West Point Half Marathon Recap

I survived the hills of West Point!

I somehow managed to get through the whole race without taking any pictures, before, during, or after. We didn't even get a group shot of me and my weekend running peoples. Blogger fail.

It's a shame, because West Point is beautiful!

Packet pickup was a breeze (we were early), but the race ended up starting 20 minutes late. A lot of other people weren't early and tons of people were still getting their bibs when the race was supposed to start. It was chip timed anyway, so the rest of us felt like we should have just started. But then, we were also really cold and just wanted to start running.

It was around 27 degrees at the start of the race, and it wasn't much warmer by the time I finished. It's the first time I've raced with a jacket and gloves on.

Before the race started, the West Point Parachute Team jumped into Michie Stadium (the West Point football stadium), which was really cool. They have amazing control of their speed and direction, very impressive!

We all started the race way too fast, most of the first 4 miles were downhill. And then, the hills started. There were some rolling hills, which weren't terrible, and a few very long, very steep ones, which were. The worst hill was at mile 12.5 (a cruel place for a hill) - almost everyone I saw walked at least part of it.

I don't really have an awesome mile-by-mile recap for you this time around. I cycled through feeling awful and wondering why on earth I thought running this race was a good idea, and being impressed with my pace (on the less hilly miles). I got to see Tom around mile 9.5 and at the end of the terrible hill near the end, which was a fun morale boost. :)

The race finished on the field at the stadium, and I passed 4 or 5 guys on my way to the finish line - apparently they don't know how fun it is to sprint after running 13 miles.

I wasn't sure what time to expect when I got to the finish line. I only checked my pace from time to time during the race. I never looked at the running time, so I was pretty happy to see 2:00:xx as I was approaching the line.

My official chip time was 2:00:55 - that's only 2:50 slower than my PR, and my second best half marathon time ever! If it weren't for all those hills, I probably could have set a new PR, which is pretty cool.

They give out what they call a "finishers coin" instead of medals, though I was a little bummed that it was more of a dog tag style than a coin. I'll probably put it on a ribbon so it can hang with the rest of my medals.

Running this race was a really fun way to get to see West Point, and even though I am seriously sore today, I would definitely think about running it again.

Oops

I missed my final run before the race.

I was supposed to have one last short mile repeat session on Thursday, but I ended up taking a nap instead. Kicking this cold seemed more important than getting that last run in. I decided that I wasn't going to make any huge gains with one more run anyway, but now I feel a little off. I haven't run since Wednesday, and I'm not going to run until tomorrow morning at the race. We'll see how that goes.

I can't even begin to set a time goal for tomorrow. It's the hilliest race I've ever run, and I haven't raced since October.

Our hope (a couple of my much faster weekend running buddies are also running) was that we wouldn't have to wear jackets for the race, but it's looking like it will be in the upper 20s when the gun goes off. Jackets and gloves it is.

Buddy loves when I sit on the floor.

Please ignore my half-closed eyes and focus on how cute this dog face is.

He's pretty sure he's a tiny little lap dog.

And some cool fog from the other day.

Now I'm off to finish some laundry, figure out what I'm wearing tomorrow and keep myself busy so I don't just sit here and think about the terrible, terrible hills.

That's a Lie

It's taper week! That means I have less miles to run and more fidgety energy to burn - a dangerous combination. I also have a cold, which isn't related, but it's still true.

Let's take a minute to review the absolute terror that is the West Point elevation chart.

Note that it is in meters. That means the course climb is actually 1,437 feet. Remind me why I signed up for this race?

I decided that since it is my first race of the year, and will most likely result in death by hills anyway, I'm going to run by feel and not worry too much about time.

That's a lie of course, I will care a little bit about time.

Today was an easy 3 miles on the treadmill. I know I need to get outside one of these days, but my laziness is pretty impressive.

Not as impressive as Buddy's, but still.

Things are getting springier around here. 

