Race Reports for 4/27, 28, 29 and Encouragement/Kudos!

[Tiger Lily 03]

Jackie, Cindy, and Martha, Great events you did great!

Congratulations!

Glad you are happy.

I am happy for you. Thanks for letting us know how you did.

 

[skfulkers]

Vic—way to go on the 5K! What’s with race directors and their sadistic tendency towards hills??? Hope your foot feels better soon!

Laurie—congrats on the first half marathon! What an experience! We are all so proud of you. Reading your report just brings us all back to that “first race.” Now you’re hooked, right?

Jam217—great job on the half! Don’t sweat the run/walk thing. It doesn’t matter how you finish—be it run, walk, crawl (ok, so the preference would be to NOT crawl), the point is, you finished a half marathon. Way to go!

Cindy—congrats on the 10K! Sounds like a great race, I may have to mark that one down if I’m ever in the MA/NH area. WTG on your pace! You were flying! Before I read your second post, I was trying to add all the mile splits to figure out your time to see if you beat your goal time. Then I scrolled down and your time was right there! Oh well, nothing like a little math to jog my brain on a Sunday evening.

Martha/Craig—good job on the 10K, you guys! It’s so great that you got to run the race together. By the way, I didn’t know that Yoda (the real Yoda, not your DH) could actually run a road race. Especially that fast. I would think those little green legs could only get him so far.

Jackie—nice job on the 5K! Funny how those first few runs outside in the hot weather can be a killer, huh?

Ok, time to keep working on my proposal, I just had to take a break and get on here to see how everyone did (you guys are a bad influence on me!)

Oh, I almost forgot. Krista and I ran the Frog Jog 5K yesterday together. It was a fun race, we got to wind our way through my in-laws neighborhood (in fact, I ran into their house at mile 2 to go to the bathroom ). We took Hines with us and it was his very first race, so he’s very happy to report that he PR’ed his first 5K with a time of 33:15.

I’ll let Krista post more details, because I really do have to get some work done.

Great job on the races, everyone!

Steve

 

[Calcio]

Steve

For Hines doesn't it count as 66:30 since he has 4 legs? Good for him not getting pulled back by you and Krista.

WTG Jackie and Cindy. And thanks for sending me the milage around the Charles basin. I hope to get some runs around it this fall when the weather is fine.

Craig

 

[skfulkers]

Craig--I think Hines' math would come to the conclusion that he finished in 16:38 since he has 4 legs and has to work twice as hard as the rest of us. But that's dog math for you.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Congrats to all the WISH racers!

Matt- Your song had me laughing. Great job on your ride. Wow, that's far, and you're right - your report really starts to put the Ironman in perspective.

Laurie- You're awesome!!! Congratulations on finishing your 1st Half Marathon! We're proud of you too!

Jam217- Congratulations on finishing your 1st Half Marathon too. You're also awesome!!!

Yay CindyLou Thanks for the second post with your time. I was looking for that. Sub-hour 10K! That is awesome!!! WTG!

Martha and Craig- Great job on your 10K. I really enjoyed reading your report.

Jackie- Great job on your 5K!

Steve- Good luck on your proposal. Glad to hear Hines PR'd. What's the weather supposed to be like there in Cincy next week?

 

[Pungodingy]

Guess what, I did better than last time!

My race was Friday night, started at 6pm, it was about 48 degrees and raining off and on, pretty cold and dreary…I guess that works for me!

I finished in 51:25, that’s 4:17 faster than last time!

Pretty flat course, only one small hill…we had to cross the interstate, I didn’t really like that part! We finished in a different place than we started, luckily my DS figured it out and met me just as I was coming in. They had to change the course ‘cause part of it was still under water from last weeks flooding. Several places crossed over, so the faster people were coming back at us slower ones, but they were VERY supportive, and there were lots of people cheering throughout the course (that really does keep me going!)

We all got t-shirts, pens, and a toothbrush (it was a Delta Dental race) and at the end they had hot dogs and burgers, lots of fruit, and water/soda.

