Runner's World Half Marathon Race Report

This is delayed, but it's finally here: my Runner's World Half Marathon race report! In the last post, I left off after our awesome 10k race together! Janna and I then met up with Janna's parents, who were awesome and cheered us on during the race. We didn't want to leave the race area as we had seminars to attend, so her folks took us to the casino right in the race area and had lunch. I didn't think we'd find great food, but oh my word, the buffet there was incredible. We stuffed ourselves on some really awesome food (the mac & cheese being my favorite) and actually missed our "Fueling" seminar. Hey, we were properly fueling ourselves post-race! :P

Janna's parents kindly dropped us back off at the race area and we hung around the expo before we had our seminar on the race course. We saw a line to meet someone and we found out it was for Summer Sanders! I grew up watching her game show on Nickelodeon "Figure It Out" and she's just an awesome female athlete role model. Janna and I waited in line to meet her (and ended up bringing Amy along with us after we bumped into her. So happy to have met her and her husband, Emir, again!). Meeting Summer was incredible. Before we could say anything, she introduced herself and placed one of her Olympic Gold Medals on us. I honestly teared up. I've been obsessed with the Olympics my entire life, so to be meeting an Olympian and to be wearing one of her medals was just so surreal.

She could not have been nicer or cooler. 

We hung around the expo and attended our seminar on the course, which was great because they let us know where to expect hills. This was super helpful race day! We then went back to Janna's mom's house, showered, and then I proceeded to eat like a crazy person. We had awesome chips and dip, Janna's mom made a killer spread of food, and then we went to town on some vegan mini-cakes that Janna picked up for us. I went to bed with such a stomach ache that I worried if I had done something bad for my race day. 

Shortly after making my playlist and falling asleep, it felt like I had to be up again for the race. I had a wonky feeling stomach and was worried how the day would go. Janna and I parked at the race, found the restroom in the casino, and got ready to race. We both were going to run our own races and in the back of my head, I thought a PR might be feasible. The course wasn't nearly as hilly as I thought it would be, so I thought if I ran a smart race, I could maybe PR!

Before the race!

Soon enough, we were off! My game plan was to stick with the 1:45 pace group and if I felt good, I'd ditch them and go ahead. Within 2 miles, the group was far behind me and I felt good. Part of me worried that I was going too fast to start, but I knew the first half would be slower with the bigger hills then, so I just pushed at the pace that felt good. I made sure to run the tangents and race smart.

The two biggest miles were at miles 4 and 5.5 and man, they were big. The course had rolling hills for a lot of it, but those two were hard to get up. When I was finally done with the winding and long hill at mile 5.5, I started to see signs for RunningSkirts. In the course seminar, they warned us that they would be handing out free RunningSkirts around mile 6. You read that right: giving away FREE skirts. You just had to run to them, step into the skirt, then you were off! When I saw them, I thought, "Who am I to pass up a free skirt? This is going to make the rest of the race so fun!" So I ran over, stepped into the cutest skirt that I saw, and boom, I was off! It took all of 10 seconds and was so worth it!

After the finish!

I hit a sort of a mental low at about mile 7. I was more than halfway done, but I was worried that I had pushed too hard. I then heard the one song that I needed to hear, "Go The Distance" from the Disney Hercules movie. It's so empowering and right at that moment, the sun was shining beautiful and I honestly got choked up. I remembered how damn lucky that I am to be a runner, to get to run for fun, and for the amazing people and experiences that I've had because of running. From then on, I had a smile on my face for the rest of the race. 

All three of our races medals plus a sweet shot of my new running skirt!

With just a few miles to go, I looked like I could continue to speed up and push for a PR. I started picking off people in front of me and kept pushing as hard as I could. Soon enough, I was pushing to the finish and was able to secure a PR with a time of 1:41:07, almost a 2.5 minute PR! I honestly didn't think it was possible, but smart racing, beautiful weather, and a great course let it happen! 

I went back to Janna's car to layer back up and get into compression gear and by the time I was back, Janna had finished and had also PRed. We were two happy racing ladies! I had an absolute blast at this race weekend with Janna and I'm already so excited to participate in the races again next year! 

Recap of my Runner's World Half Marathon Festival Weekend: Part 1

Yes, I'm alive and yes, I have been running. Quite a lot, in fact. I've also been busy with this little undertaking that is the Rocky 50k Fat Ass Run. More on that in another post, though. I'm here to write about my amazing weekend in Bethlehem, PA racing a 5k, 10k, and a half marathon with one of my college girlfriends, Janna!

