NYC Half Marathon: Racing for the joy

Last fall I registered for the NYC Half marathon as a time qualifier. This race has been on my bucket list for years, but the registration window is so narrow that I usually miss it and I don't think about my spring half marathon so far in advance. 

Plans changed when I decided to run the One City Marathon. After all, it wouldn't make sense to race a half marathon just two weeks after a marathon. But then, plans changed again when my friend Laura told me that she would be driving up to NYC alone to run it. I figured I could come along for the ride and run it myself as an easy run. Greg would be out of town for a work event anyway so it was a win-win all around. 

Backing up 18 years, I sort of ran this race in 2007. I say "sort of" because I did not finish and the 2007 race bears no resemblance to the 2025 event. I barely remember running the 2007 event, but thanks to my blog, I do have a record of it! One of my favorite all-time race shirts is from the 2007 race. And yes, I wear it even though I DNF'ed the race. It is a Nike shirt with a flattering fit and is a combination of dry-fit and normal t-shirt material. I wear it as an everyday t-shirt and it's so comfy. Plus, now it's super retro! As for why I DNF'ed, I thought I had a stress fracture in my foot so I made a compromise with myself that I would only run until we got to Times Square and then I would stop so as to not injure my foot further. Oh, the logic that I used back in the day!

In 2007, the race was held in August. It was relatively new so there was no lottery and anyone could register. The course started in Central Park, ran around the park for 10K and then finished downtown. Now the race is a March event and starts in Brooklyn, ending in Central Park. Entry is primarily done through lottery and charities, but there are some qualifier spots reserved. My 1:29:50 half marathon time was good enough for me to gain entry for my age group.

Saturday
Laura and I left my house around 6:15 and the ride went smoothly. It was really fun to have such a long time to chat and we talked about everything under the sun!

Our first stop was Brooklyn to check out the Bandit store and the Tracksmith store. Tracksmith had launched their first racing shoe, the Elliot Racer, the day before so we had the opportunity to try those on. In fact, they aren't even released on the website yet - you can only get them in store. But instead of taking advantage of the exclusive opportunity to be among the first to own them, neither of us could justify the hefty price tag of $280. (I think that was the price - it was around that). I am on on the hunt for a new racing shoe, but I think that shoe could be the Brooks Hyperion PB Elite. If not, then I will definitely try the Elliott Racer. The shoe was really soft and had a nice pop to it. With a 7.5mm drop, it was mostly Achilles-friendly, too.

Then we made our way into Manhattan, found parking near the expo, and got our bibs. The expo was well organized and we got through it fairly quickly. 

After that, Laura drove me to my uncle's apartment on the upper east side and she proceeded to her friend's apartment where she would be staying. I got settled into my uncle's place and then we went out to dinner. I hadn't seen my uncle since my last trip to NYC in 2019 so it was really good to catch up with him. The food in NYC is so wonderful. I had homemade pasta with chicken. Delicious! Then it was off to sleep.

Before the Race
Getting to the start was an adventure. According to the race instructions, runners in my wave needed to clear security by 6:45am. My plan was to get there at 6:15 so I would have 30 minutes to get through security. That should have been more than enough time. Working backwards from 6:15, it would take about 30 minutes to get from the upper east side to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. I planned for 45 minutes because I knew there would be road closures. 

I was fully dressed and ready to go by 5:30 when my car service showed up. I know it sounds super fancy to take a car service, but it was about the same price as an Uber: $80 to go 8 miles. Plus tip. 

The race instructions had provided an exact location for runner drop off and that is the location I gave to the car service. As we approached it, all the roads kept being closed off so the driver couldn't get to that spot. We drove around for 20 minutes trying to get to the drop off point. I had my phone with me, and my Google Maps kept saying we were 1.8 miles away. That was definitely run-able, but if I could get closer, that would be better. 

Finally, at 6:20, I told him to just let me out of the car. Google Maps was saying 1.8 miles and I figured I could run there in 20 minutes and get to security with 5 minutes to spare. Provided that I didn't get lost.

I got out of the car and there I was, all alone in Brooklyn in the dark, with only my phone to guide me to the start. I immediately came across two runners who were running towards the start as well. They said they knew how to get there so I followed them. Well, 3-4 minutes later and I found myself at the security checkpoint for the start line! Wow! What great luck. Apparently I got dropped off in an ideal location, and Google Maps was giving me the driving directions which avoided the blocked off roads. Phew.

I had plenty of time! What a huge relief. 

The security was pretty intense and unlike anything I'd ever experienced at a race, including Chicago and Boston. I was thankful for it, though. I had to remove my Garmin, take all of my food out of my clothes, and I still had to be individually searched. I didn't mind because I had plenty of time and I knew they were just doing their job. My car driver said he would never participate in a large event like this in NYC because he was afraid that someone would set off a bomb or something. That didn't give me the warm fuzzies about running over a bridge with 20,000 runners, but I quickly put that thought out of my mind.

After security, I waited for about 15 minutes for the corrals to open. Once they did, there was a mad dash for the porta potty lines. While waiting for the race to start, I was "recognized" by a few people who follow me on Instagram. I love meeting other runners because there is instantly so much to talk about. She even offered to take a video of me that I could post to my Instagram! 

I almost never run with my phone (I use an Apple Watch for long runs in case I need to call Greg) but I wanted to have it with me for safety reasons. It also gave me access to my credit cards, would connect me with Laura post-race, and I would be able to take some photos before and after. Without Greg as a spectator, I had to be my own photographer!

I wore a Brooks Sports bra that had a pocket for the phone in the back of it. I had worn this bra before with the phone and it was comfortable. That's also where I stashed my Maurten gel as well as three 10-dollar bills in case I needed cash. The only challenge was that it was hard to get the phone to go into its back pocket.

I wore the New Balance Super Comp Trainer V1. These shoes are not meant for racing-- they are meant for long runs. They do have a carbon fiber plate, but they are bulky and are considered "super trainers". I wore them because that's the pair I would have worn if I had been doing an easy 13 miles, and bonus: they were green to match my St. Patrick's day theme.

With 10 minutes to go, I had my caffeinated UCAN gel (mocha flavor) and removed my outer layers.

It was 55 degrees and completely overcast, which meant it was cold just standing around. Winds were 10-12 mph. The dew point was around 51-52 which made things humid. The road was wet because there was an occasional light mist. It was also quite foggy. A sticky, humid, foggy, overcast, grey ugly day! At least it wasn't raining. I give this weather a 5 out of 10 on my personal race weather scale. Could have been worse, but definitely could have been better.

Strategy and Goals
I had not run much at all since my marathon two weeks prior. My right hamstring and calf were tight and irritated, so I went to physical therapy to get that worked out. My longest run since the marathon had been 4.3 miles, so I was a bit unsure of how things would go. If I had been recovering as normal without this half marathon, I think I would have run about 8-9 miles as my long run, not 13.

My plan was to simply run this as an easy run. However, I knew I would get caught up in the excitement of the race, so I figured I would run it on the faster end of my easy range, so somewhere around 8:00/mile. But I would mostly just run by feel and focus on my surroundings and soaking up the experience. My main goal was simply to finish without over-taxing my body too much, while having an absolute blast.

I didn't study the elevation profile too much - but I knew to expect hills, and lots of them.

Miles 1-4

I was in Wave 1, corral B, which was based on my qualifying time of 1:29. I fully expected everyone to blaze past me, but that didn't really happen. This isn't to say that I started fast, but that it was quite crowded so everyone was running around an 8:00 pace for the first mile. 

The first mile was an out-and-back with a hairpin turn. It was cool to see the lead pack on the other side of the course. The second mile was a pretty massive hill through Prospect Park. I was feeling really good because it was only mile 2, so I probably ran that hill faster than I should have. I didn't carry my own water bottle so I made sure to stop at the water stations and drink. With the humidity I knew that hydration would be really important, even at my easy pace.

It was hard not to get carried away in mile 3. The elevation loss there was 121 feet so I flew down it at a pace of 7:53. And then I maintained that pace for mile 4. 

Mile 1: 8:09
Mile 2: 8:07
Mile 3: 7:53
Mile 4: 7:51

Miles 5-8
Next up: the Brooklyn Bridge! This was the first year that the course went over the Brooklyn Bridge and it's pretty cool to say I ran over it. There wasn't much of a view due to the high walls and also the fog, but
it was certainly a cool experience. I figured this would be a good time to take out my phone and record a video. Typically taking photos is a big no-no for me in races. I don't run with my phone and I rely on Greg to capture the photos and the videos. But I did record a video for about 10 seconds. The real challenge was getting the phone to go back into its pocket. I tried and tired and tried, and no luck. There was even a finger loop to help with placement, but I couldn't get it to go in.

Finally someone from behind helped me. He must have seen my massive struggle and was so nice to slip the phone right into place. That was so nice of him. I might have never gotten it back in! 

I did this all while running up a massive hill (or should I say, bridge) and the elevation gain in mile 5 was 106 feet. WOW. Mile 6 felt amazing as we ran down 106 feet. 

On the other side of the bridge we ran along the river and there surprisingly wasn't much crowd support. I was excited to get to midtown and it felt like miles 7 and 8 just went on and on with little variation in scenery. 

Mile 5: 8:23
Mile 6: 7:50
Mile 7: 7:54
Mile 8: 7:55

Love this pic- too bad about my head!

Miles 9-12
So far I was still feeling good. I was making sure to drink water at the water stations and I took my Maurten gel at the 8 mile mark. They were handing out Maurten gels shortly after that point, so I took one and stashed it in my sports bra. I'm not one to turn away a free Maurten gel. I was on track to average a pace of around 8:00 which was what I expected, but I didn't care too much about my pace-- I was literally just "rolling" with it. 

I was surprised when someone touched me from behind and then I realized it was Laura! She started further back in the corrals and I knew she would pass me because she would be running at race pace. It was a huge pick-me-up to see her. I briefly contemplated trying to stick with her, but that's when I realized my legs weren't up for that. They were starting to feel sore and achy. 

By mile 10 I realized that my legs were not happy with my decision to run this hilly course so soon after a marathon. I knew I'd be able to make it to the finish, but it wasn't going to be comfortable. 

