June 2019 Monthly Running Challenge
Replies
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@ContraryMaryMary UGH I hate races like that. Good on you for doing so well despite the bad race organization!0
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@Lazy_Bones_85 well done!0
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So returning after 3yrs, I was going to join in May but hurt myself at the end of April, so had a week off amd just read the thread. I have spent most of the last 6 weeks doing a sort of couch 2 5k and today was the final run, the no interval test.
The idea is just to do 3 solid runs a week for the forseeable future. So june seems a good time to start logging here again.
2 June....5k
Goals June
1...no of runs 13................1
2...total distance 69km.....5km
3...5km no interval............Done
4...speed 5km < 40m........42.14
5...longer run 6km.............5km11 -
@eleanorhawkins Great race. Sorry the kids were annoying, but it did make you up your pace. LOL1
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Later this week, we are driving to Iowa to support my sister in a bereavement, "Celebration of Life" for her son who died in an auto accident. It happened in April....she and her husband are still grieving. It is an extremely difficult time for them. She has mentioned grief counseling. Has anyone done it? Does it help?
Today is my birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I would be surprised if your sister and her husband were NOT "still" grieving the loss of their son after only a little over a month. Grief has no timetable and no rules. Having said that, grief counseling can help, if they can get in a group that has others in a similar situation. But, don't expect them to be "fixed" and back to "normal" anytime soon. They will have to find a new normal and that is hard to do. I am speaking from a widow's perspective. I didn't have children of my own, so don't know what it is like to lose a child, but I imagine that grief is grief. It is hard and takes time.6 -
June goal: 90 miles
6/2: 8.51 miles
8.51/90 miles completed
I started out June with 8.51 miles today. It was a really good run. I was worried about the weather since we have been having lots of storms lately and there were storms forecast for this morning. I play in a hand bell choir at church and we were playing today so I had to either run and be home by 8:30 to get ready or run after church when it would already be over 80F. Luckily the storms came through around 3:30 am instead of 6:00 so it was clear when I finally got out around 7:00. I did get a little bit of light rain, but not really enough. There was a lot of water in the roads though. I tried going around the puddles, but there were just some places with water covering the entire street so my feet were pretty soaked. I did see some downed power lines and then saw a friend of mine who was in her yard visiting with her neighbor. They didn't have power so I told them about the downed lines. Luckily I live on the other side of town and I don't think we ever lost power. I only woke up for the storm because my dogs are babies who hate storms and the collie woke me up barking when it started thundering.
I had a really fun run. I saw a deer over by the park. I would have run a little further, but I had to get back in time to get ready for church. But I was glad I ran early instead of later when it was hotter.
@Elise4270 I don't really have any special pre or post run foods. On week days I usually just have a cup (or half cup) of coffee before a run and after I just have my regular breakfast which is fruit, boiled egg and greek yogurt and more coffee. On Sunday's when I run long I still usually just have coffee before the run and sometimes I'll have peanut butter crackers or a piece of toast. Afterward I like to have a Reese's peanut butter cup (I really like the eggs best) or a donut, but I don't have them every time, but I do usually make pan pizza in my cast iron skillets on Sundays.
2019 races:
2/2/19: Catch the Groundhog Half Marathon - PR 2:15:17
5/18/19: Run for 57th AHC Half Marathon - Cancelled due to weather8 -
@ereck44
Happy Birthday!
I am sorry for your sister's loss. I do not have any personal experience with grief counseling, but I certainly think it could help. But I agree with @quilteryoyo about not expecting them to be "fixed" anytime soon. The people I know who have lost a child have never really gotten over it, they have just learned to live with it.2 -
@ereck44
Happy Birthday!
I am sorry for your sister's loss. I do not have any personal experience with grief counseling, but I certainly think it could help. But I agree with @quilteryoyo about not expecting them to be "fixed" anytime soon. The people I know who have lost a child have never really gotten over it, they have just learned to live with it.
This is an excellent point. I would go farther though and say do not expect them to ever truly be "fixed." They will be permanently changed by this. 20 years from now you will still see the impact on their life. @quilteryoyo gets it best I think with "finding a new normal."
