile 13: 7:57

Mile .2:  7:28 (probably the best race I've ever had running the tangents and finishing so close to the actual distance!). 

Total Time: 2:03:46 Garmin average: 9:23

Insert crazy high levels of pride here. The race was almost perfect. Seriously, starting a few waves late turned out to be the best thing because that kept both of us from starting out too fast. That's a major issue I have and since I was acting as the pacer for this race that was a really big concern of mine. The course itself was crowded. I kept trying to keep us on the sidelines so we could dart around people to pass as easily as possible. The night before the race the hubs saw on Facebook that one of his former co-workers was running the race and we actually ran into him around mile 7. He had started out too fast, but once we ran into him, we picked him up, and brought him into our little pack. He finished just behind us. The guys joked during the race that I was going to take off on them at some point, but I reminded them that I was there to get them across the finish line. I also knew that at some point the hubs was going to take off. 

Man I was right about that one! He took off at right at the start of mile 12. I actually told him to calm down at one point and to hold it steady on the flat stretches and then increase the pace on the downhills. He loves downhills, especially ones that are really close to the finish line. I told him to keep it together until we got  half a mile out because from there he could run as hard as he wanted to. I think that sub 8 mile summed it up perfectly. 

Post race we hung out with our friend, grabbed beer and hard cider at the Capitol Ale House, relaxed, showered, napped, and then had an amazing night of bourbon at McCormack's Whiskey Grill.  That game plan made sense because this is the same guy who drank a beer flight with lunch at Legend Brewery the day before his race and for his pre-race dinner ate fried chicken and mac n'cheese at the Bellytimber Tavern. The weekend was all about making sure the hubs had an amazing experience because I didn't want this to be his only half marathon.

I wanted this to be his first half marathon. Mission Accomplished. 

2012 Baltimore Running Festival Recap

Yeah, I stole that image.  Admitting it is half the battle right? P.S. Anyone else think it's ridiculous that my bestie doesn't even sweat or look tired after doing a half marathon as a fun run? 

Friday night I laughed too much with my bestie, Bee, and stayed up a bit too late, but it was all in good fun. Thankfully the Baltimore Half Marathon doesn't start until 9:45am and that meant I got to sleep in until 7:30 on Saturday morning.  Most races start at 7am, so sleeping until 7:30 felt like I slept through the whole day.  

I complained a bit (naturally) about the late start time, but then it dawned on me that it was better for the marathoners to have more runners on the course during the later miles. The two other marathons that I've run that also have a half marathon portion have the half marathoners start off with the full marathoners and then the halfers peel off somewhere on the course.  That really thins out the crowd and can suck if you're running with someone at a decent pace and then they ditch you. All of the Baltimore Marathoners wear a "full" tag on their backs while they're running and I've got to say that for miles 10-13 of the half, miles 23-26 of the marathon, all of the half marathoners were cheering and encouraging the full marathoners.  It's better than crowd support when it's other runners pulling you towards the finish. At least that's what I thought. I hope to give a full marathoner's perspective next year when I finally run the Baltimore Marathon. 

As for the race, Bee and I wanted to run the half at our marathon pace.  I was hoping to run a tad faster than marathon pace and run in the 8:40 - 8:50 per mile time frame.  I ran a 1:56 half marathon so I achieved my goal.  Bee ran a bit too fast, but not fast enough that she's worried about not recovering before Marine Corps.  Eeck that's in less than two weeks! 

Greatest thing about Saturday's run was seeing the hubs on course.  He had to work on Saturday at a site in Baltimore and he was able to walk over during the race to see if he could find me.  His timing was near perfect and he only had to wait 15 minutes to see me run by.  I ran over to him and gave him a massive high five and then just kept on chugging by. We're dorky like that. 

Anyone else run a race in the Baltimore Running Festival?  What was your takeaway?  The weather was gorgeous and that's always a perk when running for a few hours. 

Baltimore Running Festival: Expo 2012

Last night was just another crazy busy night in my house.  I had to: bake a lemon pound cake for a co-worker's birthday (don't worry the hubs got three cupcakes out of the deal), play dodgeball, watch game 4 of the ALDS, watch the VP debate, and hit up the Baltimore Running Festival Expo.  I knew I couldn't do everything on my list in one night so I had the hubs pick up dinner on his way home and he DVRed both the baseball game for me and the debate.  I'll be completely honest, I watched the baseball game when I got home from dodgeball instead of the debate.  Priorities people!

