Race Reports, Kudos, and Encouragement for Oct. 13th and 14th

[Optimator]

Lisa - Good job in a race that I'm sure had a lot of meaning for you.

Kelley - Congratulations!! I know how you've struggled the last few weeks. To overcome your injury and exceed your expectations is really something to be proud of.

Cindy - Wow! Super-dee-duper time! It's great that you kicked it into overdrive and didn't even know it. Great race!

GaJen - First off, if there's a better name than the "Brunswick Stewbilee", I can't think of it . Second, you just gotta love the super-secret goals. The ones you don't dare mention to anyone. And then to smash it!! Wahoo! Third, your DH obviously has the utmost respect for your running prowess. He expected you to be finished and home 37 minutes after the race start time. Now that's confidence! WTG.

 

[princessrunner]

Wow Jen, you rocked!!

 

[Villains_Rock]

Wow....I am so impressed with all of the reports and times!! Great job team!!!

 

[SilverE]

Richard: Great pace on your 10-miler!

Dave: Congrats on the 10k and for having some company along the route.

Tricia: Great effort on the 5K and awesome beach photo!

Lisa: Nice job on the hilly 5K! Hey, you're related to the race's namesake; get them to skip the hills next year!

Kelley: Congratulations on completing your first marathon!

Cindy: Whoa...smokin' fast on that half!

Jen: Great job on the 5K. I would have considered 68-70 degrees tropical. Did they hand out stew at the water stops?

 

[westcliffemom]

Cindy- great pace, thanks for the race report!

Jen in GA- Great pace! Are you the one who suggested using green for your workouts in your calendar? I think it was you, and wanted to say thanks! I love seeing WISH green Sharpie in my log!

 

[hoosmi]

Last thoughts- thanks everyone for your compliments.

Alas, they did not pass out stew at the waterstop, but they had FIFTY-ONE stew competitors. I think we tried about 20-30. Not pretty!

I forgot to add that I got to really irritate DH (Mr. "done yet?!" at 37 minutes) I go to the car and find I am parked on the "Pooch Parade" route. I have to hang out by the car watching all these people go by with their dressed up dogs. What was I going to do? Run over the daschund dressed as a hotdog?! So it took me awhile to get home... Personally, I think I've made this running madness fairly unobtrusive. I do most of my running during the workday when the kids are out of the house so DH doesn't have to babysit, and I usually take the little one with me on my early morning LRs on the weekends. Sorry, didn't intend to go on a rant.

Westcliffemom- yep, I'm the green pen geek. It makes me really happy. I originally intended to use green for good days, and red for bad, but since getting a cold, I've redesigned my plan. All workouts are green now. I'm the one doing the grading, after all! I just have to get through finals Goofy weekend, right?!

Cindy- having run around your pace for 3 miles, I have the utmost respect for you maintaining that kind of speed for a half!!!

Jen in GA

 

[Lexxiefern]

Richard - Way to go on the PR! I haven't done a 10 mile race yet.

Dave - Great job! So cool you got to meet people during the race.

Tricia - WTG on your 5k! Loved the pics!

Lisa - Great job on your 5k!!

Kelley - Wow!! You rock! You are super speedy woman! Glad your knee made it through okay.

Cindy - Great time! Congrats! You should be proud of yourself!

Jen - Wow, WTG! You have become really fast! I can see that I will be way way way behind you during Goofy!!


Becky

 

[princessrunner]

Jen: I too get irritated with DH. Mine is not a fitness person though he comes from a long line of them and, hence, he complains when the run causes any slight inconvenience to him. My punishment....my 2 DFs conned him into walking the 6.5K ToT. He has 9 more whiney days and then he has to put up.

 

[padisneyfan]

After reading everyone's impressive race finishes this week, I am almost ashamed to post my results. Kelly you really rocked this course.