The best thing you can do is just be there. A shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen without judgment. These are the most important things you as the family can do.2 -
How important is running/cycling/yoga... your exercise addiction/goal to you? How has it helped you in areas of your life and what changes do you envision in the next year.
My climbing/running routine has become super important to me. I enjoy having something to work towards and seeing my progress give me such a feeling of accomplishment. It helped me lose 50 lbs and I am the strongest I have ever been in my life.
I'm planning for my first HM this year and I'm hoping to get a clean V5 and 5.11 in climbing.
quote="Elise4270;c-43792278"]
another monthly question for everyone, newbies too.
What's your favorite/ideal pre and or post exercise food? Do you mind the calories/macros? And will you come cook it for me or are you as bad as I am about cooking/planning? [/quote]
My runs are mostly timed so that I eat my planned snacks and meals for my shorter runs. For longer runs I sometimes have half a Clif bar or so before running and a few bloks during. Since I run in the evening usually, I just eat my dinner after I run. Sometimes I have a small glass of chocolate milk if I feel like I need something immediately.
I meal plan everything for 6 days a week, including snacks so no cooking required when I'm hungry. The only thing I don't plan are the little things I eat specifically to fuel runs since those are different depending on the length of the run and how I'm feeling.4 -
June total: 3.1 miles
June goal: 70 miles
2019 Races:
Piney Woods Trailfest 5k - 2/2/2019 29.23
Rodeo Run 10k - 2/23/2019 1:03.12
Run Houston! Minute Maid Park 10k - 3/23/2019 1:01.28
Brazos Bend 50 10k - 4/6/2019 1:15:33
El Chupacabra de Houston 10k (night trail run) - 8/2019
TWRC Run Wild Run Free 5k - 9/2019
10 for Texas 10 Miler - 10/2019 registered
Wine and Dine half marathon - 11/3/2019 registered
Run the Year 2019 - Team Five for Nineteen4 -
I will probably not even try to keep up with this thread, but my goal for the month is 100 miles, as usual
I was 5k short in May - but that particular goal was pretty low on my priority list. I met all of my other goals and then did some stuff I didn't even think was possible, so I'm very happy about the month.
Upcoming races:
June 8: Daily American 10k (Somerset, PA, USA)
June 22: Rockwood Rotary HM (rail trail between Rockwood & Garrett, PA)9 -
5k running and 5k walking, hot, humid, very slow. Ankle tight to start with but got better as it went on and doesn’t hurt now.
Sunday morning was the Navy Nautical 10 miler which was going to be our big race this year. I knew when I got injured a month ago that I was unlikely to make it, but planned to maybe walk it with my husband running it. Then he informed me that running 11 something miles without me at 6 am on a military base didn’t sound fun. He’s an ex Ranger Pathfinder and has had more than his share of road marches, etc. So we decided to give it a pass and save our money.
As a result, we slept in Sunday and ran late in the afternoon. Which lead to a funny moment early in the morning when my phone alarm went off - it was the reminder that I set two months ago that it was time to leave and start driving to Millington (which is an hour away) in order to be there at 4:30 am to pass through the security check to get on the Naval base for the race. We were still awake from Saturday night! We had a little bit of a laugh thinking how horrifying it was to imagine getting up at that hour. Neither one of us are morning people.
Anyone remember the picture I posted off the bridge with several water moccasins under it? We stopped and looked off the same bridge today and there were yet more snakes in the same patch of water weeds. Different snakes, since these were a whole nest of little babies. I’m 90% confident these were also moccasins but it’s difficult to tell with babies at a distance. About the time we started to leave, here comes a young couple, and the guy starts breaking twigs off a fallen branch to make a walking stick, then they wade down into the water under the bridge. “Uh,” I said, which translated out of My-brain-just-froze means, You have got to be kidding me, are you trying to get bitten? “SNAKES,” yells my husband. “Oh, are there snakes around here?” asks the young lady cheerfully. So we beckoned her over to the top of the bridge and pointed out the nest of water moccasins. And she starts yelling at her boyfriend. Anyway they were both still alive when we left.