It's even supposed to hit 60 on Thursday! And it's supposed to rain. You win some, you lose some.

What's the hilliest race you've run?

The Run that Wouldn't End

Today was long run day. In hindsight, I probably should have braved the trails rather than hitting the treadmill, but I opted for netflix instead.

I don't know if it's because I've been running outside more lately or what, but this was the run that wouldn't end. I wanted to stop pretty much the entire time, and took a million water breaks.

I started out watching the Silver Linings Playbook. I tried watching it once before and lasted about 15 minutes before I turned it off. Today I made it 45 minutes before I decided I just didn't care about what was happening in the movie. It's very rare that I don't like a movie enough to turn it off, in fact I actually like a lot of bad movies. Switched it over to Gilmore Girls and was much happier.

All my favorite running shorts were in the laundry, so I wore a backup pair that I don't normally wear. About 7 miles in I had an unpleasant chafing situation and stopped to scrounge around in my drawer of running gear for a skort to change into. Things were better after that.

Eventually I made it to 12 miles and kicked the speed up for the last mile.

I ended up running 13.1 miles in 2:06:18, a 9:38 pace. I have one more long run before the West Point Half - the last few weeks before a race always go by so quickly!

Buddy made himself a nest while I was running.

Ridiculous dog.

Race Sign Up and Running Again!

I was amazingly lazy on Sunday. We had freezing rain pretty much all day long, and I spent most of my day researching races, reading blogs and watching tv.

Freezing rain is dumb.

Buddy was terrified while Tom cooked dinner, so I threw his blanket on him. He stayed like this for about an hour.

He has such a rough life.

The result of all my race research is that I'm now officially signed up for 3 half marathons!

West Point Half Marathon - March 29th
Rhinebeck Hudson Valley Half Marathon - May 16th
Walkway Half Marathon - June 13th

The Rhinebeck and Walkway races are new, it's the first year for both of them. I think I have run more races in their first year than I have run established races. I have never been signed up for more than one half marathon at a time, it's weird for me to be planning my entire year of racing at once.

I'm almost 100% decided on a marathon, but registration doesn't open up for most fall marathons until April, so we'll see if I'm still stuck on the same one come April.

I ran today!

I haven't run since my painful, aborted tempo run last Thursday. My ankle has been feeling a lot better, and I took it slow. I did a legitimate warmup (which I don't always do) and stopped to stretch (and do some mountain climbers for the #NoExcuses challenge) every mile. I ended up running 3.13 miles in 30 minutes. I'm just happy that I got to run!

And yes, I iced after I was finished.

Hopefully this means I can get back to my training plan this week.

Buddy did as much adventuring as his leash would allow this afternoon. I think he was just happy the temperature was above freezing.

Do you plan your race schedule for the year all at once or do you like to play it by ear?

Shorter Hair and a Scary Elevation Chart

I finally did it. I made an appointment and got my hair cut.

I know you were all wondering. ;)

If I had waited another two months, I would have gone 2 years without a haircut. That's a little extreme.

I managed to not get it cut as short as I sometimes do (I tend to get it cut to my chin and then I hate it after a day or two).

My hairstylist was disturbed by how long I had gone without a hair cut. I was disturbed by the half hour she spent blow drying my hair.

She would have been absolutely horrified to see it an hour after I got home. I had already shoved it up into a ponytail while I let Jillian Michaels yell at me some more (30 day shred this time) before I ran a few easy treadmill miles.

I'm really trying to keep up the strength training (you know, since I've done it twice this week). I know that I need to push through the first few days of feeling sore (really sore) and that if I just stick with it, it will get easier. Thinking about how that added strength will help my running is my main motivation.

It's especially helpful to think of the hills I'm going to face at the West Point Half.

Did I show you this yet?

That's in meters, not feet!

I think I need to go do some more squats or something.

Buddy was trying to get to the sunshine and got tangled in the curtain today.

Good thing he's cute.

Do you run mostly flat races or hilly ones?

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