Now that we were in Manhattan and in the middle of the city the crowd support really picked up. I fed off of the energy of the supporters and it was cool to have people cheering for me by name. My name was not on my bib, so they must have been people from Instagram. I think I was "recognized" at least 10 times during the race and multiple times at the start and finish! My favorite comment was when told me "wow, you're actually a real person!" Yes, I am real!

Times Square was so cool. I loved all the lights. What a thrill to run through it!

After mile marker 10 I knew there would be a right turn onto 7th avenue and then my uncle would be waiting for me around 48th Street. As I approached, I slowed down and looked and looked, but I didn't see him. Finally I heard someone call out my name and I found him on the left side. He thought he would be on my right but with the way the cab driver had to go, he ended up being on my left. I almost ran right by without even seeing him. 

I stopped for over a minute to get a photo with him and have a brief chat. It was a welcome stop with how my legs were feeling. He had made friends with the spectators next to him and they took a photo of us together, and also put my phone back in its pocket- which I was clearly incapable of doing. Seeing my uncle come out to support me was definitely the highlight of the race! 

I felt rejuvenated after my stop and was seemingly able to run faster. But that was short lived because there would be some challenging hills in the last mile.

Mile 9: 8:26
Mile 10: 8:37
Mile 11: 8:21
Mile 12: 10:12 (uncle stop!)

Mile 13- Finish
I looked down at my watch and I figured I could run under 1:50 if I picked up the pace and ran around 8:00 or just under for the final stretch. That shouldn't be too hard, right? WRONG. I am so glad this was a half marathon and not a 14-miler because I was truly starting to lose my ability to run. Whenever I run in Central Park for training the hills feel totally manageable. But whenever I race there the hills feel like mountains. My legs were toast and I was starting to feel the impact of the humidity because I was getting tired. 

My watch beeped 8:23 for mile 13, which was surprising because it felt much slower. There was a sign that said "400m" and I thought to myself, "that's just one lap of the track, super easy!" But that's when I felt like my legs were worthless appendages and totally dead. My pace for the last 0.31 according to my Garmin was 8:56. That's really all I had left! So maybe in a sense I did "race" it if that's all I had to give at the very end. It was so hard just to move at that point.

Needless to say I did not get my sub 1:50, but I didn't care. I was mostly just using that as a motivator to get to the finish line. My official time was 1:50:53.

As I finished, I was recognized by another Instagram runner. I was happy she was there because it was fun to walk though the long finish line chute with someone else. Like me, she had run a marathon two weeks prior. And like me, she said her legs were not happy later in the race. It was about a 10-minute walk to get out of the park and the conversation made it go by much quicker.

After the Race
I called Laura and we met up in the Starbucks just outside the finish line chute. It was jam packed so we walked a few blocks to a place that was less crowded. She had set a PR and I was so happy for her! I decided it was best not to linger for too long because I didn't want to get cold. I hadn't checked a bag so I only had my shorts, sports bra, and the heat sheet they gave us. 

I used Google Maps to find my way back to uncle's apartment. It was about 1.5 miles away and I figured I could walk that. The app guided me through Central Park and almost everyone I passed congratulated me. (These weren't people who recognized me from Instagram --  just general NYC people who saw me with a medal). That made it a really fun walk. 

The idea that I took a car from my uncle's apartment all the way to Brooklyn and then ran back was definitely cool. Plus, at $100 a ride, running back was definitely the best financial option!

I made it back to my uncle's place where he had a protein shake waiting for me. We had authentic NY bagels for lunch and I bought even more to take home and freeze. After that I flew home (Laura was staying an extra day) and was back at my house just in time to Door Dash myself dinner. I was exhausted but happy to have had such a wonderful experience.

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was a fun weekend in so many ways. It was great to spend time with Laura and my uncle and to meet so many other runners. Running over the Brooklyn Bridge was iconic, Times Square was incredible and Central Park was challenging but still fun. I am glad I can cross this race off of my bucket list, and that I focused on savoring the experience. 

This was good validation that I did, in fact, run that marathon very hard. If I recover too quickly from a marathon it makes me second-guess if I gave it my all. I plan to take two days off running - maybe three, to ensure that my legs are ready to go again. Boston is up next, so I want to be careful to not overdo it before then. 

One City Marathon: The Planets Aligned!

"The stars need to align" is an often (and perhaps overused) phrase in running. It means that for a runner to maximize performance, everything needs to go well: weather, fueling, sleep, having a good day, and more. But the planets literally aligned on the Friday before my marathon in Newport News, VA. Along with it came ideal racing weather.

Race Week
Race week arrived and it was without a doubt the most eventful race week of my life. Our house would go on the market on Friday so that meant staging it for photos on Monday, having cleaners come Wednesday, and being out of the house all day Friday while potential buyers came to visit. On top of that, we had some things with the new home to manage, and work was also very eventful. 

I couldn't help but wonder if all of this stress would weigh me down and impact my race, leaving me feeling stale. In fact, I DNF'ed the Shamrock marathon back in 2019 because of all the "life stress" leading up to that race.

I refused to let it be a self-fulfilling prophecy. I told myself that the 2019 DNF might not have been stress related and I could have been overtrained (I ran an 81- mile week just three weeks out). And there was actually nothing to stress over anyway. We got the house where it needed to be for putting it on the market, and the rest we would leave up to our realtor. We decided that we wouldn't interact with her until after the marathon, so we could spend the weekend focused on the race and not thinking about offers. 

I slept relatively well all week. The previous week I had been waking up at 1:00 in the morning consistently with anxiety, but that abated the week before the race, thankfully. I'm proud of myself for not letting everything going on in my life impact my ability to focus on having an excellent race. And the last thing I wanted would be to use it as an excuse to not push hard in the later miles. 

After the cleaners came on Wednesday, we didn't want to cook anything messy in our kitchen, which made it challenging to eat heathy meals. On Thursday night we opted for sushi. On Friday we got a buffet of cold appetizer-style foods from the grocery store and had them for dinner: smoked salmon, fresh bread, stuffed grape leaves, fresh mozzarella, hummus, etc. We really wanted to start eating early, like at 5:00, but the showings lasted all the way until 6:15. 

Shoe Choice
I am down to my last pair of my all-time favorite adidas Adios Pro 2, and they have a half marathon and full marathon on them (both PRs). I could have worn them again for this race, but I felt like perhaps they had lost some pop after two hard races. In the weeks leading up to the race I sought an alternative. The adidas Adios Pro 4 unfortunately didn't fit me - I was between sizes. In my normal size my toe was hitting the tip of the shoe and when I sized up by half a size the shoe was too roomy overall and not locked in. I was bummed because the Adios Pro 4 is supposedly a great shoe. 

Then I tried the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4. I loved version 2 of this shoe, and with an 8mm drop I thought it could be the answer. But I did an 18-mile run with 11 miles at marathon pace and I didn't love them. I thought they were fast, but towards the end I think my forefoot was getting sore, which means they were likely too firm for a marathon. I also felt like they were too much "shoe" - the stack height felt too high. 

I then tried the ASICS Metaspeed Edge. I had worn their counterpart (the Sky) in Boston last year and liked those. But I didn't find the Sky to be particularly fast. They were too bouncy with not enough ground feel. The Edge felt faster, but I noticed my forefeet were getting a bit sore towards the end of my run so those were a no-go. Probably good for shorter races. 

I tried out the Brooks Hyperion Elite PB on the Tuesday before the marathon. I loved everything about them. The fit, the ride, the feel. But I didn't want to take chances. If I had another week to train and ensure they felt good during a long run, then I would have used them.

That left me with one option: The New Balance Fuel Cell Elite V2. I wore these shoes for Richmond back in 2023, so they only had one marathon on them and I figured they would be good for another one. These shoes don't feel fast when running but I think they do their job "behind the scenes". They are super comfortable and they save your legs. During Richmond, my legs didn't get tired until very late in that race and I attribute it to the shoes. My theory is that they allow you to run at your marathon pace for longer without straining your legs, as opposed to propelling you forward with an aggressive carbon fiber plate. They have a carbon plate, but it's not as propulsive as most other shoes. Unfortunately, the new version of this shoe is totally re-done with a 4mm drop that would never work for me. And bonus: my running club is sponsored by New Balance and they like us to wear that brand when we race. 

Saturday
On Saturday morning, I ran a 2.62 mile shakeout run. I felt energized and strong and ready to go! Then it was time to shower and ensure the house was perfectly staged for the open house that would occur later that day. I had a banana at the house and then we went to a local bagel place where I stocked up on bagels. The drive down to Newport News took about three hours and I slept for about 30 minutes so it seemed to go even faster. 

We got to the hotel and I laid out all of my gear to ensure I hadn't forgotten anything. Usually I have all my race gear laid out on my bedroom floor during race week and I keep adding to it. But this time I had to keep everything inside the bag so I was out of my natural packing routine.

Next up, lunch! We went to a local deli and I ordered the world's most bland sandwich: turkey on white bread with lettuce and tomato. No cheese or anything else. 

We then proceeded to pick up my bib. I was part of the elite masters field for this race, which meant I was able to have bottles placed at three locations along the course: miles 7, 13, and 21. When I picked up my bib, I handed them my three bottles, each of which contained about 12 ounces of water mixed with Skratch Labs hydration + energy. It would be nice not to have to carry my own bottle for very long or have to stop at the water stations. This benefit was part of the "planets aligning"! 

We then met up with Mike Wardian for a game of chess. Greg and I each played against him. I had a strong attack but he made one brilliant move that thwarted me and he was able to checkmate me. Greg also seemed to have an advantage against him, but as the clock started ticking down, Mike came back strong and Greg lost on time. Mike's goal for the marathon was to set a world record for the fastest marathon while wearing a Forrest Gump costume!

Throughout all of this I made sure I drank plenty of water+ electrolytes throughout the day. I estimate that I probably consumed about 80 ounces of fluids. I also snacked on my bagels and almond-butter filled pretzels. When I carb load, I don't count carbs. I just eat whatever feels comfortable. I don't want to overload my digestive system with an unusually high amount of food that it's not used to.

