I went into the race hoping to maintain the 9:58 pace that my training plan claimed I should be able to run. But it was hot (for me), not very shady, and pretty hilly.
So I started out easy and found that every time I checked my pace, it was closer to 9:00 than 9:58.
As a reminder, I ran the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon in 2:16:26 in March.
Today, I ran the Newburgh Half Marathon in 2:07:13!
Now, for all my non-runner friends, we runners are pretty excited when we beat our times by seconds, let alone minutes!
There were some killer hills, one right before the halfway point turn around and one at mile 8. And the rest of the course wasn't exactly flat. It was an out and back course, so every time I ran up a hill I thought, "well, at least this will be downhill later." This thought process did not help me when I was running downhill during the first half of the race.
Getting up to the race was fairly uneventful, and I was there right when packet pickup started so it was really easy to get my stuff.
And then I had some time to kill before the race started.
There was not a cloud in the sky. And not as much shade as I would have liked.
The course was really pretty though, lots of views of the Hudson River and some neat old houses/buildings.
There was a woman in an orange tank top who was running pretty much the same pace as me, we took turns passing each other throughout the race and exchanged random banter about the race director moving the hills around so the whole course was uphill.
When we had the finish line in sight, she was a ways ahead of me, I broke into my sprint (which got me some cheers from spectators) and I passed my orange tank top friend (along with several other people) right at the end. She found me later when I was stuffing my face with a bagel and told me "You came out of nowhere!"
It was the first year for this half marathon, and I don't think they anticipated selling out. Somehow the porta-potties didn't get to the course (or the start) until I was at about mile 6, and they really could have used some more volunteers at the water stations. On the bright side, packet pickup was at a theater, so there were a couple of bathrooms in there. And while they could have used more people at the water stations, there was one about every mile and a half, which was amazing.
I didn't actually take any pictures after the race until I got home.
Now I'm off to rinse off the super awesome sweat/sunscreen/dirt combination I have going on.
As a reminder, I ran the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon in 2:16:26 in March.
Today, I ran the Newburgh Half Marathon in 2:07:13!
Now, for all my non-runner friends, we runners are pretty excited when we beat our times by seconds, let alone minutes!
There were some killer hills, one right before the halfway point turn around and one at mile 8. And the rest of the course wasn't exactly flat. It was an out and back course, so every time I ran up a hill I thought, "well, at least this will be downhill later." This thought process did not help me when I was running downhill during the first half of the race.
Getting up to the race was fairly uneventful, and I was there right when packet pickup started so it was really easy to get my stuff.
And then I had some time to kill before the race started.
There was not a cloud in the sky. And not as much shade as I would have liked.
The course was really pretty though, lots of views of the Hudson River and some neat old houses/buildings.
There was a woman in an orange tank top who was running pretty much the same pace as me, we took turns passing each other throughout the race and exchanged random banter about the race director moving the hills around so the whole course was uphill.
When we had the finish line in sight, she was a ways ahead of me, I broke into my sprint (which got me some cheers from spectators) and I passed my orange tank top friend (along with several other people) right at the end. She found me later when I was stuffing my face with a bagel and told me "You came out of nowhere!"
It was the first year for this half marathon, and I don't think they anticipated selling out. Somehow the porta-potties didn't get to the course (or the start) until I was at about mile 6, and they really could have used some more volunteers at the water stations. On the bright side, packet pickup was at a theater, so there were a couple of bathrooms in there. And while they could have used more people at the water stations, there was one about every mile and a half, which was amazing.
I didn't actually take any pictures after the race until I got home.
Now I'm off to rinse off the super awesome sweat/sunscreen/dirt combination I have going on.
That is so Awesome!!!!!!! What a huge PR! Good thing you changed your tempo pace :).... Now you'll have to change all your training paces. Congratulations again on such an awesome race
ReplyDeleteThanks!! :) I guess it's time to take down that mental block I have against going faster.
DeleteGreat job running that 1/2. Small , Small world, I must tell you. I found you from another blog and what do you know. I actually ran the SAME 1/2 you did this weekend. It was my first and very challenging. BUT I FINISHED. What was with the late start time and porta john issues? I hope other halfs are more organized. It kinda sucked for my first half...........but I am sure ready to be my PR. New follower.
ReplyDeleteSeriously small world! Congratulations on finishing your first half - it was a tough one! It was the first year for this half (it used to just be the 5k), so I'm not surprised that they had a few hiccups, though late starts are not terribly uncommon in my experience.
DeleteWoohoo that's an awesome PR!!! Congrats!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I couldn't believe how much faster it was than my last race!
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