Race report

[Deleted]

Not sure if anyone is interested, but here is my race report from Sunday. I ran the New Bedford Half. Its been considered one of the best half marathons in New England (37 years running), and every serious runner I know has done it, so I was excited to go. This was my second half. 

It was cold, but not too cold--around 33 degrees at start and 37 at finish. 11 am gun time. About 3400 people registered and 2800 finished. 

I lined up around the 12 min pace marker, and it was nice and warm in the crowd of people! National anthem and we were off. I had heard a lot about the course being very hilly, but I was pleasantly surprised. There was one long incline around mile 3 and another one at mile 12. I charged right up the 3 mile hill and got a buzz from feeling so good on it--the buzz carried me right to mile 5, where I saw my parents, Andy and husband. Andy and H were wearing my fan club shirts, and I shed a layer quickly and got back on the road.



I shared the road for a mile or so around mile 4 with Dick Hoyt and his son, Rick. It was an honor that I won't soon forget.

There was a lot of crowd support between miles 5 and 7, which I loved, but it petered out as the loop course veered out of town. The scenery was not great, honestly. New Bedford is an old industrial town and the course went through some commercial drives with strip malls, old mill zones, and shabby residential neighborhoods. I got bored between 7 and 10 and used my iPod for motivation. A lemon Gu timed with a water stop at 8 was something to look forward to. Two women running at mile 9 complimented me on my outfit, which made me feel good! We did run along the seawall for a couple of miles near the end, and I liked that. Not too much wind coming off the water and it was pretty to look at. 

By mile 10, I started counting down backwards and it gave me a boost. 3 more miles! I can do anything for 3 more miles!

The hill at mile 12 was hard only because it was so late in the race. Otherwise I didn't think it was too steep. One foot in front of the other, and I made it to the top. There were a lot of walkers that I passed, which I'll admit I'm a total douchebag and felt encouraged by. Another flat for maybe a half mile and then a nice downhill to the finish. I pushed my speed at the home stretch and was so surprised to hear my name when I crossed the finish line! 

Now the funny part: my time. Although I was running to finish, and not for any PR, I did look up my time from the first half. I failed to beat my previous time by....wait for it....ONE SECOND. Not sure whether to be pissed or amused, but had I known, I sure as hell would have pushed it just a tiny bit more. Oh well, lol. I finished in 2:20:07.


PIPs at the finish line!

[Deleted]

Mar 18, 2014 7:44:22 GMT -5 @mn06 said:

Mar 18, 2014 6:49:11 GMT -5 @missusbee said:

It was cold, but not too cold--around 33 degrees at start and 37 at finish. 11 am gun time. About 3400 people registered and 2800 finished. 

One more thing, and you might not know but...  600 people not finishing sounds like a lot out of 3400.  Do you think it was because of the temps, difficult course, time limit?  Or am I reading this wrong and it literally is how many people that registered versus how many people showed up to run?

Just curious.

I have no idea. I'm not sure how many started the race.

They were talking about overall registration being low because it has been a very challenging winter to train. Very cold, lots of snow, etc. Its possible some people registered early and then didn't complete their training? Not sure. 

[AAM2012]

Ugh one second!!! You still did awesome--congrats!!!

[breezy8407]

Congrats!

I was 7 seconds off my PR at my 1/2 this past fall. It was annoying, but what can you do?

[cinco]

Congrats! I know how second guessing that one second feels You did great, and I love all the pictures! Your son is too cute in his shirt.

[kams]

One second over 13.1 miles is so nuts!! Congratulations!!

[bostonmichelle]

Congratulations!!

[thom]

Of course we're interested. Great job! It has been a hard winter to train. Missing it by one second is frustrating. Next time, right??

[shelbyann]

One second, don't you hate that?! Haha. Awesome job regardless though, congrats!

[skwcm80]

One second, gah! congrats on an otherwise a great race!

[Vally]

Great recap and congratulations!!

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone!

And OH I forgot to say some other (probably completely unimportant) things.

My pre-race prep included a 5 day rest taper (lols), a massive pasta dinner with garlic bread and a giant ice cream sundae the night before (lols x 2). Some unsweetened oats with apple and peanut butter around 8 am and a half pb sandwich on wheat bread an hour before race time. I ran through every water stop but hydrated at all of them.

[coconutbug]

Ice cream sundae, yum! Great job!

[sassystace]

Great job! One second is crazy. I love your family pictures, too cute!

[greysgirl]

Awesome job!!