I felt good after the Baltimore half but this race was much harder than my one other experience in Allentown. Having both a variety of races going on at the same time was very interesting. When I got there racers were already compeleting the 5K (these runners were finishing in less time than it takes me to walk a mile) and the marathon had started. The weather would have been perfect if we didn't have 20 mile an hour winds. Where the half marathon started is the 13 mile marker for the full. For 3 miles the half had its own course, the we merged with the full which was there mile 16. What I did learn is that if that elevation map looks like steep hills it is, basically from the start to mile 8 was uphill with mile 4-8 being all uphill and I mean uphill. I think I could have seen Kansas from the top of the hill. I didn't like merging with the full marathon as it become very congested and I felt like I was in those racers way. Also there were no seperate clocks for the half all the times were for the full until the end. After the merge at 3 miles, Pacer groups from 4:15 and on were passing me only after mile 11 did things thin out. My friend who was doing the race with me is not as fast a walker as I am and this was her first marathon. I decided that I would walk faster than her for awhile and then slow down near the water stops to see how she was doing. It was more an interval walk. At mile 7 water/ snack stop I was so hungry I stopped to eat a bag of chips that they had. So much better than a protein bar or goo. The first 3 miles I was pretty much on a little under 15 minute pace but after that merge it was very hard to move with all those full and relay marathon racers being mixed in with the half. Plus the wind was so gusty in place it actually blew my visor off. You also had no idea how many half marathon people were behind you. So after getting up that 8 mile hill now you have to go down which was steep at points. At mile 11 my friend and I mostly walked together to finish the race as we didn't want to lose our way to the finish line since we had fewer racers on the course now. So finished in 3:33 for a 16:15 pace. Not nearly as good as my first race which I had a 14:35 pace (mostly flat) but I wasn't pushing to finish in that time. I do like the half marathons as I am not dead at the end. We drove home I took a little half hour nap and then went to grocery store and feel great today. After seeing how so many of the marathon racers were struggling on the course, it again makes me rethink what am I doing trying to do a marathon. What I do think would be fun is to do a marathon relay race. Those people were having a good time as they only had to each only do a little less than 7 miles. At the end I was walking with a women who was 8 months pregnant and was the last leg for her relay team. So I finished 4951 out of 5048 and I wasn't last in either all the women or my age group. I would do this race again as it is so convenient from my house. That is if I'm still into doing races after the Mickey in Jan.

Next up the ToT. Only 1 day left till I'm leaving for WDW.

Nancy

 

[KelNottAt]

Great report, Nancy. I've been waiting for you to check in.

I thought about you along the way and wondered if I would bump into you.

Yup, there sure are hills. Who would have thunk it for a city basically at sea level??

Based on your time, I estimate you finished at about 1:20 p.m.....about a half hour before me. Did they have any crab soup left? I didn't get any.

I did the Baltimore Half last year and remember it was crowded where the half course merges with the marathon. This year, however, I was so far back in the marathon pack that by the time I got to mile 16 everything thinned out.

Hope you come back next year for full. I have faith you can do it. Great job!

 

[hoosmi]

Nancy- great race! That sounded crazy hard. The race I did was pancake flat. I remember a few down slopes, but never had to go up. I would have been dragging going uphill for miles, especially with wind! If it makes you feel better, I'm already thinking in terms of doing only halfs after the Goofy. I may change my mind, but right now I think having your longest training runs being around 10 instead of 20 miles is a really, really good thing! (My LR to date has been 10 miles!)

PrincessRunner- nice punishment. Husbands can be difficult! I think deep down mine just feels a little emasculated because I'm a runner and he isn't... I've been in about 5 races, and he has yet to bring the kids to a finish line or ask about my time or whatever. But that's ok. I'm doing this for me.

But you know what's funny? When DH's parents were in town, he suddenly started bragging about how I'm running Goofy, and telling them distances and all sorts of information (he was completely off on the details- like the actual distances- but I was so pleased that he was into it that I didn't correct him!)

Jen in GA

 

[princessrunner]

Funny how he mysteriously got right into it. I do have to give my DH his props as, at last years 5K (the one named for his grandmother) he had my kids and my SIL's kids there and the kids got to hold the tape while my SIL won the race. They put the tape back up each time one of us came across (there were 3 total) and it kept getting smaller and smaller. DH never complained once. Really, how could he? He does tell me he is proud of me and that I am making 40 look good (since he is not quite there yet!!!)

 

[padisneyfan]

Kelley--- No crap soup for me either. My DH was volunteering so he saved some sandwiches and chips for my friend and I at the end. I wish I had know you were finishing so close after I did as we might have run into each other. I was probably sitting in the volunteer tent eating when you finished. I would do the half again since it was so easy for me to get there on the light rail. The only way I would do the marathon is a relay team.

Jen in GA--- I will not even consider doing the Goofy, good for you that you are going to try. I really do like the half marathon, after you build up a base mileage it is easy to just do a half. I am to old to be out there trying to kill myself with walking all those really long walks.

Need to get busy and so I can finish my packing to leave tomorrow for WDW.

Nancy