Speaking of snakes, it was in the news that a guy in Alabama got bitten by a copperhead last week and DIED! Copperhead bites are rarely fatal and he had prompt medical care which usually helps, but he apparently went into anaphylactic shock and sustained brain damage and never recovered. Scary.5 -
@hist_doc - Welcome! I agree with @elise4270 on at least getting your hip evaluated to rule out anything serious. I had a metatarsal stress fracture and the first race I ran after it healed I hurt my hip/quad I thought. When I saw the ortho doc for follow up on my foot I brought it up and she did an evaluation and said it was actually an issue with my IT band and hip caused by my glute being very weak on that side... nothing serious I just need to get that glute back in shape. It's a chain and one weakness can cause issues all down the line.
@ereck44 - Happy Birthday!
I am so sorry for your sister's loss. They must be devastated. Friends that I have known who have lost children (unfortunately several) have been helped by counseling, some in a group or some individually with just the family. It depends on them and where they feel most comfortable. I think it can be immensely helpful to be able to talk to someone who will just listen and not give platitudes and can possibly help them see a way forward. I also think it will take years to get to a point of normalcy where the grief isn't right on top of them all the time. It hurts and I don't think that hurt ever really goes away.
another monthly question for everyone, newbies too.
What's your favorite/ideal pre and or post exercise food? Do you mind the calories/macros? And will you come cook it for me or are you as bad as I am about cooking/planning?
@elise4270 - pre run/race I typically have oatmeal with a handful of walnuts or slivered almonds and no milk or toast with a bit of peanut butter and maybe sliced banana
post run/race it might be chocolate milk, a smoothie or if it is really hot out I will have a cold orange first thing and then a smoothie or something else.
ETA - I do count the calories and I look at my macros overall. I have specifics for each meal too but mostly I know where I want the protein/carb/fat % to be for the day even if they are not on point at each meal.
I ran yesterday (06/01) a real actual run that was more run than walk and it felt pretty darn great! Today was a rest day and tomorrow is going to be busy but I hope to be up and out for a run first thing. Hopefully tomorrow night I can get my ticker up and going...7 -
0603-5k total-5k, goal-80k
Got kept indoors with bad weather and family obligations all weekend, and was hit by a bout of back and shoulder pain last night. Running has helped keep that at bay for so long I'd forgotten how bad it feels. So although there was no run planned today I went out for a quick 5km. It was, for lack of a better way to put it, really really sunny.
I should probably start getting up earlier for these morning runs.another monthly question for everyone, newbies too.
What's your favorite/ideal pre and or post exercise food? Do you mind the calories/macros? And will you come cook it for me or are you as bad as I am about cooking/planning?
I run on an empty stomach, and eat GUs as needed along the way. My new favorite post-run food is chocolate milk. Sometimes the girlfriend shares her chocolated flavored protein shakes, which are pretty nice too. I log them along with everything else I eat or drink, but don't really mind the macros.
Oh, and I'd gladly fly around the world to make a chocolate shake if you need me to.
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Ran 2 miles yesterday, first run since last August. It was tough but felt good. Plan to run again tomorrow and Thursday. Want to ease back into it.7
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6/1- 8.0 miles
6/2 – 2.0 miles + lower body PIYO
6/3 – 5.0 miles
There was a loose dog on our route this morning. Usually we see a dog or two but they are on leashes or in a fenced yard. He looked like he could be a biter but ended up being a big baby. He wasn’t wearing a collar and followed us for about a block before he was distracted sniffing something that only dogs could love.
@ducky133 – Don’t worry if your goal is smaller than others here. I’m continuously in awe and inspired by the mileage that so many people run. All goals are good goals!
@ereck44 – I’m so sorry for the loss of your nephew. I don’t have any experience with grief counseling but if they are open to it and are able to find a good counselor, it probably couldn’t hurt??? I LOVE smelling lilacs! We had a bush in our yard growing up – such a sweet smell!
@kgirlhart – Reese PB eggs are my favorite!! Your pizza looks pretty darn good too!
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0603-5k total-5k, goal-80k
.... So although there
Oh, and I'd gladly fly around the world to make a chocolate shake if you need me to.