I trained to meet my friend Janna, who grew up not far from the race festivities. Janna had actually told me about the Hat Trick race option, which included racing a 5k and 10k on Saturday, then a half marathon on Sunday. Janna and I met in our honors fraternity in college and back then, she wasn't a runner. Since then, she's started running, obtained a ton of healthy habits, has run lots of races including 2 half marathons, and is now training for her first marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon. It's been so fun to have a friend turn into a runner and she asked if I wanted to join her for this triple race weekend, how could I say no?!

Janna and me before our 5k race

Friday night, we quickly grabbed dinner at Janna's dad's house, then rushed to make it to the screening of "Spirit of the Marathon 2." I saw the first documentary shortly after running my first marathon and I found it to be insanely inspirational. I didn't get to see the second movie when it came out earlier this year, so when we had the chance to, I told Janna that we had to. I really enjoyed the movie and even choked up a few times watching it. We then went to Janna's mom's house, gabbed for a bit, then went to bed before our 2-race day.

Saturday, we got up and layered up for our chilly races. My plan was to race the 5k, use the 10k as a cool down race, and try to race the half marathon if my legs could hold up. Janna and I were running different paces, so we didn't run the 5k together. I was worried about the hills as I tend to run on flat paths in Philly, but I was surprised how the hills felt fairly manageable during the 5k. I pushed the pace and was able to run a 5k in 22 minutes flat.

Post-5k with our medals.

Janna and I hung out after our 5ks and stayed inside to keep warm before the 10k. I wasn't hoping to race the 10k in order save my legs for my half marathon the next day, so I ended up running the 10k with Janna and man, we had a blast. Janna was hoping to go sub-1 hour for the 10k and we spent the entire race gabbing, laughing, and having fun. We finished in 58:32 and it was one of the most fun races I've run ever!

Janna and me after our 10k together.

In my next post, I'll recap the awesome fun we had in the seminars, meeting an Olympian, and a recap of my half marathon!

Dreaming of Waikiki

A little over 2.5 years ago, my dad decided to move to Hawaii. It was sad to hear that he wouldn't be so close, but being able to visit him in Hawaii is pretty awesome. I only had one chance to visit him when he lived on the North Shore, but at the end of August, the BF, my brother, and I had the chance to visit him in his newer digs in Waikiki.

We spent a full week there and we did lots of stuff. We ran a few times (including a 4 mile run that ended with a jump in the Pacific Ocean, a 12 mile run with a hike of Diamond Head mountain in the middle, and a really sluggish 18 miler for me), stand up paddleboarded a bunch (the BF's new favorite thing), ate loads of yummy food, saw a reggae festival, snorkeled, saw a ton of giant turtles, and even had a few lazy days on the beach. And yes, I finally tried Spam and I hate to admit how delicious it is. Overall, we had a ton of fun and I'll let my photos walk you through our fun.

Dad and brother at the reggae festival

Boyfriend and I enjoying some reggae tunes

I saw a double rainbow. I may have freaked out.

BF and me at the top of Diamond Head mountain.

I call him my baby brother, but he's 6'0'' and not actually a baby. 

Views of the beaches a block from my dad's apartment. 

Acai berry bowl with fruit and macadamia nut granola. To. Die. For. 

Amazing views from our trip up the coast to visit the North Shore. 

We indulged in some fruity beverages. Nom. 

Unflattering photo of me post-18 miler. It was not a great run. 

On our second to last night, we watched the sunset on some rocks in the ocean 

We ate some cream-filled malasadas aka amazing Portuguese donuts, drenched in sugar. 

I was happy to be back to Philly to get back to my normal routine, but I'll miss our awesome times in Waikiki and seeing my dad. Until next time, I'll just dream of Waikiki.

Birthday Celebrations and Trying New Things

Whew, I feel like I actually had a relaxing week and weekend, but when I look back, it was actually really busy.

Las week, I participated in a yoga benefit for Back on My Feet at Dhayana Yoga in Fairmount. I haven't been to yoga in a few weeks, so it was really fun, especially since the money raised went to an organization I loved and a bunch of friends were there.

Not the highest-quality photo, but I'm all the way on the left
in the blue. I felt way lower than I clearly was! 