After chess with Mike, we went back to our hotel and figured out where Greg would go to cheer for me and take photos. He would drop me off at the start and then take photos at four different locations. Greg had run this race back in 2019, so I also spent some time analyzing his data to get a sense of where the hills were. I had run the half marathon here twice (2020 & 2024), which is the second half of the full marathon. I was very familiar with the second half, but not the first. I noticed that Greg's Garmin had him at 26.37 miles. Yikes. Other runners seemed to log similar mileage - around 26.4. The course is curvy in places and has a good number of turns, so I would have thought 26.3 would be reasonable, but 26.4 meant I would have to run faster than I did at my recent Tidewater marathon (26.25) just to get the same time. 

Once we had figured out Greg's spectating plan, we made our way to dinner. We ate at the same restaurant that we did last year, the night before my 1:29:50 half marathon. I ordered the same meal: chicken parmesan with no cheese. We got to the restaurant at 5:00 and we were back to our hotel by 6:00. Nice and quick! 

Throughout the day, we often checked our home security app to see how many times the doors opened and closed. We wanted to get a sense for how many people were coming in and out. But we didn't stress over it. 

We went to bed early at around 8:00. I brought my Lagoon pillow because hotel pillows are notorious for being the wrong height. One pillow is never enough, but two is too high. With Lagoon, you can adjust the height of the pillow and customize it to how you sleep! (Use discount code ELIZABETHCLOR if you want to try it and save 15%!). I slept relatively well and surprisingly had zero anxiety dreams about the race. Usually I dream about missing the start, showing up without my shoes, showing up without gels, or being unprepared in some way. 

Before the Race
I woke up naturally at around 4:00. I laid in bed for a bit just trying to relax and get myself in the right headspace without psyching myself out. Because I was overwhelmed all week with the house and with work, I hadn't given as much thought to the marathon. To perform well, you really have to want it. If you are too relaxed or focused on other things, then it's easier to give yourself permission to not push as hard. The goal was to be excited and focused enough to really push, while remaining relaxed. Today I would run the race of my life. I visualized it. I visualized myself pushing really hard at the end to make it happen.

I got out of bed and had breakfast: one banana and a handful of almond butter pretzels. I tend to keep my pre-race breakfasts on the smaller side, only eating what feels comfortable. I had eaten plenty of carbs the day before and I would be fueling throughout the race.

I got dressed in all of my gear and went to the bathroom a million times. My CW-X tights unfortunately only have one small pocket that barely holds a key. That's why I didn't wear them for my December marathon - I had wanted pockets in my tights. During training, I wanted to wear them for my long runs and workouts because they are my fastest tights. So I trained with sticking gels in the waistband and that worked beautifully. Because they are so tight and compressive, the gels stay locked in between the waistband and my hips and don't bother me at all. I also stashed two gels in my sports bra, which was a first. I used the small pocket to hold some Honey Stinger chews. I wish I had thought to do this in December because the gels are much easier to grab at the waist with numb hands than to fish out of a deep pocket. 

Having missed the start of my previous marathon because I got the start time wrong, I wanted to get to the start extra early. We left the hotel at 6:00am and arrived to the race just before 6:15. We waited in the car until around 6:30, at which point I said goodbye to Greg. 

I headed over to the Elite tent where we had our own porta potty. It was thankfully empty and I got to use it right away. Then I hung out with Mike Wardian in the tent while I untied and re-tied my shoes a dozen times. I had my UCAN gel 15 minutes before the race start at 6:45.

Weather
It was very cold at the start line. Not as cold as the 18 degrees from my marathon in December, but still cold. It was 27 degrees with 10-15 mph sustained winds. The windchill made it feel closer to that 18 degree mark! Greg said he was colder spectating this marathon than the one in December because of the wind. At least we had no wind at the other marathon. It was sunny without a cloud in the sky. Start temp was 27 degrees, finish temp was 33 degrees. Sustained wind of 10-15 mph, which was mostly a tailwind. I give this a 10 out of 10 on my race weather scale. That said, if the course were a loop or an out-and-back, I'd have to downgrade to an 8. Not only is a headwind challenging, but when the temps are in the 20s it feels brutally cold. So generally this is "8" weather that I upgraded to a "10" due to the direction of the course. 

Strategy and Goal
Everything pointed to a sub-7:20 marathon pace being perfectly attainable for me. My two longer marathon pace runs (11 miles inside of 19 miles) averaged 7:15 and 7:13 respectively. And I felt great during those. Taking the longer course into consideration, this would yield a time of around 3:13. My "A" goal was to run a time of 3:12-3:13. My "B" goal was to PR with sub 3:15:11. My C goal was to finish healthy and strong. Ultimately breaking the 3:15 was really the most important. I had run 3:15:34 and 3:15:11 but never under. And I was so close last December!

My strategy was to to run the first 10 miles at pace of 7:20-7:25. After that, I wanted all of my miles to be faster than 7:20. 

Race Start
I didn't really warm up aside from doing a few strides around the park for 20 seconds at a time. I did some dynamic stretching and I had used a lacrosse ball in the hotel to loosen my glutes. The race had two pacers for 3:15. I had not been expecting that, which meant I had to decide if I was going to run with them, purposely avoid them, or just ignore them altogether. If I could stick with them the whole time, then I would get my sub-3:15 goal because pacers notoriously run faster than their goal pace. But pacers often go out too fast. I decided I would not try to stay with them but if I happened to be near them I would feed off of their energy. The ideal situation would be to run slightly behind them for the first 10K and then catch up or pass them. But once again, I had no idea how fast they would go out. 

When I ran the One City Half Marathon exactly five years ago in 2020, I decided to stick with the 1:30 pace group. That ended up being a mistake. They went out too fast and I lost them at the 8th mile, coming in at 1:31:xx. I think if I had a more conservative start I would have been closer to my sub 1:30 back then. Lessons learned - pacers usually go out faster than I would. 

Anyway, a few different people approached me at the start line and told me that they followed me on Instagram. I took photos with them and wished them good luck in their races. I love meeting Instagram runners in real life!

The national anthem was sung, and it was almost go-time! I tossed my jacket off (they donate them) and waited patiently to start. It was so cold! The sun hadn't fully risen and with bare shoulders I was quite uncomfortable. 

Mile 7

Miles 1-6
Alright, time to run the fastest marathon of my life! But to do that, I had to take it easy and chill in the beginning. Be patient. Enjoy the ride. I decided to focus on other runners and their outfits. Some runners were wearing tank tops and shorts. Others had long tights and multiple layers. I was running near someone in a sweatshirt that she kept on for the whole race. Quite the variety! 

I ended up being tucked behind the 3:15 pace group for these miles. I counted about 20 people in front of
me who all seemed to be part of the pace group. I was able to run my target 7:20-7:25 without having to weave or pass people. There was a turnaround at one point when you could see the runners coming in the other direction. I noticed that the pace groups really formed packs in this race. Most people seemed to be running totally alone or with just one other person. I was grateful for my pack because there was some headwind here and I was shielded nicely. 

I had the luxury of only needing to carry my water bottle for the first three miles because I knew I would get another at mile 7. I had been unable to drink enough fluids during my December marathon because my hands were too numb to hold a bottle or even take water from volunteers. I did not want that happening again. I planned to take my first gel at 40:00, but in the spirit of trying get more fuel in early, I took it a little early at 37:00. I knew that meant I would have to take my next one early, too, to maintain the 40 minute gap. It's better to fuel early when your stomach can properly digest it.

I was happy with how these miles felt. Controlled and easy. My gels were staying put in my waistband and in my sports bra. I was happy to discover a new way to hold gels because that opened up more options for me in future races. 

Mile 1: 7:24
Mile 2: 7:22
Mile 3: 7:24
Mile 4: 7:23
Mile 5: 7:17
Mile 6: 7:22

Miles 7-13
I saw Greg at mile marker 7 and broke away from the pace group to get closer to him. Shortly after that I grabbed my bottle from the elite table. My bottle was identifiable because I had put zebra duct tape around it. I held onto this bottle for a few miles. At mile 8 I saw something almost as good as Greg: a Zebra U-
Haul! I first noticed that U-Haul had a zebra on some of its trucks maybe 10 years ago. Now, whenever I see a U-Haul, I have to check to see if it has a zebra on it. Usually it doesn't. I ran a 4-mile race eight years ago and a Zebra U-Haul was parked at the race holding all of the water and supplies for the race!

Zebra U-Haul from a previous race

It was a sign that this was my day! A Zebra U-haul! I will also note that during the Myrtle Beach marathon there is a zebra statue on the course at around mile 20. 

I had another Maurten gel at around 1:12. The original timing of this was 1:20, but since I had taken my other gel a little early and I wanted to err on the side of more fuel earlier. I had five Maurten gels with me plus honey stinger chews. (And I had consumed the UCAN gel right before the race).  The plan was to take 4 Maurten gels + chews during the marathon. But I was worried that the chews would be hard to access because they were tightly wedged in a small pocket and my hands weren't fully functional. 

I saw Greg again at 11.5. This part of the course was very narrow and I was stuck in the middle of the 3:15 pace group. There would be no breaking free to get a good photo but that was fine. At least he would know that I was on track for a time of 3:15, if not faster. 

Things were going along really well and I still felt like I was having exactly the race I wanted. At around mile 12 I started chatting with another runner. He said his PR was 3:14 and he was hoping to break that. I also learned where he was from, that he likes to ski, and so on!

Mile 11.5

I learned from the Richmond marathon back in 2023 that it's good to have little conversations early in the marathon. It gets me out of my head and reminds me that I'm still running at a conversational pace, which builds confidence. He was perhaps more chatty than me, but that's fine. We stopped running together when I had to get my bottle from the elite table at mile 13.

These seven miles were the fastest of the race. They were all sub 7:20 except for mile 9. I am pretty sure I was ahead of the 3:15 group for much of this stretch. I was executing almost exactly as planned. I hit the halfway point at 1:36:55 on my watch (I don't have the official split yet) so I was on track to run just under 3:14.

Mile 7: 7:17
Mile 8: 7:16
Mile 9: 7:24
Mile 10: 7:18
Mile 11: 7:17
Mile 12: 7:16
Mile 13: 7:19

Miles 14-20
Mile 14 was my first hard mile. It was directly into the headwind, which was a rude awakening after so much tailwind. I knew it was just temporary and I allowed myself to slow down and go by effort. I was able to draft off of the guy I had been chatting with previously and that helped somewhat. But then I lost him and was on my own. The 3:15 group was behind me. I logged a 7:29 mile which was disheartening but I told myself things would improve when I reached the Promised Land.