I had a ton of comments on my shirt again, I think I’m gonna make up some business cards to hand out to people, do you think that’s ok? I know I wouldn’t be able to remember a website by the time I finished and got back home! I also know I’d be lost without you guys now…

Congrats to everyone else who raced!!

 

[Big Vic]

Jackie, Martha, Krista, Angie, Craig, Steve, and Hines - Great job on your races.

 

[Jen117]

I am posting my DH's race report. Paul (Paull117) did his first 5K on Saturday. Initially I was going to do it with him, but then dropped out at the last minute because we didn't have a babysitter. So I watched the kids while he wogged his first 5K. Since I wasn't on the course with him, I don't know exactly how the terrain was. The description said it was flat and fast, but Paul said there was a really long gradual incline. He wore one of my WISH shirts that is too big, so I saw him coming when he was about 1/2 mile away. I jogged to meet him and wogged that last part in. He did great and I am so proud of him for trying. He finished last, but there were only about 60-80 runners in total, only 5 walkers. He stayed with those, so it's not like he was all alone.

The only real negative about the race was that they gave all the food to the general public before the final people came in. So when he was done, there was barely any water left and the food was gone. They announced it over the speaker that the public could eat the rest of the food. I felt bad for those last people because it seemed like they didn't care about the slow end of the pack walkers.

 

[jeanneg]

Angie, Martha, Matt, Vic, and anyone I may have missed.......great job on the races this past weekend.

Laurie: 2:06 is amazing....now just think of how fast you would have been without the potty stop!

Jam: I was there in Allentown on Sunday! Wasn't it a beautiful course? It was my first event also, but I finished nearly an hour after you (3:11) Not too bad for an old, fat broad! I don"t recall anyone announcing our names when we crossed the finish line. I think they were already handing out awards so I guess we were too late for that little amenity! I race-walked with my cruise-buddy, Nancy (padisneyfan) and even though it was the first time we walked together we were very much in sync with one another. It was her first event also.
Just before the race we decided to use the porta-potty just in case. I had never used one before and found a nice little offering in the bottom of mine. Now wasn't that a little rude! I didn't want the next person to think it was mine, but couldn't find the darn flusher. I looked and looked and then decided that perhaps there wasn't one. Finally, I opened the door and asked "Is there any way to flush these things?", which was really bad because the next person would really think the little offering was mine!
We didn't know what to expect and were afraid of getting trampled, so we stayed way, way back. By the time we crossed the start line there were only about 4 people behind us plus a few very fast late-comers! We just started walking FAST and passed a bunch of people the first mile and a half or so. After that we really didn't pass anyone until the last 2 miles. At one point there was a switchback that was about 2 miles in each direction. As we were doing the first part, all the fast people were returning and really were great about cheering us on. Nancy and I were so afraid the serious runners would resent us, but if any did, they didn't show it. Most of the other runners were incredibly supportive. My daughter was one of the fast runners and it was great to pass her on the course...lots of cheeering and blowing kisses! We also got lots and lots of nice compliments on the WISH shirts that Cam lent us.
The course was really beautiful with lots of little parks, lakes, babbling brook, waterfall and even a covered bridge. There were lots of great bands along the route to pump us up. Unfortunately, towards the end, many of them stopped playing since most of the runners had gone past. Some were very nice and starting playing when we arrived and then stopped as soon as we were past, but a few just looked like they were packing up. As I said before, we ended up passing quite a few people the last 2 miles. Some looked like they were having feet issues and others just looked spent, but we were really nice and strong up until the very end. There was a short but very steep hill to get into the stadium where the finish line was and that was a killer, but by that time we could see the finish so it was all good. It was great having Nancy to do my first half-marathon with. We crossed the finish line holding hands and ended up with exactly the same times (3:11:07). We had planned to run across the finish, but I think we both forgot. Too bad, maybe then we would have been under 3:11!

 

[eeyore45]

Laurie - Way to go!!

