May 31, 2011

I Rocked It!

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Sorry for the bit of radio silence from me over this holiday weekend. I will be posting a recipe tomorrow (do you like chocolate and coconut???), but my mum is here visiting from Nova Scotia so I don’t have time to get it up today. In the meantime, so many of you wished me luck on my race, I thought I might tell you how I did. Not to be falsely modest or anything, but I rocked it! At least, I rocked it for me, as approximately 983 people came in faster than I did, out of the 5326 people who finished the half-marathon. But I will take 984th place anyday, especially as it meant a personal record for me. I ran the race in 1 hour, 51 minutes and 26 seconds, at an average pace of 8:30 per mile.

The accompanying photo is actually from last year’s Run To Remember, because this year’s pictures have not been posted yet. Strangely enough, I wore almost exactly the same outfit as last year. I look a little like I am going to cry, don’t I? I don’t know why that is so, I was actually enjoying last year’s run so much, as I wasn’t running for time but simply to finish.

This year, it was hot and muggy, and I often felt like my feet were on fire. I will confess that this particular race felt like a lot of work. I don’t know if it was the heat or if I started off too quickly, but it was a struggle to keep up my pace and not fall behind. I ran another half-marathon where I took the first few miles to warm up and then sped up and felt comfortable running the whole time, even when I was going at sub-8 minutes, but this didn’t feel like that at all. Mind you, that was in October, in much cooler weather. I am not a particularly experienced runner, so I don’t know which strategy is best. Do I start off fast and try to keep up the pace, or do I warm up and then pick up the pace over the course of the 13.1 miles? Maybe someone out there can give me some guidance?

Regardless, I am pleased with my performance. If you’d asked me at mile 12 whether I would have enough energy for a sprint at the end, I would have laughed in your face. But as it was, I saw that finish line and my feet took off. I just wanted to be done so badly, I had to get in as fast as I could!

If you are in the New England area and are looking for a half-marathon to run, I highly recommend Boston’s Run to Remember. It is a gorgeous course, running through downtown Boston and out onto Memorial Drive in Cambridge. It doesn’t have many hills, and there are tons of spectators to cheer you on. Mind you, the weather can be variable at this time of year. It could be hot and sunny, as it was for the past two years, or you could be running in the middle of a Nor’easter!

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