What is the Promised Land? I had run the half marathon twice, so I was fairly familiar with the second half of this course. The Promised Land was a long, straight stretch of road that had a slight downhill profile and tailwind. Once I got there I would cruise all the way to the finish. I pictured this as the last 6 miles of the race but that was not reality. . . 

Mile 16.2

Once I got out of the headwind, I was prepared for things to get easier. But they didn't. Mile 15 had a slight elevation gain and the wind was now at my side. I started to think "things shouldn't feel this hard at this pace at mile 15." I started to wonder what I would feel like during that last 10K, but then I quickly stopped. It would be best to focus on the mile that I was in. Part of me felt like this could mean disaster and a huge bonk. But I reminded myself that I have had rough patches in races before, and I could recover. The 3:15 pace group passed me and that helped because I was motivated to stay with them and not be left in the dust. Mile 15 was 7:28 and things were going in the wrong direction.

I saw Greg at mile 16.2 and I wanted him to know that I was strong and running well. So I perked up and it really helped energize me. 

Up next were the miles that Greg remembered being the hardest - the park near Christopher Newport University. I remembered the park being annoying, too. I was prepared for a rough patch, but then. . . the Promised Land would show up and I would glide my way to a PR!

It was hard to stick to the tangents during this part because the road was curvy. I tried my best though. The next gel would be my only Maurten caffeinated gel. I only like to take one caffeinated gel when I race because I typically avoid caffeine altogether and too much is a shock to my system. I had originally planned to take this gel at 2:00 but I took it ten minutes early at 1:50. The caffeinated gels never go down as easy as the regular gels, but I managed to consume the entire thing without any gag reflex.

Unfortunately the 3:15 pace group was getting farther and farther ahead. Every now and then I would get a burst of motivation and try to close the gap and that helped me keep them in my sights. But I never caught up fully. I didn't care that much because I knew that by my calculation I was still on track for a PR. Pacers are notorious for getting people to the finish line early. I wasn't going to let that pace group make me think I wasn't still in this. I kept thinking "this is your day, make yourself PR" and "there's no reason you can't PR - you have the fitness for it and the weather is perfect."

I logged a 7:21 for both miles 16-17 and that pepped me up and rebuilt my confidence. I had imagined things deteriorating after mile 15, but instead they were improving. 

Mile 14: 7:29
Mile 15: 7:28
Mile 16: 7:21
Mile 17: 7:21
Mile 18: 7:23
Mile 19: 7:28
Mile 20: 7:22

Miles 21-Finish
I told myself this was it. Now was the time to PR. I kept telling myself I needed to make it hurt. I remembered back to my December marathon and how I felt like I just accepted the fade at the end until I realized a PR was within reach. "DON'T ACCEPT THE FADE" I kept telling myself over and over again. Don't accept it. Keep pushing the pace. You know you can be right around 7:20. If you want this you will need to make it happen. You will have to push for it. Do not accept the fade.

I grabbed my final water bottle from the elite table at mile 21 and took a few big swigs before tossing it. I reminded myself that I was in a much better spot fueling wise than I was last December. I was fitter. There was no reason not to be faster! I had to work. 

The 3:15 pace group was fading into the distance and I kept waiting for the Promised Land. The stretch where I made 1:29 happen last year at this race. But the course kept turning more than I remembered. I just wanted to put on cruise control and go. Mile 21 was 7:29 and once again I was dangerously close to the land of 7:30s and I did not want to be there for the rest of the race. I got a stomach cramp. I told myself to ignore it and that it would pass. It was pretty bad for about half a mile but then it went away entirely. Phew. I perked up a bit during mile 22 knowing that I was so close to the end and ran a 7:27 mile. 

This was truly a test of mental grit. Dare I risk fueling again knowing that my stomach was potentially having issues? I figured I would try to take a 5th gel during the 23rd mile. I wanted all the help I could get on the way to the finish line. 

It didn't go well. As soon as the gel was in my mouth, the gag reflex was triggered and I knew I had to spit it out. I slowed down a bit, turned my head to the side to spit, but I ended up vomiting instead. Not a ton, but just enough to be taken aback by it. I needed a mental reset. I stopped and walked about 4-5 steps. Oh no. I felt like crap. This was bad. Really bad. I would be walking to the finish. But within seconds I started running again and realized that vomiting was just what I needed! I suddenly felt so much better and could run faster than before I threw up! And where was that Promised Land with its straight road with a net downhill tailwind?

I came across one of the two 3:15 pacers. The pacing group was far ahead, maybe about 30-45 seconds up the road at this point. I said "Oh you're the 3:15 pacer!" He said "Yes, but the rest of the group is up ahead. But actually, he's planning on running 3:14 so you are still on track." And then he said "I'm running catch up pace right now so you need to keep running this pace to get it." That really helped me so I kicked it into high gear and I tried my best to catch the group. And I actually ran faster than the pacer who had talked to me!

Mile 24 was therefore the fastest mile of the race in 7:15. I was so excited about that. Yes, it was part of the Promised Land. But no, it was not downhill - actually a slight net gain if you consult Strava! Suddenly I felt amazing. The vomiting must have really helped and also knowing that I was closing the gap on the pace group up ahead. 

I remembered last year when I worked so hard to push my pace to a sub 1:30 in this exact spot so I channeled all of that.

I started checking the time on my watch during the last mile. I saw 3:08. Okay, I could rally. Just six more minutes and the PR would be mine. Just like last December, I had no idea if I would be able to PR or squeak under 3:15 but I was going to give it everything I had. 

I ended up running the last 0.39 at a pace of 6:50 and my last full mile was a pace of 7:06 according to Strava. The mind is so amazing. When you believe that your race could be over it's so easy to fall into the trap of believing it and to stop trying. When you think there's a chance you could get your goal and it's all come down to this one moment, the motivation allows you to do things you thought would be impossible. The last mile (from 25.4 to 26.4) was 7:06 and it was not downhill, it was flat! 

Mile 21: 7:29
Mile 22: 7:27
Mile 23: 7:44
Mile 24: 7:15
Mile 25: 7:27
Mile 26: 7:18
Final 0.39: 6:50 pace

I was brimming with joy as I crossed the finish line and saw 3:14:xx on the clock. My official time was 3:14:42, which is a PR by 29 seconds!

After the Race
Shortly after I crossed the finish line I threw up. I typically throw up after marathons and half marathons so this was nothing new and it made me feel so much better. It was all liquid. I think I drank too many fluids. Because I kept getting new bottles it was easy to just keep hydrating like I was running in 50 or 60 degree weather.

But when it's only 30 degrees, your hydration needs are different and it's easy to over drink. I think that's why I got the stomach cramp and why I threw up during and after. Nutrition will forever be a formula that needs to be fine-tuned. 

I re-united with Greg and I was so happy! I was on cloud nine seeing that I had gone under 3:15. It wasn't my "A" goal, but it was the main goal. 

They handed me a lightweight jacket at the finish line to help me stay warm but I got cold very quickly. I think it was only 33 degrees at the finish and still windy. Brrrr. We didn't linger around the finish line because I was very cold. We headed straight to the car and then to grab lunch. While waiting for our lunch I started shivering really badly. I needed to get warm. We took the food back to the hotel and unfortunately there was no bath tub, which is the fastest way to warm up. Instead I took a lukewarm shower with the world's lowest water pressure. It was like torture. I ended up wrapping myself in the bed blankets and drinking hot tea to finally stop shivering. Once I felt like myself again I was able to truly bask in the joy of a new marathon PR!

Stats
This was my 36th marathon.

I ran a PR by 29 seconds and a BQ by 30:18. I ran the men's BQ time for my age!

I don't have my official half marathon split, but I think I can approximate 1:36:55 and 1:37:47. Slightly positive splits. I think that final mile really helped bridged the gap. 

According to Strava I ran a marathon time of 3:13:25, at an average pace of 7:22. Yipee!

I placed second in my age group (45-49). Interestingly, the top three finishers in this age group were all faster than the 40-44 age group. The top three in 40-44 were 3:29, 3:30, and 3:37. 

The woman who won my age group ran a time of 3:14:05 and likely kept up with that 3:15 pacer, who clocked in a 3:13:56. The pacer who I passed ran a time of 3:17. 

The Newport News One City event now holds my half marathon PR (1:29:50) and my full marathon PR (3:14:42).

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

I am really proud of this race! It was a lot harder than I anticipated given the ideal weather and the tailwind. I thought my fitness supported a sub 7:20 pace for the entirety of the race when in reality I had to fight hard to run a 7:22 pace. My heart rate data supports me running a faster time because my heart rate was relatively low. 

I think I need to work on:

• Not being afraid to push to my goal pace around the mile 18-20 mark even if it's getting hard. 
• Getting the right balance of water/electrolytes/fuel (I probably could have had plain water without electrolyte mix in each bottle at these low temps)
• Not worrying about how it will feel later in the race if I push hard now. I am getting better at this but I think I could still improve.

I am most proud of:

• My mantra - Don't accept the fade
• Rallying hard after I vomited
• Running a 7:06 final mile (from 25.39 to 26.39)
• Not letting the stress of my house being on the market impact my running
• Staying relaxed the whole race
• Believing that I can still PR at age 46, given that I started running marathons at age 27
• Actually getting my goal!

Of course I am wondering if I could have just willed myself to keep up with that pace group. I think my training supports a time of 3:13:56 even on a "long" course. But I think I am always going to be second-guessing if I could have pushed harder, no matter what the race. That's part of being an athlete. Always trying to determine where you could have improved.

Pace groups can be a mind f**k though. It's easy to see a pacer and believe that they are perfectly pacing to the goal time and then freak out if they pass you. Most runners have experienced being demoralized when a pace group blazes past them. But pacing is a strategy and different strategies work for different runners. A pacer is just one runner approaching a goal time in one particular way and encouraging others along the way. I don't think the 3:15 pace group helped me or hurt me, but it just gave me something else to think about as I was running. 

I had the advantage of the tailwind during this race. Yes, it was a headwind and a sidewind during portions, but it was a tailwind for about 70% of the course. I did finally enter the Promised Land! But I think the fact that the tangents were hard to hit, making me run 26.39 miles was a disadvantage for sure. So maybe the two counteract each other and 3:14:42 is a fair & square time! 

