My first half marathon.  The conclusion = Joanne is a lazy runner, explained at the end of the post.

Last night, I was thinking what a fool I am, almost ruining my first half.  You see, I brought my new bike home and couldn’t leave it alone.  Don’t I fall off it?  It’s my first bike with the clip in shoe-to-pedal configuration and when I put my left shoe down, it went right out from under me.  However, a bruised hand doesn’t stop one from running, right?  Could have been worse. 

Marathon morning:

Up at 5:15, had some water and went for a 2:15 mile jog with Shane to get things moving.

A few changes:  I ditched the oatmeal idea since I’m used to running on banana and peanut butter.  I had some raisins and nuts instead at about 6:30. I had 1/2 a Snickers Low GI Marathon Bar at 7: 55 am.  The half of a banana with peanut butter was eaten at 8:45 am (an hour and a half before the race start).  Everything is HALF today?! Wow?!!!

Clothes:  I changed from my long running pants to shorts because it felt warmer than expected when  I was outside with Shane but did keep my long sleeve shirt on.  I ended up dressing just right. My arms would have been too cold due to the wind on the way back (miles 7 – 13) if I had worn short sleeves. 

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It was cold and a little windy but at least the sun was shining and the prediction was rain.  We totally lucked out.

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Look into the photo above to the middle left and there I am!  I like to position myself right in the middle of the crowd towards the front at the start.  It was cold and the crowd provides warmth.  I don’t like starting at the back even though it seems as if every runner out there passes me once we get going.

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Ted was with me almost every step of the way on his NEW TREK bike.  That was a HUGE help and I loved having him there.  

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The course was definitely hilly but I ended up enjoying the hills because they added variety and challenges and, most important, the up hills offered very rewarding down hills.  

I stopped at every water stop to take at least one sip of water.

I had an E-Drenaline at mile 5 which I was a little nervous about since it has caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee.  Coffee is not only a diuretic but can have LAXATIVE effects.  That was not needed on a course that doesn’t offer porta-potties. 

The E-Drenaline worked out fine and gave me the boost needed for the next 6 miles.  

There was one steep, but short incline between mile 9 and 10.  I was truckin’ along and heard the guy beside me mutter “Oh no.  I’ve been dreading this hill throughout the entire race”.  I said “is there anymore of these?”, referring to the hills.  He said “no. just make it up this one and it’s all down hill from here”.  PHEW!  He was right.  He was also right in dreading that hill because even Ted said it was tough on the bike.

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As I rounded the turn, Ted had stopped and in the photo above, I’m pointing up the hill.   I paced myself with the girl right in front of me in the photo. She was panting and talking to herself, it was quite entertaining.

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Why do I always end up alone on the course?!           We passed the turkey farm on Turkey Hill Road at mile 10 – 11.  Hundreds of turkeys!

At 11, I kept thinking about the Accel-Gel in my shorts pocket. So I took two mouthfuls of globby, orangey gel.

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It wasn’t that bad. Not like GU.  I chose Accel over GU because Accel has protein in it and GU is all about carbohydrates.   I think it worked because I really picked up speed the last two miles.

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I crossed the finish line as number 238 out of some 500 or so runners.  My time was 1 hour 54 minutes and 50 seconds.  Average page 8:46.  Place = 10th in my age group. 

Cool!   

As for any aches and pains, my hamstring got a little sore at one point but went away.  The ball of my left foot got very painful right after the race but I changed shoes and it’s been fine since. 

As soon as I checked the stats, Ted and I made tracks to eat. I grabbed the other half of the Marathon Bar and the half banana.  But the most rewarding food was from Queens Diner in Dryden, NY.

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The coffee tasted SO good. I did have 2 glasses of water with it so I didn’t dehydrate.

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A super delicious Greek omelet made with egg whites, tomatoes, onions, and feta cheese. Rye toast – dry.  The hash browns which I don’t usually eat, I had a couple of bites.

This was topped off with tongue tingling (not for PRE race meals) HOT SAUCE!

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There were no ice baths for this running babe.  It was a HOT bath with …ah…antioxidant replenishment??????

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A glass of wine, a comfy “trophy” shirt, my day is complete.

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I’m just ok with my results. Why?  I wasn’t feeling exhausted or spent after crossing the finish line.  I had more to offer. Ted said to me “You’re not even breathing hard”.   In fact, during the race, even up the hills, I could hold a very clear, constant breath, conversation.  People around me were panting, grunting, puffing, swearing, and talking themselves through it.  My last two miles were at 7:15 and 7:48 pace.  I think I had more to offer in this run.  I’m hoping to get a little training on how to pace myself better.  Right now, I’m a “lazy” runner which means I don’t give as much as I can during the race.  I basically make it easy for myself.  Hopefully I can work with someone who will help me recognize my limits.

What I WAS happy with was that I finished before a guy who is running Boston on the 19th.  Ted suggested he was just running slow (ah…THANKS TED!), but I like to think I was just faster than him    That’s competitiveness for you.

Joanne

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