I did it! I survived the “Hat Trick!”
On Sunday morning, I woke up a little tired and sore, but, overall, I felt pretty good, and I was ready to run 13.1 miles.
Once again, it was chilly before the race, so a bunch of us waited until the very last minute to check our bags.
A few of us actually waited so long, we cut it pretty close to the race start. I was still making my way through the crowds to get into the right pace group when the gun went off. Oops!
Apparently, I was still fidgeting around with my watch or Spibelt or something because my timing chip never registered when I ran over the mat. I have a feeling it was all bunched up under my Spibelt because I was so focused on starting my watch at the right time. Whomp whomp. Obviously, I didn’t realize this until I looked up my results online and saw that my clock and net time were the exact same. Oh, well.
The race itself was tough. SO MANY HILLS! It was a beautiful course, especially with all of the colorful fall foliage, but holy crap. Hills for days!!
My legs actually started to feel tired on mile 2. MILE 2!! GAH! I knew right away I probably wasn’t going to achieve my A goal for the race, which was running a sub 2-hour half marathon, but I still kept my eyes peeled for the 2-hour pace group, just in case I could maybe keep up with them.
The first 6 miles of the half were so, so hard for me. Physically, I was tired from the previous day’s races, but, mentally, the thought of running another 7, 8, 9 miles just seemed so overwhelming. I ended up using a number of mental tricks and thinking a lot about Dave McGillivray’s talk to help get me through. I just took the race mile by mile.
- Mile 1: 9:05
- Mile 2: 9:31
- Mile 3: 9:38
- Mile 4: 9:27
- Mile 5: 10:02
- Mile 6: 9:50
- Mile 7: 9:45
- Mile 8: 10:02
- Mile 9: 9:45
Before I knew it, I was at mile 10 and 3 more miles didn’t seem so bad. At this point, most of the pain I felt in my legs just sort of went away. I didn’t miraculously feel better, but I was able to just keep trucking along. It was also pretty exciting counting down those last few miles. Three miles”¦ two miles”¦ one mile!
- Mile 10: 9:33
- Mile 11: 9:37
- Mile 12: 9:38
- Mile 13: 9:02
Total: 2:06:51 (9:40) [Official time: 2:08:59]
Brittany snapped this photo of me just as I’m about to cross the finish line. I look like I am in so much pain! Haha!
Post-race with Theodora!
Blogger crew!
After the race, I ate an apple, drank a coconut water (LOVE that the race provided them), and three of these coconut macaroon Larabars, which are heavenly.
All in all, I am really happy with my performance at the Hat Trick. I didn’t break any PRs, but I achieved both my B and C goals for the half marathon, which were running the whole 13.1 miles without stopping and finishing in one piece! Woohoo!
After the race, I headed back to the hotel, showered up, packed up, and went to Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch, which was a mile-high salad with all sorts of goodies. The croutons at Ruby Tuesday’s? HELLO! I went back for a second plate with just croutons on it. They’re like little bites of garlic bread.
After lunch, I grabbed my stuff and hopped in a shuttle along with Monica, Sarah, Janae, and Brittany to the airport. On the drive, we took a little pit stop to get some froyo.
These ladies have the best ideas!
All in all, I loved my experience at the Runner’s World Festival & Half, and I would definitely go again. It’s not a weekend where you just slap on a bib and run. There is so much more to the weekend. Talks, dinners, and access to running celebrities and Runner’s World editors””I probably bumped into Bart Yasso a half dozen times over the course of the weekend. The races were also really well-organized with lots of volunteers, easy packet pick up and bag check, plenty of porta-potties, etc. And, of course, running through Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in mid-October was absolutely gorgeous. All three courses were beautiful!
A huge THANK YOU to Runner’s World for inviting me and covering the cost of my travel and accommodations this weekend. I had a blast, and I can’t wait for next year!
Questions of the Day
What’s your next running/fitness goal?
What should my next running/fitness goal be?
P.S. Just wanted to share this: RunningSkirts Skirtlympics at Runner’s World Half Marathon and Festival. The part with Bart is so funny!