Do I think I will ever get dramatically faster and run under 3:10? That's still TBD. I am not sure how many fast years I have left at this point. I certainly want to try. I have chipped away at this PR from 3:15:34 in 2018 to 3:15:11 in 2024 to 3:14:42 in 2025. I'd love to see a big dip but to do that I think I will need to re-examine my training and figure out what I need to get there. 

I was very fortunate to have Greg cheering for me in multiple places during this race. Of course I totally missed him at the end as I was laser focused on breaking 3:15. He did an excellent job with the photos and the videos, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. I don't know where I would be without his support.

We didn't make PR cake last night because we were so tired and we have to keep the kitchen clean with our house still on the market. But we have an offer in hand, so it won't be long before our kitchen is back in action. And I think it will be the last PR cake I make in it. Very sad. We are absolutely looking forward to our new kitchen for future PR cakes. 

Next up, Boston!

Run Club, Rankings, and Marathon Goals

It's been a while since I've posted a general update on my running. 2025 has been off to a strong start and I'm in an excellent spot with my training.

Run Club
I joined a running club/team: Light Horse Track Club! They are based in Northern Virginia and have just over 100 runners. The club is growing rapidly and I love the vibe: serious but also fun and chill! I haven't been part of a club since 2014. I do love running in a team environment and I think this group is a great fit for me. I already knew a bunch of the members, so it seemed like a natural fit. 

Alisa Harvey and me

The club hosted a fundraising gala in January and they asked me to speak in a panel discussion about women's running. It was an amazing opportunity. I shared the stage with Alisa Harvey, who is a local legend and Olympic trials runner. The discussion was moderated by Natalie Patterson and focused on various topics related to women's running. Alisa focused primarily on the physical aspects of her training while I focused primarily on the mental aspects.

I love getting dressed up and socializing and the gala was the perfect opportunity to do that. I bought a new pair of dress shoes for the occasion, which was a stark contrast to the workout shoes I live in daily! I had the opportunity to meet other club members and to chat with the ones I already knew. Best of all, it started at 4:30 and ended at 7:30. A runner's dream! We love our early bedtimes.

The club meets every weekend for long runs on the W&OD trail and has organized track workouts during the week. They also host track meets. 

Regional Runner Rankings
In my last post, I mentioned that I was ranked #1 in the 45-49 age group in the Regional Runner Rankings for the DC/MD/VA area. I definitely did not expect to come in first, but my 1:29:50 half marathon was quite fast for my age group!

This got me thinking about how I have managed to get faster over the past two years. I think it comes down to a combination of four things.

1. Self coaching. I know my body better than any outside coach and I have been running long enough to know what works and what doesn't work for me. I push myself on days where I think I can give more and I hold back on days when my body doesn't want to cooperate. Self coaching only works if you are really in tune with your individualized needs and you know when to push harder and when to pull back.

2. Ankle mobility. I struggled with ankle mobility for years and years. I did not have good range of motion in my ankles due to chronic Achilles tendonitis. I adapted by running at a very high cadence - 190 to 195 steps per minute during easy runs and 200+ during harder efforts. In the summer of 2023, I started putting heel lifts into my shoes so that the heel-to-toe drop would be greater and ease the strain on my Achilles. Within 8 weeks my Achilles tendons were virtually pain-free. It was amazing! My stride opened up. This is quite visible if you look at my Instagram videos from 2022 vs 2024. With a longer stride, I was able to run faster. 

3. Proactive physical therapy. Whenever something is nagging at me, I go to my physical therapist and we address it before it becomes an injury. I haven't had any major injuries since 2022, when I hurt my SI joint from doing a deadlift. Being injury-free and consistently training has helped immensely. 

4. Thyroid treatment. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2019 but I didn't want to take medication for it. I didn't think it was holding me back. In 2023, my thyroid labs came back with higher TSH levels, so I decided to try the medication. After a year of adjusting the dose with my doctor, my thyroid levels finally reached normal last spring. Last summer was the first summer that the heat didn't destroy me. Even though hypothyroidism is associated with being cold, it can also make you heat sensitive because your body's thermostat isn't working properly. 

Combine all four elements and that's why I have gotten faster after the age of 45!

Marathon Goals
I am running the Newport News One City Marathon in less than two weeks. I decided I would build on my previous training cycle by adding more speed work and sharpening my legs. My goal is to set a PR of sub 3:15. If I have a great day and everything aligns I think I can be pretty close to 3:10. 

I will also be running Boston, but that will be a "fun run" because I don't think you can have two "A" races so close together. 

So, that's my update!

Feeling Fast For 5K

This morning I ran the "By George" 5K at Hains Point in Washington DC. I am running a marathon in two weeks and my main goal with this short cycle was to build on my endurance base from my last cycle with speed. I've been doing more workouts at 5K pace or faster, like 200m repeats, 1:00 hard/1:00 easy, and short treadmill intervals.

So instead of doing my typical long run with marathon pace miles, I opted for a 5K to see how my speed was progressing.

Nine days before my December marathon, I ran a Turkey Trot at a pace of 6:33 which was slower than I was expecting. My legs got really tired towards the end, making it apparent that my focus on tempo runs as opposed to speed intervals resulted in legs that didn't have pep at top speed. My splits were 6:34, 6:40, 6:30 and 5:50 for the final kick. 

Today's 5K would test if my renewed focus on short speed intervals made any difference. Why does this matter for a marathon? Because I also felt that during my marathon my legs were sleepy. Sure, I set a PR and I was thrilled with my time. But I knew where I needed to improve to break that 3:15 barrier. 

Before the Race
I panicked a little bit when my GPS told me it would be a 40 minute drive to the race instead of my planned 30 minutes. I would get there with only 30 minutes to get my bib, pin it on, and warm up. But thankfully the drive ended up being closer to 30 minutes because the GPS had us going to a different part of Hains point. Also - since the bathrooms were locked until 8:00, they told us the race would start at 8:10 instead. 

After pining on my bib, I warmed up with one of my running club friends for just over two miles. (I joined a running club! More on that in a future post.) She found a porta potty about half a mile from the race so we didn't have to wait for the golf club bathrooms to open at 8:00. 

It was a small but competitive field with only 25 women! The race felt larger because there was a 10k going at the same time. 

It was 34 degrees, overcast and breezy. Hains point is almost always windy even if it's not windy elsewhere. I would say the winds were about 10-12 mph sustained. Not horrible, but it made the temps feel much cooler than 34 degrees, especially with no sun. I would give this a 9 out of 10 on my personal weather scale. Ideal temps, overcast skies, no precipitation, and with wind that probably robbed me of a few seconds but not much more than that.

I opted for short sleeves, arm warmers and my favorite CW-X capri tights. (If you want to try them, code ELIZABETHCLOR saves 10%.) I also wore convertible mittens with hand warmers inside of them. I would have worn my new running club gear, but I don't have a singlet yet (just a crop top) and it was too cold for that.

I wore the New Balance SuperComp Pacer 2, which is ideal for shorter races. It has a carbon fiber plate, but with a lower stack height than most carbon fiber plated shoes. I like to be closer to the ground when I run 5Ks. They have an 8mm drop so they don't irritate my achilles tendons. These shoes are responsive, comfortable and fast. Unfortunately, I am almost done with all the pairs of adidas Adios Pro 2 that I stocked up on. Versions 3 and 4 of that shoe don't work for me, so I am on the hunt for a go-to racing shoe. This New Balance Pacer is excellent for short distances, but I might want more cushion for a marathon. 

After I finished my cool down, the man who calculates the regional runner rankings approached me and congratulated on my first place spot. The rankings just came out on Friday and for 2024, I was ranked first in the DC/MD/VA region for the 45-49 age group. I definitely had not expected to come in first! Rankings are based on all the local races you run throughout the year so my 40:31 10K and 1:29:50 half marathon were included. He said that usually as you get older the goal is to stay at the same pace because that means you are improving. He said he rarely sees people get faster as they age up. I told him I attributed it to being self-coached. Instead of following someone else's plan, I know my body best. I am a coach myself and I have been at this long enough that I know how to train for the various race distances. I started coaching myself in mid 2023 and that's really when the improvements started coming after plateauing for a few years. 

Race Goal and Plan
I thought sub 20:00 was possible, but not likely. All I wanted to do was to improve on my 6:33-paced 5K from Thanksgiving. I planned to hover right around 20:10 but potentially faster if I could really gun it at the end. 

Mile 1: 6:28
I went out very quickly but it didn't feel like it. I think I ran the first quarter mile at a pace of around 6:15.
I didn't want to hold myself back so I just went with it. But then the reality of the headwind set in and I slowed down. Because I knew I would have a tailwind during the last mile, I gave myself permission to run exactly at goal pace and not try to outdo myself. And my stellar pacing skills landed me exactly where I wanted - 6:28. As I said earlier, this was a competitive field so I had plenty of other runners around me, both male and female.

Mile 2: 6:35
I really wish I had pushed harder here. This mile features a curve and also the hairpin turnaround. Those two things steal momentum and I also found the wind to be bad here. It was a headwind during the first mile but it was a side wind here and I think mentally I got too annoyed by it. Plus, I kept promising myself that I would run a really fast last mile so I once again gave myself permission to not push myself but rather to "hang in there". 

Mile 3: 6:20
It was go time and I was closing in on a woman ahead of me. At this point I knew it was going to hurt and I challenged myself to really lean into the pain and push as hard as possible. I was thinking I could possible squeak under 20 minutes if I really gave it my all. I did close the gap between myself and the woman ahead of me, but she still finished 9 seconds ahead of me. I am pretty sure I ran this mile as 6:30 for the first half and 6:10 for the second half. Strava data supports this! As soon as I knew I only had half a mile left I really turned on the gas.

Final 0.13: 5:48 pace
I watched the clock tick just over 20 but I wanted to be as close as possible to it. I ran HARD and I felt really strong. My legs had much more power than they did at the Turkey Trot. I was the 5th female finisher out of 25. A small field but competitive!

