Walkway Half Marathon Recap

I ran the Walkway Half Marathon this morning!

Friday afternoon I made the drive up to Poughkeepsie to pick up my bib & shirt. It was kind of a pain, but there was no race day pickup, so what can you do? The drive was over an hour, and then it took me another 15 minutes to successfully make my way into the correct parking area.

The expo was actually pretty big for the race size (2500 runners between the 5k, half and full marathon), and packet pickup was a breeze. I wandered around for a few minutes, but wasn't really in the mood to chat with expo booth people.

This morning I was up at 4:45. The plan was to leave as close to 5 as possible (they wanted people there 90 minutes before the race), but I didn't end up leaving until almost 5:20. The drive up was pretty uneventful and they had lots of volunteers to keep parking organized.

Even though there wasn't any race day packet pickup, the race did not start on time. We were about 15 minutes late - pretty common with the races I've run lately.

People are not good at lining themselves up according to pace time. There were people in front of me who walked the first hill in the first tenth of a mile - stopping to walk in the middle of the pack of runners - at least move over before you stop!

There were a couple of narrow areas in the first mile, and that, combined with the walkers, made the first mile my slowest. After we got off the road and onto the (paved) trails I started making better time.

Speaking of time, I broke the #1 rule of racing today - don't try anything new on race day. I tried the goal pace setting on my watch for the first time and quickly learned that the only stat I had available to me was my current pace. So, for the entire race I had no idea of the time and was dependent on mile markers. Not ideal.

The course was really pretty and very well organized (it was the first year for the half and full). There were water stations (and NUUN!) every 1.5 miles and lots of volunteers along the way to make sure no one got lost. The race claims to be "fast and flat," but according to my watch, it was hillier (938 feet!) than my last race!

I felt pretty good for most of the race, but at mile 9 I was hit by a killer side cramp. It hurt so bad I actually stopped for a few seconds to try to get it to stop.

The rest of the race was good, though it was starting to get hot out (not that it was cold at any point, I think it was around 70 degrees when I left the house).

I finished in 1:59:24! It's not a PR, but considering the heat (and the side cramp), I'm happy with it.

Aaaand I didn't take any pictures until I got home.

The medal is pretty cool - it's wood!

And now back to our regularly scheduled packing.

Packing and Running

Things are busy busy around here!

Unless your name is Buddy, and then it's just business as usual.

My training plan has flown out the window and I'm getting a few miles in where I can. I find myself saying things like "well, at least I'll have well-rested legs on race day" and "maybe this extreme taper will make me run faster." Positive thinking, no?

My run today was a fun one. I ended up running 5 treadmill miles (it is super gross outside - hot and humid) and felt great! This is the complete opposite of my final run before my last race. That run left me feeling tired and not ready to run. This run made me feel good about racing in a couple days.

Race day is in two days and moving day is in four. No big deal, right? We're living in a sea of boxes (because we finally started packing) and I'm trying to find the balance between getting things packed and leaving enough things in the kitchen so we can still cook dinner.

Buddy is thoroughly confused about what's going on, and he doesn't like the look of all the boxes. Once he's free to frolic in his new yard, I know he'll be happy, but for now he's pretty concerned. Moving is stressful for everyone.

Now I'm off to take a break to watch the Bone season finale. I hate finale episodes because I don't do well with cliffhangers - I want to know what happens right now!

Priorities

We actually started packing today - for real! 

The buyers came by for one last walk through (mostly to measure things), so we were trying to at least look like we were going to be moved out sometime soon. You know, in a week. 

I was supposed to have a 5 mile run today, but packing was a higher priority. I'm trying to balance packing and running this week since I have the Walkway Half Marathon on Saturday. Someone asked me the other day why I signed up for this race when we have so many other things going on. They didn't think about the fact that I had signed up months ago and had absolutely no way of knowing when we would be moving. 