I also got in my long run this weekend, which was 16 miles with 10 at goal marathon pace. When I did a long run with miles at goal marathon pace a month ago, I struggled. I hit all of my paces, but it wasn't easy whatsoever. I was shocked that this time, my paces felt good and I felt strong. Was I happy to do my last 3 miles at a slower pace? You bet your bum I was! Did I feel like maybe this BQ idea isn't completely ludicrous? Maybe it isn't! Am I knocking on wood right now so that I don't jinx myself? 100%.

My teammate, Meaghan, and I dominated (well, we had loads of fun).

We also celebrated John's birthday this weekend! He wanted to do a pub golf, which is essentially a pub crawl with a golf theme with teams. We didn't follow the normal rules, so it really was just a pub crawl, but I had braided pigtails and my argyle compression socks on, ready to golf/drink the day away. We had lots of drinks and some food late at night (the veggie burger at Good Dog hit the spot like whoah). All in all, it was a fun celebration!

I promise you the birthday boy was happy, even if he doesn't look it here. 

Last week, I also learned that I can enjoy salmon cooked. Growing up, my mom would cook us fish frequently and I ate it, but one day, I realized I didn't like it. Since then, I had nevered cook fish for John and me. I adore sushi and raw fish, but don't like the texture of it cooked. I ordered a food delivery box and one of the meals was salmon. I decided to keep an open mind (and undercook it a bit) and lo and behold, I really enjoyed it. It feels like my dinner options are so much wider now that I won't be choosing from our normal protein options. Yay for keeping an open mind!

Anything that you've learned to love as you got older? 

Northern Girl in the South

Okay, so I may technically have grown up in the south (Maryland is south of the Mason-Dixon line), but I've always felt like a Northerner and completely out of place in the south. Spending the past 7 years in Philadelphia (next month is 7 years here, which I cannot believe!) hasn't helped either. This past weekend, though, I got to experience some more of the south by visiting one of my college girlfriends for her bachelorette party in Atlanta.

Friday night, I trained down with two of the other ladies to Baltimore for a cheaper flight down to Atlanta. On the way there, I realized that I had made a mistake and booked a different flight than them. Me = idiot. This is something my mother would do and I am 100% turning more and more into her! After my flight, I ended up taking the Atlanta subway, MARTA, and a cab to my friend's house as the other girls' flight was really delayed. By midnight, we all were finally together at our friend's apartment.

College girlfriends with the bride-to-be

Friday night included a weeeee bit of alcohol, learning about country line dancing, appreciating that some bars in the Atlanta area have last call at 3 am, and far too much late-night snack eating.

Saturday, we surprised the bride-to-be with a private Zumba class and a bit of snacking/drinking champagne after at the dance studio. I've never taken a Zumba class and even after this one, I know we sadly did not have a great teacher. He expected us to just follow the leader, but didn't explain moves, his planned counts for the moves, etc. He ended up quitting the songs halfway through because we couldn't keep up. Bummer, but we still had fun.

Gals having fun at the pool

The rest of the weekend included time by/in the pool, a really tasty farm-to-table meal, dancing in a club (I am much more of a dive bar kind of gal, but I ended up having a lot of fun), hilarious taxi rides, "Say Yes to The Dress" marathon watching, and far too much SmartFood popcorn as my primary food source. We got in super late (ended up getting home on Monday at 12:15 AM), but I had a blast and the bride-to-be enjoyed her special weekend.

I didn't run at all as I specifically got in my miles before I headed down. It felt nice to have a weekend free of running, but I'm eager to lace up my running shoes.

Anyone have fun plans this past weekend? I'd love to hear about it! 

I'm alive!

Yeah, I haven't written a blog post in a long time. I've honestly haven't wanted to write after my DNF, but I am in a better place mentally and have been doing some fun things:

• I was scheduled to do an ultra relay at 20in24, but the city of Philadelphia decided to cancel it due to crazy heat and storming. I was bummed at first, but I ended up being able to spend a lot of time with some running friends from NYC who were down for the race. Had we raced, none of us would have hung out like we did that Saturday and it was a really fun time!
  

  

  The group of us hanging out since we couldn't race. Had a blast!