My official time was 20:08. I was very happy with this! Of course I immediately started questioning if I could have gone under 20 minutes with more effort during that second mile, but really it's just an arbitrary milestone and I met the goal I set out for myself which was a sub 6:30 pace. I wanted to be around 20:10 and that's what I did. Maybe I should have set a more aggressive goal and I would have done it! I'll try to find another 5K before it gets too warm.

After the Race
I cooled down with my teammate, who was the third female finisher. We ran about two miles and shared our race experiences. Then we met back up with Greg who informed me that I had won a cherry pie. I just realized I haven't mentioned Greg in this post yet, but he was there supporting me and taking photos. This race meant that he couldn't sleep in so I really appreciated him being there. 

On our way back home we drove by our soon-to-be home. We aren't permitted to go inside but we like to drive by it to see how the exterior is coming along. We don't have a closing date but we anticipate a move in April, right before the Boston Marathon. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
This was my third fastest 5K ever and I have run over 150 of them! According to "official" results,  it's my 4th fastest, but my 3rd fastest course measured shorter than this one by 0.05 miles. My average pace today was faster (6:26) than my average pace of that other one (6:28) so I am claiming this as my third fastest 5K ever. 

Finish Line

20:08 is so close to 19:xx and I am excited about the possibility of breaking 20 again. Once again, it is an arbitrary mile stone and Strava tells me I ran a time of 20:01 today. But it's just cooler when your finish time starts with 19. 

Compared to the Turkey Trot mile by mile: 6:34 to 6:28, 6:40 to 6:35, 6:30 to 6:20. Excellent progress! The Turkey Trot is hillier but it's a fast hilly and I have run a 19:58 on it in the past.

Not to get too hung up on time, but that's what today was about for me. I've gotten to a place mentally where racing isn't always about time, but today I wanted to test where my speed interval training had landed me.

I won my age group, but I was the only person in my age group! So I was first place and last place. 

If I had it to do over again I would have pushed harder during that second mile and not tried to save it all for the final mile. I think I could have saved about 5 seconds there. If it hadn't been windy I think I could have saved another 5 seconds too. 

Perhaps my goal was too soft and I am not challenging myself enough with my goals. I am excellent at setting out to do exactly what I tell myself I will do. A 5K is the perfect venue for risk taking so there is no reason I shouldn't have set my sights on sub 20 from the outset.

The New Balance SC Pacer 2 shoes were perfect. I accidentally got a wide width pair without realizing it, so the fit was a little sloppy, but next time I will buy a regular width and I think I will feel more locked in.

As for my marathon in two weeks, I feel ready! This race was just the confidence booster I need to feel sharp and dialed in. 

Frosty 5K Race Recap

I ran the Frosty 5K shortly before Christmas and the New Year's Day 10K on January 1. I am late in blogging about both of them. Neither of them were stellar performances, goal races, or particularly interesting, so the urge to blog wasn't as strong as it typically is. But there is always something to reflect on post-race, so I will start with Frosty. 

This race takes place on a course that our local running store, =PR=, uses multiple times throughout the year. I had run the course about five times previously, but never the Frosty version of it. (For reference, the other races are Run Your Heart Out, Birthday Bash, and Labor Day - which is now Donut Dash). It's a hilly course that always measures long on my Garmin, but it's fun to do the =PR= races because they are well organized and I know many of the other runners. In 2024 I bought a "race pass" which you buy at the beginning of the year and it covers four races of your choosing. I had one race left, so I used it on this one.

Two weeks post marathon I wasn't sure if my legs were recovered enough to tackle a hilly 5K. I knew from my Turkey Trot that I was not in great 5K shape so both of these factors combined made for a less than ideal race setup. 

Before the Race
On race morning, I recorded an Instagram video in which I said my goal pace would be 6:40. I had no idea what kind of time that would translate to with the distance being slightly off, but if my Garmin pace averaged 6:40, I thought that would be a solid effort. 

I arrived at the race and picked up my bib. I got there super early now that I have PTSD from missing a race start! I was trying to be in two places at once because my friend Caroline was in town from Florida running the race and I also wanted to warm up with Lighthorse Track Club, which I was considering joining. I somehow managed to start the warm up with Lighthorse and also find Caroline so that was a win. 

Lighthorse had a huge showing of runners. They choose two races a year where most of the team comes out and this was one of them. Dustin, the leader, organized pace groups based on what people would be running. I joined up with two people going out at a 6:30 pace. I knew I wouldn't be maintaining that pace, but the first mile is downhill, so that was my target for mile 1.

It was 25 degrees with winds at around 8 mph and partly cloudy. I give this an 8 out of 10 on my personal weather scale. I could have done without the wind and added about 5 degrees onto the temp. Otherwise it was perfect. 

I wore my favorite CW-X stability capri tights, which feel so fast for racing! I paired it with a Tracksmith Brighton Base Layer and Zensah socks, plus my trusty adidas Adios Pro 2 shoes. 

Bib number 1225 - Christmas!

Mile 1
I lined up with the two runners who said they were going out at a 6:30 pace but promptly lost them shortly after we started. Lighthorse is a fast group which meant there were a lot of fast runners right up front. It was a bit of a chaotic start, but I was able to settle in after we made our first two turns. It wasn't long before I found myself with my friend Michelle. We worked together for a little bit, weaving around people. I wanted to take full advantage of the downhill so that meant weaving. I clocked in at 6:33 for the first mile.

Mile 2
Now that the downhill was over it was time to work. Mentally I was very strong in this race. I think it was the fact that there were so many other fast women. Instead of trying to run a personal best I focused on the competitive aspect and that really motivated me. I used one of my favorite 5K mantras which is "make it hurt". That's my job in a 5K to make it hurt. This mindset allowed me to pass multiple runners during the second mile and that felt great. I don't recall anyone passing me - but it's been over three weeks now so maybe they did! My time for this mile was 6:39.

Mile 3
I knew I had a lot of cushion to make my 6:40 average pace goal. Mile 3 would definitely be the slowest (it always is due to the hills) but I didn't want to back off the effort. I was pleasantly surprised by how strong I felt on the hills. I had much more energy and pep than I did at the Turkey Trot, when I felt flat. I kept repeating my mantra of making it hurt and I powered up that hill! I did not want anyone coming from behind and passing me at the end, and they didn't! My time was 6:53, which is impressive given the hill profile.

Heading towards the finish line

The finish and beyond
I gunned the final 0.16 at an average pace of 5:57 according to my Garmin. I felt really strong. 

My official time was 21:01 which is a course PR by 8 seconds! I was thrilled. And my Garmin pace ended up being exactly 6:40, so my powers of prediction were on point. 

After the race I cooled down for 1 mile with Caroline and then I got my award. I won second place in my age group and was curious about another 45-49 year-old woman running faster than me. But then the reality hit me that I am no longer the youngest in this age group, having recently turned 46. A 45-year-old woman ran faster than me! More power to her - it was a super competitive race. 

It was really, really cold so I was happy not to linger for too long. Greg and I met up with Caroline and her husband at a nearby restaurant and had breakfast. I was chilled to the core and kept downing my decaf coffee!

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
I was pleasantly surprised with how strong I felt. Even though I predicted my exact pace, I didn't imagine that my legs would feel as recovered as they did. 

• It was a competitive field with all the Lighthorse ladies showing up. I was the 11th female finisher.
• This was a course PR by 8 seconds, making it my second 5K course PR of the year on an often-run course!
• In 2024, I set distance PRs in the marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 1-mile. I did not set a distance PR in the 5K but my two course PRs show major progress. 
• I ran a slower time than my recent Turkey Trot, but the Turkey Trot is less hilly and measures closer to 3.1 miles. 
• I also felt much stronger and more energized than I did at the Turkey Trot.
• My "make it hurt" mantra really helped me.
• I enjoyed feeling like I was competing and it was nice having other runners around. 
• It was fun to see so many of my friends, particularly Caroline from out of town.
• I didn't realize I had bib 1225 (12/25 for Christmas) until an Instagram commenter remarked on it.
• This was a great "workout" to start my winter of speed. I want to focus more on speed over the next two months because my previous training cycle was lacking in that aspect.

I was really happy I got out and ran this race. What a great way to finish out my strongest ever year of running!

Better Late Than Never: Tidewater Striders Marathon Report

Yesterday I ran my 35th marathon in Chesapeake, VA at the Tidewater Striders marathon. I'd love to say that I'm so experienced I would never make a rookie mistake. But alas- it seems like it's time for me to go back to basics.

We drove down to Chesapeake on Friday and it took us about 3.5 hours. When we got to the hotel I laid out all my race gear to ensure I wouldn't forget anything on race morning. Because this was a small race, there was no packet pickup the day before. Everyone would be getting their bibs on race morning. I brought two options for my top (short sleeves or tank) and two options for my bottom (capri tights or long tights). Either shirt would go with either pair of tights. It was going to be very cold throughout the entire race so I didn't even bother bringing shorts. I had originally considered wearing the adidas adios Pro Evo shoes, the ones that are $500 and super light. But I ended up returning them because if I PR'ed, I didn't want it to be because of the shoes.

We had dinner at 5:15 at a restaurant we had been to before. Back in 2021, I ran a 10-mile race on this same course so we were familiar with the area and the course. I had my standard chicken parm with no cheese and loads of bread. I made sure to hydrate really well throughout the day with water and electrolytes. I was worried that I would not be able to carry a cold water bottle with numb hands so pre-hydration would be critical. 

All day on Friday my right knee and shin felt injured. My knee had started bugging me a week prior during a run and now my whole shin felt achey. I had gone to PT earlier in the week and he thought I probably had some mild bursitis in my knee. I didn't run on Thursday or Friday just to be extra safe. I wasn't freaking out about it, but I could definitely feel that my knee/shin was off. I decided I was still going to race at full effort and hope for the best. 

Race prep and outfit decisions
I slept ok for the night before the race. As usual I woke up a bunch of times and kept falling back asleep. I probably got about 5.5-6 hours total. I had my usual anxiety dreams about missing the start or showing up without my Garmin or my shoes or whatever. I almost never have anxiety dreams about the race not going well - the anxiety is always about getting there on time and having everything I need. 

I woke up naturally at around 4:00. For a 7:00 race start, I knew I wanted to be done eating by 5:00. So at 4:45 I ate a banana and almond butter filled pretzels. I also drank plenty of water with electrolyte mix. Now it was time to finalize my outfit: the short sleeves or the tank? (Both options would include arm warmers). The capri tights or the full length tights?

