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This weekend was so much fun! The only thing that would have made it better is if everyone else could have been there as well.<br><br><b>Friday.</b> Road trip with <b>Nick</b> and <b>Voodoojunkie.</b> Long day of driving, esp with hitting rush hour traffic and trying to learn the layout of Central Philly. Meeting everyone that night was a lot of fun, and I too was saying things like "hey, it's <b>Nettie</b>!", "hey, it's <b>Theia</b>!". Later in the evening, I had to leave the bar earlier than I might otherwise have done because I started feeling dizzy and nearly passed out. Not sure what that was about, but I suspect dehydration.<br><br><b>Saturday.</b> Hit the expo early with <b>Nick</b> and <b>Voodoo</b>. Saw <b>LLNewestMarathonManiacBerg</b> while we were there. Then <b>Nick</b> and I went to watch the OSU-Michigan ball game (Go Bucks! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/headbang.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="headbang">) and so missed out on the <b>Schwetty Balls Run.</b> Dinner was loads of fun, getting to meet even more people, but it was hard to get a chance to socialize with everyone. Drank water all day, just in case I was dealing with dehydration.<br><br><b>Sunday morning.</b> Race morning. I hate waking up early, and everytime I do a race like this, I ask myself "why do I DO this??" Ate a banana, and then <b>Nick</b> and I met <b>Moe</b> and <b>Voodoo</b> in the lobby and we all walked to the start area. It was cold, but tolerable if it weren't for the wind. Met up with a few other <b>Kickrunners</b> (I can't even remember who right now <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/sad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Sad"> Sorry!), checked bags, etc, and headed to the start area.<br><br>
I was a bit concerned about how the race would go. My training did not go as well as it should have, and over the past 7-8 weeks, I only managed to get in my weekend long runs. I knew I could go the whole distance (this was my 4th HM) but wasn't sure how it would feel. Earlier, for the Philly Phantasy game, I had predicted 2:25:00 as a finish time, but coming into the race week itself, I figured <b>2:30:00</b> was more realistic.<br><br>
Lined up with <b>Nick</b> at the start. He's been sick, and hadn't trained as well as he would have liked, so he thought it was likely that I would finish ahead of him. Told me to wait for him at the finish. He still went out ahead of me at the start, and I never did see him after that (missed each other at the finish and bleacher area, finally met back up on the way back to the hotel).<br><br>
I ran conservatively at the start, but at mile 1 (12:03), I knew I could pick up the pace a little. I wanted to run at around 11:15 pace, figuring that I could hold that for the race as a whole. Ended up feeling pretty good most of the race, only getting particularly tired after that hill after Mile 9. The course was pretty nice overall, lots to look at. I loved the historical buildings early on and the park and art museum at the end.<br><br>
Mile 1: 12:03<br>
Mile 2: 11:13<br>
Mile 3: 11:03<br>
Mile 4: 11:35 (had to walk to manage eating my sport beans and then some water)<br>
Mile 5: 11:03<br>
Mile 6: 11:14<br>
Mile 7: 11:06<br>
Mile 8: 11:26 (again, having to manage the beans but this time water was delayed a bit. This caused me to get an upset stomach but I pushed through it and the feeling eventually went away.)<br>
Mile 9: 11:04<br>
Mile 10: 12:12 (had to walk twice on the hill leading up to mile 10, I'm getting tired. Met up with Nettie at about 9.5 miles and chatted for a moment before she continues on)<br>
Mile 11: 11:38<br>
Mile 12: 11:26<br>
Mile 13.1: 12:37ish (forgot to stop my watch for about 10-15 sec)<br><br>
Chip time: 2:29:46<br><br>
I heard everyone cheering my name when I came around the corner to the finish, which helped me pick up my step and pump my arms as I came across the finish. I'm pretty certain I recognize <span style="color:#008000;"><b>Maria</b></span> in the stands but everyone else was kind of a blur. <b>Oh yeah. THIS is why I keep doing this.</b> <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy"><br><br><b>Post race party.</b> Loads of fun, lots of photos. I insisted on getting a photo taken of me and <b>Liam</b>, since I started running 2 years ago with the C25K program. It's a funny photo because I am inadvertently flipping the bird. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Laughing"><br><br>
It was so much fun meeting everyone in person. I can't mention everyone by name without making this into a novel, but you are all really great people. I can't wait to do this again!
I was a bit concerned about how the race would go. My training did not go as well as it should have, and over the past 7-8 weeks, I only managed to get in my weekend long runs. I knew I could go the whole distance (this was my 4th HM) but wasn't sure how it would feel. Earlier, for the Philly Phantasy game, I had predicted 2:25:00 as a finish time, but coming into the race week itself, I figured <b>2:30:00</b> was more realistic.<br><br>
Lined up with <b>Nick</b> at the start. He's been sick, and hadn't trained as well as he would have liked, so he thought it was likely that I would finish ahead of him. Told me to wait for him at the finish. He still went out ahead of me at the start, and I never did see him after that (missed each other at the finish and bleacher area, finally met back up on the way back to the hotel).<br><br>
I ran conservatively at the start, but at mile 1 (12:03), I knew I could pick up the pace a little. I wanted to run at around 11:15 pace, figuring that I could hold that for the race as a whole. Ended up feeling pretty good most of the race, only getting particularly tired after that hill after Mile 9. The course was pretty nice overall, lots to look at. I loved the historical buildings early on and the park and art museum at the end.<br><br>
Mile 1: 12:03<br>
Mile 2: 11:13<br>
Mile 3: 11:03<br>
Mile 4: 11:35 (had to walk to manage eating my sport beans and then some water)<br>
Mile 5: 11:03<br>
Mile 6: 11:14<br>
Mile 7: 11:06<br>
Mile 8: 11:26 (again, having to manage the beans but this time water was delayed a bit. This caused me to get an upset stomach but I pushed through it and the feeling eventually went away.)<br>
Mile 9: 11:04<br>
Mile 10: 12:12 (had to walk twice on the hill leading up to mile 10, I'm getting tired. Met up with Nettie at about 9.5 miles and chatted for a moment before she continues on)<br>
Mile 11: 11:38<br>
Mile 12: 11:26<br>
Mile 13.1: 12:37ish (forgot to stop my watch for about 10-15 sec)<br><br>
Chip time: 2:29:46<br><br>
I heard everyone cheering my name when I came around the corner to the finish, which helped me pick up my step and pump my arms as I came across the finish. I'm pretty certain I recognize <span style="color:#008000;"><b>Maria</b></span> in the stands but everyone else was kind of a blur. <b>Oh yeah. THIS is why I keep doing this.</b> <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy"><br><br><b>Post race party.</b> Loads of fun, lots of photos. I insisted on getting a photo taken of me and <b>Liam</b>, since I started running 2 years ago with the C25K program. It's a funny photo because I am inadvertently flipping the bird. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Laughing"><br><br>
It was so much fun meeting everyone in person. I can't mention everyone by name without making this into a novel, but you are all really great people. I can't wait to do this again!