Score!!!!! It's boring here. I'll come to you! Hahaha! 🍫🤗
@shanaber @hist_doc Ya know I thought about that yesterday; the week glute. @7lenny7 went through that too. Currently my sole rehab direction is strengthen core and glutes.
Happy Birthday @ereck44 !! May all of your runs be filled with wisdom, freedom, and glee.
@martaindale I'm envious of your weekly food prep. Would you share what foods you premake? I think I'm weird, I don't even like -drinking out of a reuseable cup, much less doing leftovers. But if I take the leftovers and put them in a pan or oven to heat up, they are acceptable. Although, I can't stand waiting for it to be done... I also have a favorite bowl, use the same coffee up.... certain silverware.... My point, I have something to get over or manage here that, I think, interferes with my meal planning. I was good about it when the twins were little, everything was planned and meals frozen.
Injury update
I seem to have sprained my medial patellofemoral ligament, I suspect it was damaged rotating my femur (collateral damage haha! Get it "collateral"?). There was bruising along the medial knee post sx. I did also have some grumpy knee issues prior. I taped it and am noticing a great improvement. Ya K tape!6 -
Back, a few days late, lol. It's so hard to keep up with these threads!
I finished May w/37.7 miles, definitely beneath my goal. But, I had the Derby trip and a bug that knocked me out for several days.
This month I will be aiming for 60 miles. My marathon plan officially starts w/o 6/24. I feel like I'm in a pretty good place to start it - the 1st week of the plan has 3x 3 miles and a 6 mile long run, and last week I did 3x 3 miles and a 7 mile long run, so I feel I'm starting off with a decent base. Now, I just need to keep sticking with the food tracking and lose the rest of the lbs I put on w/my last injury (2.4 down so far).
Date Miles Notes
6/1/2019-- 3.1 -- Dennis P. McCugh 5k
6/2/2019-- 7 -- tired, warm long run
10.1/60
2019 Race List (so far)
Bill Fortune 5k - 4/6
Run For the Wild 5k - 4/27
Dennis P. McCugh 5k - 6/1
Women's Distance Festival 5k - 7/13
South Nyack 10 Miler - 9/8
Marine Corps Marathon - 10/27
WDW Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon - 11/36 -
6-1 7.5k slow
6-2 11k easy
6-3 rest
June Total: 18.5k
June Goal: 150k
January Total: 131k
February Total: 159.5k
March Total: 183k
April Total: 126k
May Total: 128k
Monthly average: 145.5k
Next year when you pop in here claiming your December 2019 mileage, what accomplishments will you have made?
Run at least 4 5k races.
Get under 30:00 and a PR for 5k.
Average at least 135k per month, which would put me over 1,000 miles for the year.
Run the Year Team: Five for Nineteen
Scheduled rest day today. Played golf.
2019 Races:
4-13 Shine the Light 5K - 31:12 chip time; First Place male 65 and older
6-30 Strides for Starfish 5K3 -
@martaindale I'm envious of your weekly food prep. Would you share what foods you premake? I think I'm weird, I don't even like -drinking out of a reuseable cup, much less doing leftovers. But if I take the leftovers and put them in a pan or oven to heat up, they are acceptable. Although, I can't stand waiting for it to be done... I also have a favorite bowl, use the same coffee up.... certain silverware.... My point, I have something to get over or manage here that, I think, interferes with my meal planning. I was good about it when the twins were little, everything was planned and meals frozen.
I sing the praises of meal prep to anyone who will listen!!
My menu changes week to week but this weeks is:
Breakfast: Breakfast bake with egg, turkey, sweet potato, and spinach (think layered and baked in a casserole dish) topped with cheddar cheese. Side of grapes. Coffee with milk.
Lunch/Dinner: Jalapeno Lime Chicken Soup topped with tortilla strips and a little cheddar. Pasta, zucchini, and turkey meatballs with red sauce and parmesan. Salad with grilled corn and shrimp and homemade cilantro-avocado dressing. I make 4 servings of 3 different meals and rotate them so I'm not eating exactly the same thing every day.
Snacks: Snack box with 4oz chicken, sliced cheddar cheese, and crackers. Banana.
Dessert: Enlightened ice cream bar. I can eat ice cream every day and not get tired of it and they have so many flavors!