Weather
According to my weather app, it would be 17 degrees at 7:00 and rise to 35 degrees by the end. I decided to go with the capri length tights because they had a more compressive fit which I thought would feel warmer. But given that the majority of the race would be in the 20s, I opted for short sleeves with arm warmers. I prefer this to a long sleeved shirt because I feel like too much air gets trapped in long sleeves. This way, my arms are still covered but the air flows. 

I suffer from Reynaud's syndrome which means my hands easily go numb. I wore thin gloves under convertible fleece mittens with hand warmers in each mitten. This would allow me finger access to get my fuel. 

I give this weather an 8 out of 10 on my race weather scale. Normally nothing is too cold for me, but when it's in the high teens to low 20s and it's a marathon, no amount of mittens/gloves/handwarmers will prevent numb fingers and this means fueling issues. The fact that there was no wind was a huge blessing. Temperature wise, this was my coldest marathon out of 35. But "real feel" wise, Boston 2018 with its torrential downpours and punishing winds felt far colder. I was uncomfortably cold for the first half of this race but I think once it got into the upper 20s I started to feel less chilled. 

In reality, this weather impacted me beyond just race conditions, but I'll get to that later. 

The Course
This course was pancake flat. Two out-and-backs. Greg would be able to drive to several spots and see me at multiple times. As much as I wanted him to hand me water bottles, that's against USATF rules and I didn't want to get disqualified for getting extra help.

A cool thing about this race is that they set out a table shortly after the half marathon turnaround and you can put your bottles and fuel on that table. 

There was also a 50K and a 100K, but those had earlier start times. The email said that those runners would need headlamps for the dark start, but the marathon runners would be starting in the light so we wouldn't need headlamps.

Car windshield

Before the Race
Our plan was to leave the hotel at 6:10 and get there at 6:30 for a 7:00 race start. Normally I would have left earlier but I didn't want to wait around at the start line in the cold. When we got inside the car, the entire windshield was ice. We didn't have a scraper so we had to wait for the windshield to defrost. This gave me so much anxiety. I even said to Greg "this is giving me so much anxiety". I was at the mercy of a frozen windshield to get to my race on time. 

Thankfully it only took about 5 minutes to defrost and we made it to the race at 6:32. I immediate got my bib and walked back to the car to pin it in. It was dark out and I could see runners around but I didn't pay too much attention to what was going on because I had to get my bib on. 

After I pinned on my bib, I asked Greg what time it was and he said 6:41. It was time for my UCAN gel, I dug it out of my jacket pocket and made sure to eat the entire thing. 

We got out of the car at 6:44 and started walking to the start line. It was still quite dark and we couldn't see much. There was an indoor bathroom on the way so I stopped in and was pretty quick about it. Nobody else was in the bathroom which I thought was odd, but I didn't question it.

I got out of the bathroom at around 6:47 we were at the start line a minute later. There were a few people lingering around the start line but not many. This was a small race and I assumed most people were still in their cars and were waiting until the very last minute. There was also a 50K and 100K race occurring, but those had started earlier in the morning. 

I went to set my bottle down at the half marathon turnaround table and I noticed that there were only 10 other bottles. I guess people were waiting in their cars and would put their bottles out right before starting. I knew that just over 100 people would be running the marathon, so I envisioned 100 bottles and I hoped mine wouldn't get lost or moved. It was 6:50 and with 10 minutes to go I decided to have Greg film a quick video for Instagram of me at the start, talking about my pre-race thoughts. After the video I knew it was time to line up at the start. Someone asked me, "are you running the marathon alone?" I replied "no, why?" He said "the marathon already started."

What? This guy had to be joking with me. "No, it's not 7:00 yet. The marathon starts at 7:00," I said.

"I started at 6:45," he insisted.

"But I know the email said 7:00."

At that point he walked me over to the race director and the timing people and reality hit me. I somehow got the start time wrong. The marathon had, in fact, started at 6:45. Probably while I was in the bathroom. It was dark so I couldn't see a bunch of people lining up, and I didn't hear anything. I didn't have time to think about any of this or to get emotional. No time to panic. No time to get emotional. I had to focus on what to do. Here was the conversation:

Race director: It's timed by chip, so you can start now.

Me: I know but I was kind of hoping to win. (Geeze that sounds cocky)

Race director: With what time?

Me: Around 3:10

Race director: Well, okay just go ahead and start. 

As I ironically posted about in my Turkey Trot race recap last week, overall winners are determined by gun time, not chip time. It's a race and you have to know who you are racing against. With a 14-minute delayed start, I would have to run 14 minutes faster than the next fastest woman to win the race. Not likely. 

I did not get emotional. I shed my heavy coat and my light jacket (that I was originally planning to wear for the first hour). But I guess that late start made me take it out on my jacket so I didn't start out wearing it as planned. I had just a thin t-shirt and arm sleeves in 19 degree temps. 

I turned on my Garmin and waited for it to locate. As soon as it did I crossed the start line. 

So I started 14 minutes after everyone else. WOW. 

I figured I would get emotional later. I would kick myself later. I would figure out how I got it wrong later. Now was the time to focus on running. 

Now is later, and here's what I think happened.

How I Got it Wrong
I had been 100% sure it was a 7:00 start so there was no need for me to double and triple check like I
always do. I think it was a combination of these three things:

• I had a lot going on this month with buying a new house and getting ready to sell our current house and also switching jobs. I didn't have a lot of free headspace to do my normal "triple check the start time".
• The race was on December 7. Every time I opened the final instruction email, I kept seeing 7.
• At some point I must have looked at the start time, but mainly for the purposes of weather. I kept looking at the 7:00 temperature, so my brain must have assumed a 7:00 start.

A few things confirmed my belief in a 7:00 start time. First, 7:00 is a much more standard time than 6:45. I was almost late to a 5K last summer because it started at 7:15 and I thought it was 7:30. Second, they had sent an email saying that the 50K runners and the 100K runners would need headlamps, but it would be light for the marathoners. It was still mostly dark at 6:45. 

The race director helping me start

Finally, the reason that the weather impacted me more than running conditions is because I would have been at the start line much earlier if it hadn't been 19 degrees. And the lack of people at 6:50 would have concerned me more if I didn't think everyone else was in their cars. The fact that the water table only had 10 bottles also confirmed my false belief.  If it had been warmer I would have gotten there earlier. Sure, I would have been thrown for a loop but I think I would have still started on time.

On the plus side, if we had been delayed by the windshield for 10-15 minutes, or I knew in advance that I would miss the start, I would have much more time to be anxious. But given the fact that I was going to start immediately I had no time for anxiety or stress. The stress comes from the anticipation of being late, not actually being late.

I can analyze this all I want but plain and simple, I made a mistake. After 34 marathons, I forgot one of the most basic things which is knowing the start time. I don't have any excuses, but I do understand why it happened. It will never happen again, I can guarantee that!

Miles 1-6.55
So I started alone. Not a big deal. I was planning on running this one mostly alone with only 120 registered runners. No headphones. No crowd support. I would be fine. This is how I do my long runs. There were, however, runners in the 100K and 50K around me so it was not completely desolate. 

My first thought was to think of this like a fun game. I know there are Santa races where Santa starts at the back of the race and sees how many people he can pass. He does it for fun. That would be me! It would be a fun challenge to pass as many people as possible. I convinced myself that I probably wouldn't have won anyway, there was probably a super speedy woman running sub 3:10, so the win wouldn't have been possible anyway. 

Mile 5

My goal was sub 3:15 and ideally around 3:10-3:12. I started out conservatively and it felt ridiculously easy as marathons always do in the beginning,

I was holding a bottle of water mixed with Skratch labs. Normally I would evenly space out my water sips but I was worried that the bottle would soon be too cold to hold so I drank a lot of it during the first 10 minutes. During the second mile the drink started to develop icy bits and was more like a slushee. As I said, it was about 19 degrees and so liquids freeze quickly. 

I didn't want to litter the bottle so I had to hold onto it until I could toss it in a trash can or at a water station. That was hard. My hands were already cold despite the hand warmers and glove/mitten combo. But what a relief to get to an aid station at 2.5 miles. 

One thing that amazed me about this first stretch was how quickly the miles went by. My Garmin kept beeping and I was like "already?!" It seriously kept beeping for the mile splits and I thought I was only half a mile in. I guess my mind was pretty active so I wasn't really paying attention to how far I had run. 

I had my first Greg sighting at mile 5 and I said to him "I'm losing!" as a joke. He replied "No you're not!" My spirits were high and in my mind I had turned this into a game. It would be fun to play and a fun story to tell. (Yup, I'm having fun now!)

I took my first gel at 40 minutes. The pockets on these capri tights were a little lower than ideal so I had to reach to grab the gel tightly. My fingers only half worked and I was afraid that the hand warmer would fall out of the mitten if I was not careful. I was successful in taking the gel. That felt like a big achievement.

As I approached the 6.55 turnaround, I could see the other marathoners on the other side of the course. They looked fast. Even though I knew I was ahead of some of them by chip time, I had no idea how much and it was impossible to tell how fast they were going. I immediately honed in on the first female. She looked strong wearing shorts, a tank, and arm sleeves. Okay - she was fast. She would probably go sub 3:10 and I would not have won against her. I convinced myself of that. I am not sure how many people I passed during the first section. Maybe about 15? There were also 100K and 50K runners, so it was hard to know who was doing what race from behind. From the front you could see their bibs.

Mile 1: 7:29
Mile 2: 7:27
Mile 3: 7:25

Mile 4: 7:26
Mile 5: 7:23
Mile 6: 7:23

Miles 6.55-13.1
After turning around I thought to myself "I can definitely do 3 more of those. This race is going so well!" They were handing out water at around mile 7 and I decided I would take the time to stop and properly drink it. I hadn't had any water since mile 2. 

I took a big gulp and then continued on my way. But the urge to vomit hit me suddenly. Oh no - was I having digestive issues! I really felt nauseous at that point. There was no logical reason for me to be feeling like that after just 7 miles at a pace that felt totally moderate. I convinced myself that it would go away, I would be fine. I would not have digestive issues. 