• Marathon training is officially begun! In less than 16 weeks, I'll be toeing the line of Richmond and Philly. Yes, two marathons in one weekend. It's not my fault that they are planned on the same weekend, but they are, so I'm doing both. I am 7.5 minutes away from a Boston Qualifying time. I think if I train hard enough and race smart enough, I can hit my goal time in Richmond, using Philly as a victory lap. If I don't BQ at Richmond, I doubt I can do it the next day at Philly, so again, I'll just take Philly as a victory lap. My boyfriend, John, signed up for the race, so the plan is to run Philly with him. Yes, I am STUPID excited to run a marathon with my boyfriend. 
• I'm all signed up for the Runner's World Half Marathon Hat Trick races. This means I'll be racing a 5k and a 10k on Saturday, then a 1/2 marathon the next day. It wasn't even my idea, but one of my girlfriends from college, who has recently become super into running (love!), told me about it and I couldn't say no. I am really excited for the two of us to have a fun race weekend!
• I'm almost done with the Best Body Bootcamp and it's been a fun challenge. I can't say that I've loved every workout, but I've done two strength training workouts each week for the last 6.5 weeks, which is longer than I've ever done that. I can do more push-ups, hold a plank for longer, and I am starting to get a weeeee bit of a bicep. Am I magically 3 sizes smaller? Sadly, not. Will this be a great base to keep my running form in line for my 2 marathons? Yes!
• I am realizing that I need to make food (and my love of preparing it) more prominent in my life. Ha, that sounds like I'm not eating, but I mean that I think working in food is my future somehow, but I don't know how yet. I bake a lot and bring it into my office, but I am finding myself needing a bigger outlet for my desire to be in the kitchen. I haven't figure out what will fulfill this need, but baking and attending the quarterly Philly Food Swaps has helped a bit, at least. 
• I wrote an article for Trail and Ultrarunning about getting over a DNF. It was really great to write it and I hope it helps anyone who has sadly gone through that experience. You can find it here.

That's it! How has everyone been? I hope the last day of July is good for everyone (July is almost over? Wasn't I just watching fireworks for July 4th? Goodness...)! I'll leave you with this awesome photo my mom uncovered, which shows that I always have been a carb-loving fool, even as a baby:

Yes, that's a spaghetti sandwich. Deal with it. 

C&O Canal 100 Miler - First DNF

Well, this obviously isn't the race report that I was hoping to write, but alas, things happen. On April 28th, I quit my first race. Ever. In (off and on) 15 years of running, I've never quit a race. Mind you, for most of my time running, I've run 5ks, only getting into major distances in the last 6 years. Still, it really broke my heart to join the DNF club, but I'm not the first, last, or most awesome one to join that club.

My training for this race felt good, but the more I look back, of course, I question it. I was running more miles per week than my last training cycle, but I never ran more than 31 miles at one time. In my last training, I did a 12 hour race, running 60 miles in that time. That's incredible endurance training for a 100 miler. This year, I focused on more weekly miles, but never ran more than 7 hours at a time before this 100. I think this was a detriment to my training, but sometimes it's hard to run more when you feel like you are running during all of your free time.

I also don't think I mentally prepared for this race as I should have. In my last 100 attempt, I mentally prepared for the pain & the exhaustion and told myself that no matter what, even if I had to crawl, I would cross the finish line. This time around, I felt almost too relaxed. While I was nervous the weeks leading up to it, I kept trying to relax and brush it off, so I didn't end up mentally preparing. I was too nonchalant and it really bit me in the rear.

My mom and me right before the start

On April 27th, my mom drove me to Knoxville, MD, the start location of the race. The course was (supposed to be) a 50.4 mile loop along the C&O Canal that, minus the beginning and end of the loop, was pancake flat with nearly no turns. Living in Philly, I felt I was well-suited for a flat course and it would allow for a (hopefully) faster 100 than my last. I knew flatness is deceivingly hard as you use the same muscles over and over in the same fashion, but I hoped I could handle it.

At 7 am, after words and a short prayer from the race director, we started the race. We went down the only hill of the course, which was actually quite steep and slippery. My friend, Jon, was racing this course with his running friend, Justus, so the three of us stuck together. Jon, sadly, was sick, so his breathing was really off from the beginning. Justus had a 10/2 run/walk system and I enjoyed being with them for the company and the reminder to walk. I did notice that they were running a bit faster than I planned, but the idea of running alone wasn't fun sounding, so I stuck with them.

My mom and me at the ~20 mile mark (Photo by Jim Roche)

The course was really pretty, but I could tell I was going to be bored pretty easily. Also, by the time we got to the first aid station, we knew the course would be long. In the end, the race was 105 miles instead of 101.4, which was really frustrating later on in the race.

I saw my mom at the ~20 mile aid station, which was so great. I ate some food, applied sunscreen and bug spray (so many gnats!), and headed out to the (what actually was) 31 mile mark, which was a turnaround. I almost ran out of water before I got there and the aid station between 20 and 31 wasn't set up by the time we passed it. It was getting warm and I just wasn't in happy place.