I have never had anything go bad in the fridge. I do eggs regularly and several entrees with chicken and seafood and never had any issues.5 -
Testing my ticker link.2 -
Just a slow (not easy) 7 miles this morning.
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martaindale wrote: »
@martaindale I'm envious of your weekly food prep. Would you share what foods you premake? I think I'm weird, I don't even like -drinking out of a reuseable cup, much less doing leftovers. But if I take the leftovers and put them in a pan or oven to heat up, they are acceptable. Although, I can't stand waiting for it to be done... I also have a favorite bowl, use the same coffee up.... certain silverware.... My point, I have something to get over or manage here that, I think, interferes with my meal planning. I was good about it when the twins were little, everything was planned and meals frozen.
I sing the praises of meal prep to anyone who will listen!!
My menu changes week to week but this weeks is:
Breakfast: Breakfast bake with egg, turkey, sweet potato, and spinach (think layered and baked in a casserole dish) topped with cheddar cheese. Side of grapes. Coffee with milk.
Lunch/Dinner: Jalapeno Lime Chicken Soup topped with tortilla strips and a little cheddar. Pasta, zucchini, and turkey meatballs with red sauce and parmesan. Salad with grilled corn and shrimp and homemade cilantro-avocado dressing. I make 4 servings of 3 different meals and rotate them so I'm not eating exactly the same thing every day.
Snacks: Snack box with 4oz chicken, sliced cheddar cheese, and crackers. Banana.
Dessert: Enlightened ice cream bar. I can eat ice cream every day and not get tired of it and they have so many flavors!
I have never had anything go bad in the fridge. I do eggs regularly and several entrees with chicken and seafood and never had any issues.
I have no clue how anyone plans out in that kind of regime/detail. My idea of meal prep is a bowl of chocolate cheerios...
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Ok I am trying to figure out the tickerfactory thing. Do I have to update on their website every run then post here? Thanks.0 -
martaindale wrote: »
@martaindale I'm envious of your weekly food prep. Would you share what foods you premake? I think I'm weird, I don't even like -drinking out of a reuseable cup, much less doing leftovers. But if I take the leftovers and put them in a pan or oven to heat up, they are acceptable. Although, I can't stand waiting for it to be done... I also have a favorite bowl, use the same coffee up.... certain silverware.... My point, I have something to get over or manage here that, I think, interferes with my meal planning. I was good about it when the twins were little, everything was planned and meals frozen.
I sing the praises of meal prep to anyone who will listen!!
My menu changes week to week but this weeks is:
Breakfast: Breakfast bake with egg, turkey, sweet potato, and spinach (think layered and baked in a casserole dish) topped with cheddar cheese. Side of grapes. Coffee with milk.
Lunch/Dinner: Jalapeno Lime Chicken Soup topped with tortilla strips and a little cheddar. Pasta, zucchini, and turkey meatballs with red sauce and parmesan. Salad with grilled corn and shrimp and homemade cilantro-avocado dressing. I make 4 servings of 3 different meals and rotate them so I'm not eating exactly the same thing every day.
Snacks: Snack box with 4oz chicken, sliced cheddar cheese, and crackers. Banana.
Dessert: Enlightened ice cream bar. I can eat ice cream every day and not get tired of it and they have so many flavors!
I have never had anything go bad in the fridge. I do eggs regularly and several entrees with chicken and seafood and never had any issues.
I'm inspired. I'm going to try harder to plan meals. The jalapeno lime chicken soup and that salad! Mmmm! We don't have fresh seafood, I suppose frozen shrimp is acceptable. Your meals sound amazing!1 -
Ok I am trying to figure out the tickerfactory thing. Do I have to update on their website every run then post here? Thanks.
Yes. You'll need to update it on the tracker website and repost the link. It won't always update immediately, there is often a lag with the cache. Update here as often as you like! We enjoy hearing about each run!, if you wanna share.1 -
June Running Totals (miles)
6/1 – 5.08 group run
6/2 – 6.30 easy
6/3 – rest day
June running total to date – 11.38
Nominal May mileage goal: 100
Real Goals: Get back to running regularly without injuring myself.
