Race The Runways Recap

Yesterday morning I spent a good hour convincing myself I could run this race today.  I felt flush, had a horrible headache and swore I was going to puke.  I kept having flashbacks to the Midwinter Classic when I thought it was a good idea to run a 10 mile race with a fever of 103, which then landed me on the couch with pneumonia.   Thankfully what I had today was not a cold and was just a stomach bug.

I forced down some oatmeal with chia seeds and a banana, drank my coffee, visited the bathroom (several times), and then downed my Nalgene bottle full of water & Nuun.  As it settled, I decided that if I just got dressed, I would be committed to running today.  

It worked.  Once I put on my Team Tough Chik shirt, I knew I was running.   I was just going to get out there and do my best.  I questioned the weather, the wind and what to wear and changed my mind several times.   Finally I just threw a jacket over my Tough Chiks shirt, pulled up my sweatpants and called it good.  Oh, and I tossed some other options in my running bag just in case I got there and it was colder than I thought it was.

After I downed my ZipFizz, the girls and I walked out to the starting line just before 9:30.  It wasn't as far away this year, but I wanted to do a little warm up before the race started.  Nothing major, but just enough to get the blood flowing.  Little did I know the warm up would be uselessbecause the race didn't start until (at least, if not later) than 9:45.  

here we are freezing, waiting for the start

I wasn't the only one in the family racing today - Tucker and Izzy were both running the fun run today.   After getting Izzy ready in her cute little running outfit, I got Tucker ready in some sweatpants and his Race the Runways shirt.  I know it's not proper race etiquette to run in a race shirt on the day of the race, but he's a kid.  I don't think it really applies to kids, right?


Since the fun run was at 10:30, and I cannot run a half marathon in an hour, I have to rely on my dad's pictures of their run.  Apparently Tucker took off like a rocket today.  He is just like his dad.  So proud!
 

Go Tucker Go!

I need to get him some running shoes!  

And Izzy walked most of the way.  But she is three.  I didn't expect her run it anyway.  She just really wanted to wear her cute running skirt and be like mommy.  She is my girl.  

Sometimes we just need a little help to get to the end!

Jill's son and daughter also did the fun run today.  For some reason, I don't have any pics of Jackson's race performance today, but I do have some of Scout. 

Scout and Wade with Ward, Izzy, Max and Tucker in the back

And some of Carrie's kids and hubby!

Scout, Wade, Zeke, Ian and Finn

Back to my race, the plan for today was for me to toss my camelbak at Ward (or anyone I knew) between miles 9 and 10.  When I was coming up on mile 9, I figured I may as well just drink the rest of the water in my camelbak. I didn't put a lot in there in the first place, so emptying it out wasn't that much of a task.  Best of all was having a nice cheering crowd around mile 9.5.  It was just on the other side of the hangar.  I love crowd support.  Then I spotted my dad & I threw my camelbak at him, while he was trying to take pictures of me.  And then I spotted Ward and the kids.  It is such a rush to see my family on runs.  

mile 9.5 (ish) kick

This was a great spot for the family to be at because Jill and Stacy both tossed their camelbaks at Ward as well.  

Carrie

Jill

Stacy

When we got to mile 10, I saw the time 1:19.  I was beyond happy with this time.  I know seeing this time gave me a little burst of energy,  especially since my Midwinter Classic time was 1:24.  We had a little out & back stretch at this point that took us out to the golf course and the only "bump" on the course.  


Around this time I met a very nice guy.  He was wearing his Midwinter Classic shirt.  We chatted a bit comparing the temperature from the Midwinter Classic to today and agreed while it was warmer, that the wind was brutal.    When we came back to the airstrip - with the last mile remaining, the wind hit me (us) like a brick.  It was brutal.  I could see the Hangar and where the finish line was, I just didn't know if the wind was going to do me in before I got there.  That's when this nice guy gave me some kind words of encouragement, just when I needed it most.  Thank you, nice guy.

photo courtesy of Maine Running Photos - Joe Hyatt

When I crossed the finish line, the nice guy was still there and gave me a high five.   One of the major reasons why I do enjoy running so much.  The running community is one of the most supportive sports out there.

photo courtesy of Maine Running Photos

 And now to share some finish line shots of my girls and some other friends.

classic finish line shot of Stacy and her son...

Carrie looking strong & rocking her 1st half marathon

Jill, smiling the entire way!

Karen - our super strong, cross fit queen

Emilie from One Mom In Maine

The Mainely Running Girls looking strong and smiling 

All in all, it was a great race. I ran last year's race as well and I think this one was even better than last years.   I love that the race is on the old Brunswick Naval Air Station.  It's always a bit emotional going there, since both of my parents worked there for quite some time and we had one of my mom's services in the church on the base.  It was my dad's job there that brought us to Maine in the first place.  I also liked that it was super flat.  The scenery isn't great but you can't have it all.

I did enjoy the out & backs (there were three of them on this course) and it was fun to see friends that were ahead of me and behind me and to give shout outs and high fives as we ran past each other.

What I really wasn't impressed with was the wind.  But BNAS is known for the wind.  I think each time I've been there it's been windy, even in the middle of the summer on the hottest days.

Overall time - 1:44:04 (8:00 pace).  Distance - 13 miles.   Bummer.  Does this take away my PR?  Maybe it's my 13 mile PR, not my half marathon PR.  That 0.10 makes a difference.  I should add on at least a minute to allow for that 0.10 deficit - so I'm calling my time 1:45.  I think it's fair, right?  

My splits:  

Mile 1: 8:00

Mile 2: 7:49

Mile 3: 7:54

Mile 4: 8:11

Mile 5: 7:59

Mile 6: 7:55

Mile 7: 8:07 

Mile 8: 8:08

Mile 9:  8:00

Mile 10: 7:53

Mile 11: 7:54

Mile 12: 8:06

Mile 13: 8:14

I went into the race hoping for 1:48:59 (with my previous PR being 1:49:09).  I'm a big fan of just shaving a little bit of time off my previous PR each time.  I really screwed this one up, didn't I?   I guess I better work harder to keep up this pace.


I also ran yesterday's run as part of Run With Jess's virtual Jelly Bean Run.  I tried printing out the bib yesterday morning but for some reason the printer was not going to cooperate with me - so I made a quick bib myself and had Ward take a picture of me.

Now onto making Easter brunch.  Wishing you all a Happy Easter.