So. Robyn is not the only who is swamped. I just emerged for air after finishing our fall term, coaching our last cross country race of the season, and wrapping up my own fall running.
Before I get into the details and highlights of my running life lately, I’d like to take a minute to shamelessly plug my fundraising efforts for the Boston Marathon in 5 months (!!). I’ve set an incredibly lofty goal of raising $10,000 for Dana Farber Cancer Institutes to give back to the doctors and organization that helped my brother overcome his cancer last year. I'm so excited to run Boston and support my brother and Dana Farber, and I hope you'll support me as well.
The real reason why I'm back blogging is that I ran a PR at my last half marathon! I wrote my last post about my training leading up to the Gansett Half Marathon and how well it went. As the training went on, I gained confidence in my ability to be competitive in this race. Between the long runs, hill workouts and strength circuits, I was in good shape. Not college or sub-20 good shape, but good shape nonetheless. I also wanted to try a new race strategy. I often preach to the girls on my team about starting out conservatively and taking down runners as you speed up. And yet, I don't often practice this myself. So this time around I told myself to actually take this seriously, and it really made a difference.
You know what else made a difference? The race started at 11 AM, which meant that we didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn. Bestie, co-coach and training partner, Jillian, and I drank some coffee and headed down to Rhode Island. Among Jillian's many talents is that she can curate a killer playlist, so we blasted the tunes all the way into the Ocean State. After checking in, entering the raffle for a pie (which we didn't win), and warming up on the course, we were ready to go.
The first few miles were like a short out and back peninsula before we headed out on the body of the course. My PR half marathon pace was about 7:38 but for the first few miles I really tried to control my pace and keep it at 7:45-7:50. I knew I felt good but I wanted to wait to surge. After the first 3 miles, I let myself go and slowly reined in the runners in front of me. The course took us right by the beach and as I passed by I had to remind myself to take in the beautiful scenery. Needless to say, I was focused. As I hit the halfway point, I came upon another woman who was moving at a good clip. I wanted to draft behind her but I ended up getting impatient behind her and passed her as I turned the corner at mile 8.
At my previous half marathon, where I was 4 seconds off my PR, I ran so well because I kicked it in for the last 5k of the race. This strategy felt good for both for my body and for my competitive spirit, so I wanted to do that again. There was a group of girls running in front of me, and to be honest, they didn't look like they should have been running as fast as they were. I'm not talking body size or shape, but rather because they were wearing leggings. This is one of my biggest pet peeves, when people overdress for running. It was almost 60 degrees and cloudy, ain't nobody got time for leggings! I set my sights on this group and used them as motivation to start dropping time. 7:22, 7:17, 7:27, 7:23, 6:57. At mile 11, I passed finally passed those girls, wished them good luck, and didn't look back. Then I came upon a total bro and we raced to the finish. I generally don't have a strong kick, but I just can't let myself lose to a guy. I'm happy to report that I did out-kick him, and in the process I ran a new half marathon PR of 1:38:26!
Before the half marathon, I knew my training had gone well but I didn't want to be overconfident. Honestly, staying calm and listening to my body helped me to run a smart race that happened to be my best time. It was such a great feeling to run a strong race and know that I still have some speed in me. Since the race I've been focusing on other parts of my life and work and haven't run as much. Once I start gearing up for Boston, I'll definitely call upon these feelings to motivate me to train and race harder.
The real reason why I'm back blogging is that I ran a PR at my last half marathon! I wrote my last post about my training leading up to the Gansett Half Marathon and how well it went. As the training went on, I gained confidence in my ability to be competitive in this race. Between the long runs, hill workouts and strength circuits, I was in good shape. Not college or sub-20 good shape, but good shape nonetheless. I also wanted to try a new race strategy. I often preach to the girls on my team about starting out conservatively and taking down runners as you speed up. And yet, I don't often practice this myself. So this time around I told myself to actually take this seriously, and it really made a difference.
You know what else made a difference? The race started at 11 AM, which meant that we didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn. Bestie, co-coach and training partner, Jillian, and I drank some coffee and headed down to Rhode Island. Among Jillian's many talents is that she can curate a killer playlist, so we blasted the tunes all the way into the Ocean State. After checking in, entering the raffle for a pie (which we didn't win), and warming up on the course, we were ready to go.
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| We even had time to braid our hair |
At my previous half marathon, where I was 4 seconds off my PR, I ran so well because I kicked it in for the last 5k of the race. This strategy felt good for both for my body and for my competitive spirit, so I wanted to do that again. There was a group of girls running in front of me, and to be honest, they didn't look like they should have been running as fast as they were. I'm not talking body size or shape, but rather because they were wearing leggings. This is one of my biggest pet peeves, when people overdress for running. It was almost 60 degrees and cloudy, ain't nobody got time for leggings! I set my sights on this group and used them as motivation to start dropping time. 7:22, 7:17, 7:27, 7:23, 6:57. At mile 11, I passed finally passed those girls, wished them good luck, and didn't look back. Then I came upon a total bro and we raced to the finish. I generally don't have a strong kick, but I just can't let myself lose to a guy. I'm happy to report that I did out-kick him, and in the process I ran a new half marathon PR of 1:38:26!
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| Yeah, I beat him |
Until the next race,
Rachel "appropriate running clothes please" Runner
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