Today's Yesterday's notes – I was up way too late Saturday, then up early because I committed to ringing handbells at church on Sunday. Crashed hard Sunday afternoon, 2 hour nap. Got out to run about 5 PM. It was warm at 73° F (23°C), but not terribly humid. Planned to run a generous 10K loop.
It was really pleasant to be out running. Detours to add distance beckoned me, but I held to discipline and did not take them. Ran just a little past my driveway to OCD 6.30 miles, the longest run since taking two months off.
This is the tricky part of exercising discipline. I feel great, while running I feel like I can run farther. But I know I need to build gradually to avoid injury. So far, so good. The sore spot in my right thigh (probably the vastus lateralis) from last Thursday is better now. The left vastus lateralis spoke up on a downhill late in yesterday's run, but is okay today. I've got another spot that is telling me to back off the quad work today, so I stopped doing squats after 4 reps.
I can do this. The plan is to hold the distance to 6-ish miles per day this week, then maybe let myself run 8-ish miles on Saturday if my body doesn't complain about the volume. Still may DNS McMullen Mile on Friday, but no longer as certain of that as I was.
. . . and my team captain is trying to get a 60+ team together for an international cross country race in Toronto in mid-July. I'll have to think about that one.
2019 Races:
January 1, 2019 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) finished in 50:55
January 5, 2019 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) finished in 1:30:48
January 12, 2019 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds 5 Mile) (Spencerport, NY) finished in 33:10
January 26, 2019 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) 4.9 miles, finished in 32:28
February 2, 2019 USATF XC Championship, Masters 8K (Tallahassee, FL) finished in 32:53
February 9, 2019 Freezeroo #5 (Tom Brannon 8 mile) (Greece, NY) finished in 55:55
February 23, 2019 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) finished in 28:34
March 16, 2019 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K) (Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 32:02
March 17, 2019 Shamrock Half Marathon (Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 1:34:21
April 13, 2019 BAA 5K (Boston, MA) DNS - injury
April 15, 2019 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA to Boston, MA) DNS - injury
April 28, 2019 USATF Masters 10K (James Joyce Ramble) (Dedham, MA) canceled registration - injury
May 19, 2019 Lilac Run 5K (Rochester, NY) DNS - injury
May 19, 2019 Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY) DNS - injury
May 25, 2019 Sunset House 5K (Rochester, NY) DNS - injury
June 7, 2019 Charlie McMullen Mile (Pittsford, NY)
June 16, 2019 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY)
June 29, 2019 A Country Mile at Ganondagan (5-ish mile trail) (Victor, NY)
November 3, 2019 TCS New York City Marathon (New York, NY)9 -
Morning all.
Day 4 of my June streak, and 9/120k for June done. It was a balmy 10degrees c this mor3. I think I've found my sweet spot for running temperatures. Somewhere between 10 - 14 degrees. I wore two top layers, my running tank top and a high vis vest, and I was nice and comfortable.
Beginning of second to last week of work. I'm starting to get all the feels. I have been very good over the weekend at not indulging in all the things. Hope to keep that up this week. Eating what ever I want just gave me an upset tummy and made me feel sluggish7 -
Date :::: Miles :::: Cumulative
06/01/19 :::: 0.0 :::: 0.0
06/02/19 :::: 13.2 :::: 13.2
06/03/19 Probably 0
Race report - Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon
Hi all - back from the weekend in Niagara Falls, which was a great time with my group of running friends. The race was definitely not the most fun, but the rest of the weekend was fantastic. We met up with most of the group at packet pick-up on Saturday. The expo was not huge, but they have a great goodie bag that includes a full size bottle of wine, bag of epsom salts, a whole box of deep conditioner packets, and a full size lavender body wash. Kathrine Switzer was there signing people's bibs and taking pictures so we gathered up and got a picture of all of us with her. She was so nice and talked to everyone so it took forever, but it was great (I've seen her at a few races, she's a Syracuse alum and wants us to start a Syracuse chapter of her 261 Fearless groups).