Mile 8

Greg was at mile 8 snapping photos. It was so awesome to see him. Even though this race lacked crowd support, I got to see the one person that really matters a bunch of times. I had planned to toss him my jacket at mile 8, but I had ditched it at the start and he had collected it there. 

Now it was time to do math. When did I want to reach the halfway point? My Garmin was reading an average race pace of 7:24 which was in line with my plans. I figured 1:36:xx would be a good half marathon target. 

At 1:20 it was time for my second gel, which would be a caffeinated one. My hands were mostly numb and I had a really hard time grabbing a gel. There were two in my right pocket and I grabbed one of them and I hoped so badly it was the correct one. YES! It was the caffeinated one. I was worried about this one going down because I find the caffeinated gels much harder to digest. My nausea had subsided but wasn't completely gone. I took the gel in 2 servings and told myself to swallow it like a pill so there was no time to taste it. It was not easy but thankfully the gel did go down and I think I was able to get the whole thing down. Not seeing a garbage nearby, I stuffed the wrapper into my tights pocket which was challenging with the numb hands. 

Mile 7: 7:22
Mile 8: 7:23
Mile 9: 7:23
Mile 10: 7:20
Mile 11: 7:20
Mile 12: 7:18

Mile 13: 7:17

Miles 13.1-19.65
I glanced down at my watch as I crossed the mat and I think it read 1:36:5x. So that would put me on track for slightly under 3:14. The high 3:13's. Perfect! Now it was time to negative split. I felt like I could do it!

I grabbed my water bottle from the fuel table and it was mostly slush. Not a ton came out when I squeezed it and what did come out was icy. Plus, the gag reflex came back and my body did not want to digest this. Unfortunately I probably only got about 3-4 ounces of fluid. This was not ideal because my only other two hydration spots were mile 2 and mile 8. But I wasn't sweating and I know that when it's very cold I can get away with minimal water if I am pre-hydrated. And I was definitely pre-hydrated.

I also think that the way the Maurten gels work is that they combine with fluids to form the hydrogel. So this may have impacted the effectiveness of my gels. If I had it to do over again I would have fueled with UCAN gels. They are watery and work without any extra fluids. 

Mile 14 was a little bit slower because I slowed down to grab the bottle and open it with my teeth. When I saw the 7:28 split on my watch I picked up the pace again and redeemed myself with a 7:17 mile for mile 15. 

I felt mentally strong. I was still passing people and the half marathon turnaround showed me that I was starting to close the gap on the pack ahead of me. That one woman was still way out in front and she looked strong.

At 2:00 it was time for another gel. My hands were totally useless and I could not grab it from my tights pocket. I actually had to stop and go fishing for it. I used my entire hand to grab ahold of it (fingers were not cooperating) and I took the gel. Greg was nearby so I tossed it and hoped he would get the wrapper, which he did! He later told me that the gel was only halfway eaten. I thought I had gotten it all but with numb hands and lips, there was no way to know. 

Ideally I would have been drinking from my bottle this whole time which had water, electrolytes and also carbs. And I would have been snacking on honey stinger chews in between gels to supplement. But those chews were tiny and there was no way I was getting my fingers around them. I was under fueled and I knew it. But I hoped for the best.

At mile 19 the race suddenly started to get hard. It went from comfortable and manageable to hard all at once with nothing in between. I had plenty of energy but my hamstrings became sore. They didn't want to run anymore. Mentally this was the hardest part of the race because I hadn't even reached the turnaround yet! I told myself "just get to the turnaround and that will give you a mental boost to be running towards the finish". 

Mile 14: 7:28
Mile 15: 7:17
Mile 16: 7:19
Mile 17: 7:38 (stopped to get the fuel)

Mile 18: 7:17

Mile 19: 7:23

Miles 19.65-Finish
I was so happy to be on my way back. It was go time. I really wanted to race these last six miles. I had the energy to do so but my hamstrings were so achy. It was time to pull out the mental tricks. I knew I was on track for a PR and I reminded myself that the next 6 miles would be make it or break it. And I didn't train that hard to just let it slip away. I kept the effort level high and was trying to run under 7:20 but my Garmin wasn't reading as fast as I felt like I was going. 

Mile 22.5

I passed a lot of people during this final stretch. Some of them were walking. It helped distract me from my achy legs to pass people. I had one more gel to take at 2:40 and after struggling to grab it I was finally able to take it and surprisingly it went down well with no issues. 

It was go time but my legs did not want to go. I told myself I should have done more hamstring exercises. But I also reminded myself that marathons are hard. Even though I was struggling the last six miles are never going to feel good. They felt AMAZING in Richmond last fall but that's because I fueled properly and the course had more variation than being all flat. I had this expectation in my mind that this race would feel exactly like Richmond - just flying at the end with little suffering. 

But I suffered. I worried that I wouldn't make it to the finish. Every time I had that worry I told myself to keep doing what you are doing. And then I told myself to give even more. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't. I hadn't felt this kind of hurt at the end of a marathon in almost two years. 

With 3 miles to go I felt super confident in myself but my Garmin clocked a disappointing 7:37 at mile 24 and an even more crushing 7:46 at mile 25. With one mile to go I reminded myself that a PR was on the line. I hadn't set a marathon PR since 2018! I really, really wanted it. I didn't want to look at my average race pace because I thought that would be discouraging, so I just focused on pushing super hard. I was able to knock out a 7:35 last mile, which was impressive given that all I could manage was 7:46 for mile 25. Mile 25 is always my slowest. 

When my Garmin ticked at 26 miles I looked down at my watch time and I thought that if I sprinted I could finish under 3:15, which was my goal. I ran hard, hard, hard!!!! My average pace for the final 0.25 was 6:52! Amazing what you can do when you set your mind to it.

And I finished  and my watch read 3:15:12. A PR by 22 seconds. Not my goal of sub-3:15, but a PR that I fought hard for on dead legs with low fueling and only about 15 ounces of fluids throughout the whole race, most of which were consumed during the first two miles.

Mile 20: 7:29
Mile 21: 7:30 

Mile 22: 7:29

Mile 23: 7:34
Mile 24: 7:37
Mile 25: 7:46
Mile 26: 7:35

After the Race
I was a little disappointed to learn that my final kick wasn't enough to go sub 3:15, but a PR is a PR. And at the age of 46, I'll take it!

Once I recovered for a few minutes, I talked to the race director. He said my time was good enough to win my age group and handed me an age group award and a Boston Qualifier t-shirt. The results weren't posted yet (and they still are not posted as of right now, Sunday morning) but he said he had to wait until all the 50K and 100K results were finalized to publish them. I did not ask what the winning female time was because I assumed she was faster than 3:15:12.

Final kick towards the finish

When we got back to the hotel room, we looked at Greg's photos and found the bib number of the woman who was in first place. I Strava stalked her and saw that she ran a time of 3:18:50. Three minutes and 38 seconds slower than me. Sigh. I probably would have won if I had started on time. That stung.

I've never won a marathon before and I am fairly confident I would have won this one, although there is no way to know for sure. That's why gun time is the official time because you have to be able to see who you are racing to truly race against them to the best of your ability. If we started together we likely would have run together or near each other because we had similar splits. I believe that we both may have run even faster if we had started together. Competition is a huge motivator. 

But that's the point - we could have both run totally different races if we had been together. But we will never know and that is why gun time is king. And my stupid error lost me what was probably a likely win. It's my fault. I've learned from it.

WAIT WAIT WAIT ---- THIS JUST IN! 

It's now 8:35am on Sunday and Greg just got a result notification. The results are posted! My official time is 3:15:11.

I just learned that the 3:18 woman did not win. There were a few fast women behind her and one of them must have passed her in the last stretch. The winning time was 3:13:57. So I guess I would not have won with my time. But I would have had two women to run with and compete against. 

And as it turns out, the race used Chip Time as the official time, so I was officially second place. 

Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
My biggest takeaway here is how I handled the mishap at the start line. I did not get emotional or frazzled. I focused on what I needed to do and that was to start running as soon as I could get my jackets off. I stayed positive throughout the race and I didn't mind running alone. I turned it into a fun game.

My second biggest accomplishment was how I handled those final miles when I knew a PR was on the line. I fought really hard and I did not give in to the pain in my hamstrings. 

I think I could have run sub 3:15 if I didn't need to stop to fuel due to numb hands and if I had been able to access all of my fuel. So in that sense, the cold weather slowed me down due to numb and useless fingers. And if I had started on time and was competing against the 3:18 runner and the 3:13 runner, I might have had even more motivation. But I did the best I could in the situation that was dealt to me.

My 3:15:11 is a PR by 23 seconds and we are making a cake tonight! It beats my 3:15:34 from Rehoboth beach exactly six years ago. I can't believe it took me six years to PR in the marathon again. WOW. 

I qualified for Boston by 29 minutes and 49 seconds. I was so close to getting the men's BQ of 3:15:00.

I was self-coached and I only had 6-8 weeks to train depending on when you consider my training to start and end. If I had it to do over again I would have incorporated more Fartlek and shorter intervals. I lacked high-end speed and I think those workouts would have helped my legs in the final miles. I sacrificed those shorter workouts because I had such a limited amount of time to train.

I was officially the 2nd female finisher out of just 21. I placed 11th out of 73 overall runners, which means that nearly 50 people were a no-show. That's almost half the registrants!!

My official half marathon split was 1:36:55 so I ran a positive split by 1:21. My plan was to negative split, but if I have to positive split, that's pretty good and it shows I didn't leave anything out there on the course. 

I hope that I can finally break into the 11xxx bib numbers for Boston. I have received 12xxx bibs for the last three Bostons. In 2024 a time of 3:15:11 would have been enough, but maybe not in 2025. Times are getting faster. 11 is my lucky number.  My dream bib is 11111.

My knee/shin was totally phantom taper pains. I had zero knee or shin issues during the race.

Greg was such a great cheerleader and photographer! I saw him seven times!

This race affirms my love of running in really cold weather. Even though the sub-20 degree temps impacted my ability to fuel and made me unaware of my late start, I would still prefer these conditions over anything that got into the 50s. My outfit worked well and the only thing I would have done differently is used warmer heavier gloves under the mittens instead of the thin gloves. 

Up Next
Next up are some shorter races and then Boston 2025!