Throwback Thursday: Run Hard Columbia Half MarathonPost

The 2015 Run Hard Columbia Half Marathon was held on March 7, 2015 in Columbia, South Carolina. Not that this it applies to the race, but the most notable part of this trip was the drive there. Early 2015 was all about the snow in New England. Mountains and mountains of snow, blizzards, ice etc. and so on. Rhode Island to South Carolina is a long drive in the best of conditions and this drive was far from best. We drove through blizzard conditions from Rhode Island through Virginia! We spent a lot of time stuck in traffic and gawking at rolled semi-trucks (for real!) and cars off the highway. It probably was not safe to drive, but Mallory and I are committed to our trips. It looked like many a motorist had spun off the highway and just hitched a ride and left. So many empty cars littered 95 South. It was craziness and SLOW! Traveling for races can be pretty exhausting and this was one of the top most exhausting trips we have taken and not for fun reasons.

That being said, South Carolina was beautiful, sunny and warm (by our standards). Also, this was a special race for Mallory and I, because we met with several online runner friends from our miles game Facebook group. We are called the Free Agents and we compete for most miles against other groups made of runners around the country. We're known as a group that doesn't win, but has the best connections and most active page. At this race we had 5 Free Agents and one friend from a competing team. We started the race together and hung out for a couple of meals. I am the newest member of the team and Mallory has been on it for years (maybe since the beginning) and these people are COOL. Friendly, funny, runners... need I say more?

Left to right: Jenn, Susan, Eric, Me, Mallory, Joe

For me this race would be part of my long run. I had 20 miles on the training calendar and planned to keep running through the finish, another 3.5 with the marathoners, another 3.5 back and then to the finish.

The start of this race was cold. It was 7:30am and Mallory and I showed up in our Walmart clearance rack long sleeve throwaway shirts from the boys' department. The worst part of this race for me was that NOTHING was open for food in the morning and we hadn't purchased bagels the night before as we sometimes do. I was planning to pick up something at some random bakery or coffee shop before the start, but everything was closed! There was a bakery right next to the starting line that opened at 8 or 9 or something. I looked longingly in the window and questioned how much trouble I would get into for breaking in and stealing some carbs. I like food right out bed, so to have nothing and then run a race and 20 miles on an empty stomach was not cool. I decided not to risk the jail time and started my run on empty.

Run Hard has a 5k, half-marathon on full-marathon. I believe there is also a relay option and kids' run. Jenn and Susan were doing the 5k, Mallory and I the half and Eric and Joe were doing the full. The 5k started half an hour after us, I think. The temperature at this time of year in Columbia on this morning was pretty great for running a race: cool and sunny. The shocker for me was the hills!

Here's the half-marathon map. The full is the same course twice.

Elevation

We ran through town and residential neighborhoods. Crowd support was pretty low if I remember correctly. T-shirts were soft cotton and pretty nice and comfy. Bibs had our names.

Shirt and bib

The end of the race had the usual fair. I finished the half in 01:52:03, which is not horrible, but was disappointed to discover they were out of coffee already. I downed a water and bagel and was on my way for the final 7 after handing my medal over to Susan. If you've never run extra at a race, it's a kinda funny experience, because when I turned around I got a lot of, "Does the race come back this way?" "Are you okay?" and "You're going the wrong way!" Sorry for the confusion.

I finished my 20, got my medal back, met Mallory and went to the hotel to shower, followed by lunch with our peeps. We loved the Southern hospitality, the weather and the palmetto trees. Good race. Good time. Good socialization. I love hanging with other runners.

Post-race lunch in our matching finisher shirts.

And a sweet finisher medal

You should also know is that if you register early this race is super cheap. If you were to register right now for next year the cost is $45. So, if you're considering, stop thinking about it and just sign up.

Throwback Thursday: Redding Road Race 2015 Race Recap

So, it's not Thursday... I started this blog with the headline on Thursday and then went about my day and forgot about it. Hey, it's a new blog and I'm still getting used to the schedule.

Anyhow, today we'll review the Redding Road Race in Redding Connecticut, aka "A Run for The Cows," held in Redding, CT. Mallory and I ran this race on May 3, 2015. First things first: You need to know this is another quick-to-sell-out race, so if you want to do it, put the registration date in your calendar and plan to sign up immediately.

For me, this race was 2 weeks before the Sugarloaf Marathon and on the day of my last 20-miler and therefore a part of a longer run. I was also running on legs that were very ready to taper. When we went to pick up our bibs and numbers the day before at New Pond Farm, and saw the course, we knew this would be no easy half either. Hilly! Like possibly the hilliest kind of hilly. I have also run the Heartbreak Hill Half which has some hills, as you might think, but this was hillier.

I mean, just look.

I feel like this does not look as intense as it seemed, so trust me when I tell you it felt intense, at least on my ready-to-taper legs.

Packet pick up was at New Pond Farm the day before, which is also the location of the start and finish. This is a tiny race, but holy bling! We each got a water bottle, travel mug, insulated lunch bag, magnet, t-shirt and cowbell (of course). Everything was cute too. I really love the shirt and the water bottle matches my bike.

This race has a seven-miler, half marathon and "The Mighty Cow." The Mighty Cow means you start early and run a 5k before completing the half (given I needed to run 20, I wish I had thought of that earlier). These races are not expensive either, $40 to $60, depending on what you're up for. Oh yeah, there is also a "Piglet Prance" for the kidlettes. How cute is that?

Mallory poses with a cow at the start/finish.

