Turning Stone Half Marathon 2011

The first running of the Turning Stone Half Marathon.  Great turnout and great organization. 

Packet pick up was very easy since Ted and I went to the Expo on Friday and ran the 5K for fun.  We beat the crowd.

Great swag:  A nice technical t-shirt.  Mini Clif bars.  Mini Larabar.  Bags of Sweet Potato chips. GU chomps (in Blueberry Pomegranate-FAVE!). VitaFusion Fiber Gummies for weight management (not sure when I’ll need those but I’ll eat them anyway ).  Natural Vitality an anti-stress drink (I’ll need that this week as we go through a costing audit at work – AH!). We were given quite a few non-edibles as well:  Zeasorb, Udderly Smooth – hmmm?, Amica lip protection, Shave secret, and multiple coupons for different vendors. 

There were some natural supplement products and skin care items by Arbonne (rep. for contact is Kathy Rutherford).  Ever heard of it? I haven’t but will definitely check them out. The supplements were Vegan and peaked my interest. I’m not heavy into skin care since my skin doesn’t like creams or lotions but you never know.

I wasn’t sure how this race would go.  I didn’t really taper due to the 32 mile bike ride and easy 5K on Friday.  Saturday, I spent the entire day on my feet beginning with a 5 mile walk.  Seriously, I must have sat down for 10 minutes within 12 1/2 hours.  I went to bed Saturday night with sore feet, not one, but two sore feet.

Sunday morning at 5 am, after eating half of an Ezekiel bagel, Shane and I went for the usual pre-race 2 mile warm up.  Ted left at 6:15 since he was riding his bike to the race. It seemed warm and humid outside at 73 degrees.  Not a great temperature for this bod of mine.  I decided I would let my body dictate my pace.

Ted showed up at the Turning Stone about 20 minutes pre race time.  Yay! He had water so I could down a Hammer Gel before taking off on a 13.1 mile trek.

There were a lot of folks running and the 10K and Half were mixed.  We would separate on the course at about the 4 1/2 mile point.  The wheel chairs took off at 7:55 am.

In the shoot were signs to line up according to pace time.  Due to the amount of people, it was impossible to get to the correct sign.  I ended up at the 10 mile pace sign.

Runners take your marks!

We were off.  It wasn’t a bad start.  It didn’t take long to cross the timing strips.  There were a lot of spectators cheering us on. 

Time clocks were set up at several points along the course.  The first was at the one mile point.  8:12 pace.  Oh well, it was the start and I hadn’t found my running legs yet.

The road was wide enough so trying to “jockey” for position wasn’t an issue.  The course started on a small incline then flattened out.  Over the course of 13.1 miles, there were gentle inclines and declines.  The course is best described as rolling, but it allowed you to find your rhythm.  Checking in with my mental state, my legs, my feet, there were aches and pains from hamstring to foot. I ignored the discomfort knowing that as soon as I got into this race, the pains would be nothing more than a “whisper” as I ran along.

The weight of my car keys as well as the noise they were making was getting on my nerves.  Should have given them to Ted.  I took every opportunity to chat with folks along the way, taking my mind off the minor discomforts and the sound of the keys.  One guy was training for the Mohawk to Hudson Marathon in October.  The next guy I spoke to kept stopping due to hamstring pain.  I found out he was running his first marathon in a week (I think he said). It was the Adirondack marathon.  That’s going to be a hilly course!  A young gal lopping along said it was her 2nd half marathon. She asked how many I had done and I said I couldn’t remember but they never seemed to get any easier.  

The course reminded me of my very first Half marathon, Skunk Cabbage with the wide open fields, small groups of supporters setting up chairs and holding signs on street corners, country scenery along the way.  There was plenty of water stops which offered water or PowerAde.  The last third of the race, some aid stations were offering GU packets. 

As I approached the 10 mile timer, I saw 1:24 on the display.  There was no way to make up all that lost time.  My body wasn’t in race mode today, that’s for sure. Still, I thought if I could, maybe there was something in me for the last 3 miles.  Nope. Nothing. The body said “You burned me out Lady – I’m done.”   I didn’t stop but I didn’t surge for the finish either. 

Even though this was far from my best time in a Half, it was a good race.  The best part was approaching the finish line. 

I was coming in alone and anyone who knew me called out “Joanne”.  What a great feeling that is.  Looking left and waving, looking right and waving, what a way to finish.

So in approximately an hour and fifty minutes I crossed the finish line.  I felt good because I took it easy, but I felt bad because I was so far from what I wanted to run in this race.  Guess I should ask myself “how bad did I really want it?” since I didn’t set myself up for a PR due to the bike and the long day Saturday. 

The Turning Stone Half marathon was a good race, well organized and well catered to the runner. 

I’m sitting here wondering, as my feet and legs throb with pain, if there might be another Half I can sign up for in …Oh…say October? to get that PR I want for New York City.  Crazy? Maybe. Determined. You bet!