Last year I was invited to run in the Half Marathon in my city but I had already registered for Hartford HM and I didn't feel ready to run 2 HM's in one week since it was my first time racing this distance. This year I decided to do both.<br><br>
All last week, I kept thinking about writing a race report for Hartford but I was not inspired at all by the race and had the blues (A thread topic in the PRT of mine <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy">) immediately upon leaving Hartford. I didn't feel there was anything to really write about . The race was just plain <i>uneventful</i> and actually unenjoyable for me and I didn't really understand why until <i>yesterday.</i><br><br>
Yesterday, I ran a Half Marathon in the city that I train in almost everyday during my lunch hour. I was a bit nervous about running it because I knew it was a very small race and I was afraid of coming in last <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile">, I wasn't sure if my body would be recovered from Hartford last week, and many of my coworkers and students would be watching and cheering me on! All of these factors ended up working in my favor.<br><br>
The travel time for me to get there was only 35 minutes rather than an hour and 45 minutes like I did last week. My morning was spent eating and hydrating rather than rushing to the race. It was also picture perfect morning, warm enough where I did not have to worry about my attire-a racing bra and shorts was sufficient. The registration process took 5 minutes rather than 30 as it did in Hartford. I also got a fabulous under armour race T shirt-great swag Gingerbread!<br><br>
My DH, 2yr old DD and my mom got to the start with me with 15 minutes to spare. The race began on a very steep incline up around the college section of the city and weaved in and out of all of the sections of the city. There were some great downhills and every school we passed there were students cheering, holding signs, singing and giving out water. There was no gatorade, bands, or radio stations-and I LOVED IT. It felt like a training run for me since I ran most of the race by myself-sometimes with no one in sight in front of me or behind me. Those of you who have read my thread know that I am a solitary runner so this really worked in my favor.<br><br>
When I passed my school at mile 6.5 , many of my students were there cheering me on and high fiving me, my DH gave me a goo and I snuck a kiss from my toddler. The goo really helped me and I had wished that I used it in Hartford the previous week. I felt strong and not the least bit intimidated by all of the people that knew me along the route. It helped. I am anonymous in Hartford-I didn't even speak to one person during the race. Funny I was lonlier with 6,000 runners than I was running a 100 person race. I knew the roads, I could anticipate the hills. I knew when I was almost done. The race went by fast, and I was sorry it was over. I had an amazing run and I plan on running this race instead of Hartford next year. AND my time was 2 minutes faster yesterday !<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/hello2.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="hello1">
All last week, I kept thinking about writing a race report for Hartford but I was not inspired at all by the race and had the blues (A thread topic in the PRT of mine <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy">) immediately upon leaving Hartford. I didn't feel there was anything to really write about . The race was just plain <i>uneventful</i> and actually unenjoyable for me and I didn't really understand why until <i>yesterday.</i><br><br>
Yesterday, I ran a Half Marathon in the city that I train in almost everyday during my lunch hour. I was a bit nervous about running it because I knew it was a very small race and I was afraid of coming in last <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile">, I wasn't sure if my body would be recovered from Hartford last week, and many of my coworkers and students would be watching and cheering me on! All of these factors ended up working in my favor.<br><br>
The travel time for me to get there was only 35 minutes rather than an hour and 45 minutes like I did last week. My morning was spent eating and hydrating rather than rushing to the race. It was also picture perfect morning, warm enough where I did not have to worry about my attire-a racing bra and shorts was sufficient. The registration process took 5 minutes rather than 30 as it did in Hartford. I also got a fabulous under armour race T shirt-great swag Gingerbread!<br><br>
My DH, 2yr old DD and my mom got to the start with me with 15 minutes to spare. The race began on a very steep incline up around the college section of the city and weaved in and out of all of the sections of the city. There were some great downhills and every school we passed there were students cheering, holding signs, singing and giving out water. There was no gatorade, bands, or radio stations-and I LOVED IT. It felt like a training run for me since I ran most of the race by myself-sometimes with no one in sight in front of me or behind me. Those of you who have read my thread know that I am a solitary runner so this really worked in my favor.<br><br>
When I passed my school at mile 6.5 , many of my students were there cheering me on and high fiving me, my DH gave me a goo and I snuck a kiss from my toddler. The goo really helped me and I had wished that I used it in Hartford the previous week. I felt strong and not the least bit intimidated by all of the people that knew me along the route. It helped. I am anonymous in Hartford-I didn't even speak to one person during the race. Funny I was lonlier with 6,000 runners than I was running a 100 person race. I knew the roads, I could anticipate the hills. I knew when I was almost done. The race went by fast, and I was sorry it was over. I had an amazing run and I plan on running this race instead of Hartford next year. AND my time was 2 minutes faster yesterday !<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/hello2.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="hello1">