Hello All,
I, too, did my first half marathon today -- the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon in Allentown, PA. The weather was absolutely perfect. Lots of crowds along the route to cheer us on. I finished in 2:22 (not a chip time) so I'm not sure of my actual time. I have mixed feelings on my finish because I wasn't planning on walking but I did. I really thought I could completely run the course because the prior week I had done 11 miles without stopping. I figured if I could do 11, then I certainly do the half.
But I think I started the race too fast and that wore me out. At one point I was with two women who said they were running an 8:38 mile which for me is insane. Keep in mind, too, I had good intentions of maintaining my 10-minute mile pace because I signed up for the 2:10 pace group. Even though I was right by the pace leader at the start I managed to lose her very quickly because of huge crowds. While I'm pretty good at maintaining a steady pace on my training runs, I find that when I'm in a race I tend to go too fast at the start. While that works in a 5-K, it didn't work today. It was probably around the 8 mile mark that I started my run/walk.
Overall it was a very good experience. I loved the stadium finish where they announced my name as I entered the track. And I'm looking forward to my next one -- the Philadelphia Distance Run on Sept. 16

I'm aiming to do my first Half marathon - thanks so much for sharing your experience!!

Wow--what great race reports everyone!!!

Laurie--super speedy on your first half!!!

Matt--Super racing man--WTG!!

jam--Great race--don't worry about having to walk, you did great!

cindylou--WTG on the 10K!

Congrats to all the WISH racers!

Matt- Your song had me laughing. Great job on your ride. Wow, that's far, and you're right - your report really starts to put the Ironman in perspective.

Laurie- You're awesome!!! Congratulations on finishing your 1st Half Marathon! We're proud of you too!

Jam217- Congratulations on finishing your 1st Half Marathon too. You're also awesome!!!

Yay CindyLou Thanks for the second post with your time. I was looking for that. Sub-hour 10K! That is awesome!!! WTG!

Martha and Craig- Great job on your 10K. I really enjoyed reading your report.

Jackie- Great job on your 5K!
Angie and Jeanne WTG! Great Job!!
Steve- Good luck on your proposal. Glad to hear Hines PR'd. What's the weather supposed to be like there in Cincy next week?

I really enjoyed reading these reports!! and CONGRATS to one and all!!

I just may get the courage to run a race or two - where do I order a shirt?

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Laurie- Congratulations! Great job and hats off to both you and Nancy!

 

[padisneyfan]

Congratulations to Vic, Matt, Laurie, Jam, Cindy, Martha, Jackie, Steve, Krista. Angie and Jeanne on your great races this weekend.

Jam---I was with Jeanne at Allentown, it is to bad we didn't get to meet up with you. We stood out in the crowd with our WISH shirts so you could have spoted us easily.

Jeanne gave a great race report. Even though we hadn't trained together, by the way we were walking together you thought we had done all our training together. My friend from work also ran this race, and her 9 yr old son commented to her when Jeanne and I entered the stadium together that we were in perfect sync together with both are arms and legs swinging at the same time. It was a great experience and sharing it with Jeanne made it all the more special. Next race together for us is the ToT in Oct.

Nancy

 

[jeanneg]

nancy: did Norm get any good photos? I went to brightroom.com and registered my race #, but haven't heard anything. You should do it too, just in case one of our numbers was obscured.

 

[padisneyfan]

Jeanne-- Yes we have several pictures. The one with our medals is a little blurry but the rest were ok. Now if I can figure out how to send them to you. I might just print them out and mail them. Off to check brightspot.
Notice how I am not doing any real work just posting on the DIS.

Nancy

 

[jeanneg]

BrightROOM!

 

[padisneyfan]

Ok, I said brightspot but I did go to brightroom and registered. Just wanted to see if you were on your toes.

Nancy

 

[TriMom]

Ugg - I just lost over 30 minutes of posting -

so to make up for it - WAY TO GO EVERYONE! Great race reports! I loved all of them!