The race day forecast had been looking really bad for thunderstorms and rain showers all morning, so we were kind of pleasantly surprised when it was not actually raining when we got up and they were saying no rain until 10 am or so. I had decided not to bring my rain poncho or hat at all, and was out the door to walk to the start when the rain started up again. So we went back in and got our rain gear on and re-grouped. Right at the start it was the worst, with spitting rain and wind picking up (after I had ditched my disposable poncho) and they started 10 minutes late which was pretty unpopular with the crowd as we stood there getting really cold and wet.
I barely slept at all the night before and I felt generally crappy that morning, so I downgraded my expectations by quite a bit. I had lined up with a group of my friends who were faster than me and I couldn't hang with them for long so ran the race by myself, which I generally prefer unless I'm really not treating it as a race at all. Which was a definite temptation here, but I decided to just see how it went. I was just ahead of the 2:15 pacer for a while in the beginning as we ran past the falls and back, but then there were nice indoor bathrooms available and I needed it so I decided to stop (which I almost never do) and fell back. I picked up the pace again but in the back of my mind I was holding out the option of making another stop a little later and maybe falling back with a couple of friends who were running it at slower pace and just enjoy the time with friends. I couldn't seem to let myself do that though, so kept pushing ahead.
The section after the falls turnaround went back past the start and out the other direction on the parkway. This section is long and the turnaround seems like it will never happen (and there really needed to be one more water stop out there than there was). Finally I saw the leaders coming back the other way so had hope that I would eventually get there (the front woman had a huge lead, which was pretty amazing, one of our friends came in 9th overall but was quite a ways behind her). The turnaround was at the 14 km mark and while I'm not easily fluent in km speak, I knew it was 21.1 km total and kept up a steady stream of counting down the km and converting it to miles in my head, and figuring out how many more minutes of running, for most of the rest of the race. As awesome as running past the falls twice was, the scenery in that back half of the race is not great so I was happy the turnaround also provided some interest of seeing the other runners pass by and being able to spot all my friends. Plus the bibs had first names on them in big letters so it was fun to be able to cheer people by name as you passed to offer some encouragement. Lots of people did that for me too and it was a boost.
Mile 10 felt like an awful slog. But I wanted to try to rally a bit and soon I spotted the 2:20 pacer a little ways ahead of me and thought even if I couldn't catch them, I could get closer. I was more familiar with this area of the course (we were staying in that area and had walked that part to the start) so I picked up the pace and concentrated on being done in just a few more minutes. As soon as I rounded the corner heading to the finish I made a final push. The 2:20 pacer had stopped and started walking right before the finish and was kind of turning back and cheering people on, and I guessed that 2:20 probably hadn't yet passed (I'd been trying not to obsess with looking at my watch). I crossed at 2:17:31 so she was in fact quite early. This was within 40 seconds of my time from the same race last year, amazingly enough. I take this as a win because last year I felt like I was running it about as hard as I could and this year I was definitely not at my best and I stopped for a bathroom break so I feel like I could easily have done better. I also have 2 other HM finish times right at 2:17, so I think this must be my default time.
After finishing, I was relieved and tired and cold, and I could tell my feet were all blistered and pruny. They had a Tim Horton's coffee truck and that really hit the spot on this chilly morning. I didn't hang out too long but found several of our group, most of whom had done really well, although one woman hurt her knee and didn't finish. I walked back to our AirBnB, which was along the course route so I cheered on a lot of the runners and walkers still finishing up as I went, and many yelled congratulations to me.
The weather cleared up nicely that afternoon (of course) and we enjoyed the rest of the day and night, with lots of eating and drinking and laughing, and drove back today. I'm not sure I'll do this one again in the near future - we want to branch out to some different destination races, but it's a great race, very friendly and supportive. The unpleasant weather made it a little less of a fun atmosphere compared to what it was last year but there's nothing you can do about that. In the usual way, I felt miserable during much of it but happy and accomplished after. Not close to a PR, but I met my goal of a fairly decent half finish time, which I was kind of worried about because I haven't run more than 11miles since my marathon at the end of October, and my base mileage hasn't been as solid over the last couple of months. I had also told my friends beforehand that I didn't have a goal time in mind but my goal for the day was to run the race and not whine (no whine before the finish wine). Which I accomplished, but mainly because there was no one with me to whine to for the bulk of it. 9
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