Half Marathon #1 in the books!

Whew! One down, more to come. After a long harsh winter, spring made herself known April 6 and in perfect timing. Newmarket NH was a great little town to experience my first half marathon. I got there early and met a few new friends, one woman who had just run a half marathon the day before and was there to run the 5k. The course went through the great brick building lined main street and out into local neighborhoods before winding through the forest on a hard packed dirt road. The last couple miles involve a heartbreaking (for me) out and back to a subdivision on a peninsula. From there you start back into the main street area, which is just in sight when the volunteers direct you to the right for a small detour and another hill! Once up that last hill (last of many, did I mention that?) it's all downhill to the finish line. At this point I turned to the runner next to me who was kicking it up a notch and said "Nice work, finish strong!" to which he replied "Together?". I nodded and tried to keep pace as we sprinted for the finish, unfortunately this sprint began about 300 meters out and I just didn't have it in me to stay with him so I cheered him on as he sprinted down to the line. We shared a high five and a smile at the end, it was a great day.

At mile 11 I wanted to quit. My lower back was killing me and my legs felt like dead weight. If I came around a bend to another incline, regardless the size, I was cursing in my head. I find it nearly impossible to believe my pace at the end was the same at the beginning but it was. I was able to average 9:07/ miles and finished in 2:02:39. I had secretly been hoping against hope that I could pull it off in 2:00. Then, on the bus ride in the woman in the seat ahead of me replied "oh, it's hilly" when I inquired about the course. At that point I adjusted my goal to 2:20 so I was quite thrilled with my finish.

I had a wonderful time at this race, it was well organized and everyone was courteous and friendly.  There were musicians throughout the course, even a banjo player playing a tune and hula-hooping simultaneously. There was a yard full of red-solo-cup bearing folks cheering us on and such great support throughout the whole race. Best signs? "Keep Going! Keep Going! (That's what she said)" sitting next to "Good Job Random Stranger!". Great day. 

At the Finish Line in 2:02:39   

The Route   

2 months till Ragnar, 2 weeks till Great Bay 1/2 Marathon

The Amity Island Running Club is in full swing! No, not training and doing speed work. We're deciding on logos, what shirts we want and if we order koozies or not. I think we go for the koozies.

I got away from 2-3 milers last week and cranked out a couple 4 mile jaunts. It's starting to feel good to get going a little bit further and although I'm nervous, I am feeling good about the Great Bay 1/2 Marathon next month. 

Hockey is winding down, 4 skates left till the rink closes. After that my running will probably be bumped from 2-3x a week to 3-4x a week with strength training worked in. Having the extra daylight is so refreshing and invigorating! 

I managed to get in a 6 mile run Sunday, the weather was beautiful and I am really enjoying adding to my go-to loop. I've been using Running Map to get an idea of miles and really like the fact that they let you do a hybrid map, showing the satellite view with the roads. I've been using the Old Dump loop (3.75 miles) as a base and adding on to each end. I've noticed, thanks to RunKeeper and listening my own body, that I actually tend to speed up towards the end of my run. It just goes to show that the first mile really is the toughest (for me at least). At the distances I'm currently running, the biggest challenge is mental, the body can handle it, it's just a matter of getting the mind on board.

2014 Races and maybe I don't "hate" running anymore

My race schedule this year includes 7 definite's and 3 maybe's (in italics in the left column). T-minus 11 days till Race #1: The Vineyard 20 Miler. They have added a relay option this year and have had 38 teams of two sign up to tackle the visually spectacular and potentially esteem defeating route. If the wind is going the right way the 5 or so miles along the beach could be some of the most beautiful miles I log in a race this year, if we get a SE or East wind, well.....I'm totally screwed. So henceforth I shall be asking the powers that be for fair winds and following seas. 

Just last week I officially committed to 2 half marathons! I'll be heading north for both, the Great Bay Half Marathon in Newmarket, NH in April and later in the year, the Maine Half Marathon up in Portland, ME. Both allow me to visit and enjoy the company of some fantastic friends and enjoy some great towns and local fare.

The blog and the fitness tracking are helping keep me focused and a month into my training I am holding up well. According to my workout spreadsheet (yes, I'm that dorky, actually even more so) I've stuck to my regime and am on target for my 500 miles. I am (dare I say it?)  beginning to like, and look forward to, running. That is something I never saw in my future and I am ecstatic to be looking forward to running. I stumbled upon this website,  iusedtohaterunning.com, and it really helped me get started again. After reading a bit and see what they were all about I started running, slowly. This was in the fall and I wasn't as consistent as I have been since the end of December but it was something, I was getting out there from time to time. The main piece I took away from the site was to not worry about having to walk. If you are running along and hating every second, why bash yourself? Walk until you feel ready again and step it up. Once I took the competitor out of myself for a bit I found myself getting to points where I didn't have to walk and I wasn't hating it. Today, the competitor in me is back and I haven't had to walk in a while, if I'm being honest, it is STILL a struggle to get through the first mile or so on a good number of my runs but I push through, I know that once I get going and get my body in a rhythm, it's going to be great and you know what? 9 times out of ten, it is.