The half marathon started at 8am. The weather was gorgeous. Temperature was cool, but sunny. We started with a lap around the farm and then we were hitting the roads. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Majestic course. People were friendly along the way and there was a little bit of crowd support. Not a ton, but plenty. I would show you photos, but you'll have to go to their website: race course photos to check it out. I was running, after all. I had no time for taking pretty photos. I do recall running near a church and the bells were tolling right at that moment, which was pretty cool. We ran through the barn and back onto the farm for the finish. They gave us awesome cowbell medals and flowers! More cowbell please!

They went all out at the finish. I mean we're talking serious food. Fresh chocolate milk, all sorts of fruit, pizza and donuts. I think there may have also been bagels. I don't know, but there was a lot to eat! I had some really delicious chocolate milk and fruit and watched the award ceremonies. Winners got glass pitchers with the logo or sets of glasses. Lots of prizes too. When it was time to go, they were trying to give away boxes of pizza to take along for the ride. We declined.

I finished in 1:54:01. Not my best performance, but I didn't run to "perform." I ran to train and went home and ran another 7. I had considered running my seven right through the finish line, but I could not stand the thought of another hill. No freakin' way.

Overall A+ race. Do it.

My bling got photobombed! 

Throwback Thursday: Covered Bridges Half Marathon 2015 Race Recap

Mallory and I signed up for the Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon months ago. This is a tough race to get into as it sells out FAST! We were online registering the minute it opened and thankfully, both of us got in.

The organization was different from what I am used to, but great. Mallory and I stopped at a table in town the day before where we met the race director, got a free shirt from last year's race and a map. They keep the entry low packet pick-up is on the morning of the race at the start line. A bus is available to bring your hoodie and sweatpants or what have you back to the finish and everything was alphabetized and in order by the time runners got back. Finisher shirts are handed out after you finish and get your medal, which is great, because it is a FINISHER shirt for a reason people!

Finisher Shirt and Medal

I will spare you the where we stayed and what we ate, because this race is all about the course and weather. There is a reason this race sells out within minutes. I've completed several beautiful courses in the past few years, but this is surely one of the best. Races through ski country are always gorgeous and impressive to your friends who don't know and assume you're running up and down mountains, when generally, you're often running mostly down. This general rule is true for Covered Bridges as well with an elevation change of 200 feet. Also early summer in Northern New England is good running weather. This year the temperature as measured by my Garmin was an average of 67 degrees. I know that's not the most accurate weather gauge, but just believe me when  tell you it was pretty near ideal.

The course is also a point to point, which I prefer. We parked at the finish in Quechee, VT and took the buses to Suicide Six in South Pomfret. It was a cool sunny morning at the start and the course took us past several covered bridges and through one. Shady most of the way and surprising amount of crowd support! I gave many a high five and enjoyed musicians along several spots. I have to be honest though, even though I am not the fastest and have yet to place in anything over a 5-mile small town race, in my mind, I am Shalane Flanagan and I am all in the game and super competitive in races, so I look around very little, other than seeking spectators with hands out, because high fives are like energy gels for me. After a race, I can't usually tell you what I ran past.

While this race is said to be a fast course, there are a hill or two to get over, the largest being at mile 8. That one seriously sucked. Otherwise, the course felt relatively smooth and easy.

As for me, I decided I would use this race to practice pacing, which is so important for running a marathon in the time I will need to qualify for Boston and something I really struggle with. I run how I feel and at the start of a race, I feel PUMPED. Plus, being competitive, I get hyped up by the large pack at the beginning and fight to get in front of as many people as possible right off the rip. Many a race has seen me start at a 7 or less minute mile, which in spite of what I think, is not my pace at all. I am in fact, not Shalane Flanagan. Then I'm dead, because I just completed a mile race basically and have another 12.1 to go. Bad bad strategy people! Anyway, I decided with this race, I would attempt to maintain a pace similar to what my Garmin predicted I was capable of running, which would be a pretty decent PR. Garmin predicted I could keep a 8:07 pace. I decided to work toward anything under 8:10.

As per usual, I failed at pacing for the first two miles even though I kept looking and forcing myself to slow it down. I wonder what my splits would have been had I not been "slowing it down."

Splits as follows:
Mile 1: 7:50
Mile 2: 7:45
Mile 3: 8:14
Mile 4: 8:24 (doubting I could maintain pace and tired from starting too fast)
Mile 5: 8:07 (Talked myself through it)
Mile 6: 8:07
Mile 7: 8:13
Mile 8: 8:39 (damn hill!)
Mile 9: 8:17
Mile 10: 8:14
Mile 11: 8:08
Mile 12: 8:07
Mile 13: 7:44 (Just run it home!)

Mallory and I back at the hotel after finishing

Average: 8:09 minute mile! Official time: 01:46:50. Although this was not the cleanest pacing job, I met my goal of keeping below 8:10 and shocked myself with having enough left in the tank for that final push in the last mile.   This was a 3 minute PR for my half-marathon and I admit I teared up a little about it. I didn't think I had this in me and with the marathons and marathon training, I wasn't exactly in ideal, well-rested shape. My legs felt sore and tired throughout, but the benefit of the full marathons and marathon training is that now mentally 13.1 is no big deal and my brain had no panic about needing to run 13.1 on tired legs. It was like, "Thirteen miles? Big whoop. I walk further than that to the photocopier at work." Don't doubt the power of your mind to help you PR.

This race has some serious runners and while I felt fast and amazing, this was no great performance compared to my age group competitors. I'm gonna ride the high of this PR anyway.

New PR!!!