After finally hitting mile ~31, refueling and getting some water in my hydration pack, we turned around and headed back from the ~40 mile aid station (same as 20). After what felt like forever, I got there to find my mom, boyfriend, and cousin there. My feet were getting too swollen for the shoes I was wearing, so I switched into my compression socks, trail shoes, got some more food in me, then hit the trail.

At ~20 mile mark (Photo by Jim Roche)

Jon was really feeling tired and rough, but I felt a surge of energy after seeing my family and BF. I kept pushing while Justus and Jon took a walk break at one point and I ended up doing the last 11 or so miles of the loop alone. My awesome feelings wore off quite quickly, especially when I realized at about mile 45 that I was out of water with 5-6 miles to go to the next aid station. Yikes. Rookie mistake.

I finally climbed up the insane hill to the start/finish area (it had a rope at one point to help runners climb up) to complete my first loop. I was dejected, exhausted, and cranky. I met up with my mom, boyfriend, and two friends who were my planned pacers, Brian and Annie. Brian was to take take me from miles ~51-73 and Annie was to take me 73-93ish. After changing my shirt, getting in some more food, and refilling my hydration pack, Brian and I headed back for loop #2.

At ~41.5 (Photo by Jim Roche)

The miles I spent with Brian were so odd. I love him to bits and it was so great to spend time with him, catching up, laughing, and running. The first half of our ~20 mile run together, I was in a cheery mood, boosted up by the fact that we were running together, but I was taking a lot of walk breaks and running slower. The second half, I was in the worst mood ever and was running faster. How that happened, I still don't know.

Those last 10 miles were really tough. Once the sun set, it got really dark. There was a full moon, but fog prevented any moonshine from hitting the course. Along the flat, straight course, with Brian's headlamp on, it felt like we were just running through a tunnel that never ended. We could only see about 5 feet ahead of us, with everything else around us being pitch black. I was so rotten to be around, I don't know how Brian stuck with me. My feet were in agony, so I was left to just shuffle. When I'd try to do the math of how many miles I had left until the next aid station, I couldn't because the course was off in distance. I was beyond angry about it, but I was so happy to finally get to the aid stations.

I was quite clearly HATING going up the hill at the halfway point (photo by Hai Nguyen)

When we got to the ~73 mile mark, I saw my mom and burst into tears. I knew in my head I was done, but was so overwhelmed with anger, sadness, frustration, and agony. I sat down in a chair, shivering from the chillier than predicted temperature, tried to get some food down, and just sat crying knowing I was done. Some volunteers tried to help cheer me up, but my mother quickly told them I wouldn't be guilted into finishing an optional race if I wasn't wanting to. One amazing Marathon Maniac, Jim, came to help us other Maniacs, and he kept running to get me more food and got me to eat sugary things. The BF kept rubbing my shoulder in support and my mom kept telling me that whatever I wanted to do was fine, that running 73 miles was something to be so proud of.

About to start the second lap. I fake being happy quite well.

After about 10 minutes, I slowly got up, told the head volunteer at the aid station that I was DNFing, sat in my mom's car as the BF, my mom, and Annie put all of my gear in the car, and just bawled. I couldn't believe that I was quitting a race. It felt so surreal, but I knew I had literally nothing left of me to give. I couldn't fathom the idea of continuing 10 more miles down the dark tunnel of the course, just to turn around and run another 20 to the finish.

Looking back, I made a lot of mistakes including starting off too fast, not mentally preparing, and not training long enough for my long runs. I had no clue that's how the night time would be as my last 100 miler occurred in NYC, where even the darkest places were bright and I constantly had distractions. Would I run this course again? Nope. The volunteers were amazing and while I appreciated the course for the first 20 or so miles, the straight, flat course wasn't enjoyable.

The BF, Brian, myself, and Annie. I have awesome friends. 

One thing stuck out to me when I was quitting: this is supposed to be fun. No, not every single moment of a race is great, but overall, I should be getting something positive from the experience. I wasn't, so I quit. I felt bad that my friend, Annie, came down from Philly to pace me and I quit before she could. I feel bad that my mom and boyfriend came out to see me not finish, but in the end, I think I did the right thing.

Sorry this is such a bummer of a race report, but alas, this was a bummer of a race. I'm excited for the rest of my races this year (20in24, Richmond Marathon, Philly Marathon, to name a few) to redeem myself and remind myself that even with this DNF, I've still got some good races in me.