Buddy and I hung out outside while the buyers were here so he didn't jump all over them. He couldn't figure out why we were just sitting on the grass. And he didn't appreciate my pictures. 

He absolutely refused to look at me, no matter how many times I said his name.

This packing business is making moving more real. We've been talking about moving for almost a year, and now it's happening! It's both stressful and exciting :)

Morning Miles and Procrastinating Packing

Sorry I'm so all over the place lately. We've been busy with work things, packing and planning - I'm still not sure how we're going to get everything done. One day I'll get back to posting more often than you care to read, and then it will be full of running updates and home improvement projects!

I woke up early this morning to meet up with two of my weekend running buddies for some extra miles. We ended up running just shy of 11 miles. It was my last run with the group for a while since my next race is a week from today and then we're moving. It's going to be about an hour long drive to meet up with them once we move, but I'm planning on making the trek for some of my longer runs during marathon training. Miles go faster with friends!

I spent some time boxing up some of my loose things in the basement and re-taping the boxes that I never bothered to unpack when we moved from Alaska. I also boxed up some books and found a bunch of bags/backpacks that will soon be full of things.

I found this picture from my derby days while I was packing things up in the basement.

I'm the one not on the ground.

See those shelves? There were (more) books on them earlier! I'm celebrating tiny victories today, it helps me feel productive.

We keep telling Buddy that he needs to pack up his toys, but he's about as good as we are about packing.

National Running Day

Happy National Running Day! Did you get a run in today?

As a side note: Friday is National Doughnut Day - I just thought you should know. ;)

I had a tempo run on the schedule for the day and I put it off for so long it almost didn't happen. I finally made it down to the treadmill for some Gilmore Girls and 7 miles. 5 were at 8:49 pace. I probably could have stuck with a faster pace, but I opted to enjoy feeling strong instead.

I spent some time relaxing with my legs up the wall after my run. Buddy wanted to stay close, but he found it pretty boring.

We stopped by Home Depot and picked up some packing paper and foam padding for dishes today. That's almost like packing.

I also packed up some clothes that I'm definitely not going to be wearing in the next two weeks. Baby steps.

And it's a good thing this guy is cute, because he's been underfoot all day.

He's going to be really confused when we finally get serious about packing.

Running in the Rain

I have still not started packing. I did, however, make brownies, which is really more important in the short term if you ask me.

Yesterday I was determined to run outside. And then it was raining and I got lazy and ran inside. Today I was determined to run outside again. And then it was raining again. But this time I sucked it up and dragged myself out the door to hit the trails.

Very few people thought it was a good day for visiting the park.

But you know what? Once I just accepted the inevitable (getting completely drenched), I had a lot of fun! There was only one other crazy person out running the trails, so it was like having the place to myself.

I ran a little over 5 miles in 47:07 - I'm pretty happy with that considering the puddle dodging, mud, and hills.

Luckily I had the presence of mind to bring a towel with me to keep my car seat dry for the drive home.

This wussy dog was shivering after his last walk, so I brought out his blanket and he's much happier now, regardless of the look on his face.

You would think it was the middle of winter the way he's burrowing.

Do you like running in the rain? What's your favorite running weather?

I Should be Packing...

I haven't talked much about house things in a bit. We've been in a sort of holding pattern for a while now - under contract on the townhouse we are currently in, and on the house we are buying. Now things are finally happening, and happening quickly.

Basically, we'll be in the new house in two weeks. Guess how much packing we've done.

That's right! We haven't started!

We did pick up some boxes from someone on Craigslist over the weekend, so that's a start.

My training has continued to be all over the place. Maybe haphazard is a good training plan for me. That seems possible, right?

I was going to run on the trails today, but the rain would. not. stop. so I hit the treadmill for 5 miles this afternoon. It was a good run, one of those nice ones where you feel strong and nothing hurts.

This guy has no idea what exciting things are coming his way. In a couple of weeks he will have a yard to roam!

You know, after we pack...and move...