I literally RAN through the expo because I was so short on time, which stinks because there were a ton of vendors there and I would have liked to have looked through all of the gear.  However, when the Baltimore Running Festival gives you an awesome Under Armour premium buying anything else at the expo just seems silly. 

How much do I love this year's shirt?  So much I want to break every running rule known to mankind and wear the race shirt on race day.  Last year's orange shirt quickly become one of my go-to favorites and I'll keep running an event during the Baltimore Running Festival just to pick up the race premium. 

Purple - CHECK!

Semi-Fitted - CHECK! 

Amazing material - CHECK! 

I feel like Ray Lewis every time I look at this thing. Hopefully that'll provide a much needed energy boost somewhere around mile 11. 

Seriously, an awesome tech shirt that also provides sun protection for gingers? Count me in?!?!?!

Running races can really take a toll on my bank account and it's getting to the point that if there isn't a cool shirt or medal involved I'm really not all that interested.  I know that makes me sound shallow and pathetic, but I try not to buy too much running gear in order to keep my budget in check.  Shoes, pants, sports bras, and even high quality socks are ridiculously expensive.  I like to save money in the shirt department by running races that give out a tech shirt.  Would I have paid the retail price of $45 for the shirt above? Definitely not.  But, if it's part of my race fee then I'm cool with it.

I'm not saying I only run for the swag, but a cute and functional shirt goes a long way in my book.  Any other runners feel the same way? Or feel differently?

Parks Half Marathon: 2012 Edition

After a muddy fall during last year's Parks Half Marathon I was hoping the weather would be better for this year's race.  The majority of the race course is on paved trails and there are a few low spots that are prime for standing water.  When I drove to my bestie's house on Saturday I got stuck in my car due to a torrential downpour! Awesome. 

However, the weather was absolutely perfect come race morning.  I actually flirted with wearing capris pants it was so cool, but in the end I decided to stick with shorts.  There quite a few small branches, wet leaves, and a few large puddles on the trail, but overall it was in good shape. I'm not going to lie I slowed up when I came to the place where I got pushed last year and made sure there was no one around me when I bounced around the standing water. 

(Okay, I'm definitely overdue for a haircut!)

I started the race off strong, but unfortunately I fell victim to my tummy again.  It's completely my fault.  I ate like crap the day before the race and I should know better.  On a plus note, I was reminded once again why you are what you eat and eating poorly in the days leading up to a race is just going to result in lost time on the course.  I could never make up the four minutes I lost having to stop due to my issues.  

Bee, on the other hand, killed it once again. New half marathon PR in the books for her.  

Looks like Bee's boyfriend is going to give the "Ridiculously Photogenic Guy" a run for his money (pun intended).  This guy ran a 12 mile Tough Mudder on Saturday and decided to break in his new tri-suit for an upcoming half ironman during Sunday's half marathon.  On top of that he has the nerve to look quasi-happy and even smiles for the camera.  All while running 7 minute miles.  Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?!  The nerve of that guy. 

All was not lost though.  I got to hang out with Bee's running group at not one, but two bars, post race and it was an amazing time.  I think my face hurt more than my legs on Sunday night... from laughing so much!


Before I go and get down on myself for having a slow race time and get frustrated I'm going to think positively.  I'm never going to be the fastest runner.  I know it and I'm okay with it.  I run for fun and I needed to laugh my ass off on Sunday to get back to that fun place.

I run for fun and I run for me.  But every once in a while I get inspired by people who have probably been told more than once that they can't run.  And when I hear that I promptly say, "screw that."  Oscar Pistorius qualified for the Olympics and he's had double leg amputations.

And this guy above. Well he inspires me.  If he can do it, then I can do it.  There isn't an excuse I can make up that's bigger than anything he could throw at me.  

All race photos are from the lovely Montgomery County Road Runners Photos .  Thanks for having a site where runners can download their pictures for free!  Best.race.idea.ever.