Race Report – Frederick Half Marathon

So as you can see from the photo above, I finished the Frederick Half, but my Garmin did not.  As it popped up the screen to alert me that I hit the 13 mile mark, it froze.  Of course, that was on a walk break, so it froze showing a 16:22 pace.  Nice.  It couldn’t have frozen on one of those fast downhills and made me look like a speed demon.

I let the battery die, and it seems to be working okay now.  Will have to test it out on some runs over the next few weeks.  I can’t have killed another Garmin so soon!

But anyway, the race!

I was not prepared for this race.  I wasn’t prepared at all.  I ran back to back halfs at the beginning of April, and then pretty much didn’t run for the rest of the month.  I was sick, then I was injured.  I don’t think I put in more than 5 miles.  So I wasn’t expecting much out of this race.  My plan was just to get through it.

I do really love this race, though.  It’s a great course, winds through a lot of lovely neighborhoods in Frederick, and while there are some hills, what goes up must come down.  Also, it’s local enough that I always end up seeing friends there.

My plan initially was to run with some friends, but I realized early on that I was going to end up pushing their pace, though inadvertently.   While I didn’t expect to be able to hold a decent pace for the entire race, I also didn’t want to screw up their race, so when they stopped for a bathroom break in the first mile, I headed off.

I found myself wishing I had brought headphones, because I was suddenly all alone.  But I don’t typically carry them, and honestly prefer to just chat with people as I run.  Luckily, I wasn’t alone for long.  I made a new friend along the course and she definitely pushed me to continue on through the race.  It was so much fun to have someone to chat with.  Running is a strange sport that way, but it has been such a great way to make new friends.  By the end of the race, I had made a promise to find her on Facebook and now I’m sure we’ll see each other at races.

I really don’t think I would have kept up my intervals if it weren’t for her.  I would have given up and slogged the rest of the way in.  I couldn’t believe it when I got my finishing time.  3:06:50!  Okay, so I’m not beating any speed records and it’s well off my PR, but for a fairly untrained race, I was impressed.  And I had a great time as well!

But I have to admit, I’m so glad to not have any more half marathons for a few months.  I’m looking forward to focusing on triathlon training and maybe running 10ks or so on the weekends.