Well guys, I may have fallen off the “weekly blog post about training wagon,” but the good news is I did not fall off the marathon training wagon – and thank goodness for that, considering the Chicago marathon is less than three weeks away – how did that even happen!?
I have hit some milestones this training cycle – I logged my most monthly miles ever in July, and then beat that number in August when I pulled off over 180 miles for the month. Like any training cycle there have been ups and downs – days where I nail that 9 mile tempo run at a hard pace, and other days where I struggle on an easy run. But thanks to a killer support system with lots of friends that are also racing this fall, I kept going even when things got tough. I may have even started to drag friends along on runs to make sure that they kept going as well.
This past weekend I FINALLY got to run an in-person half again, for the first time since March of 2020! I was registered to run the “22.4 mile challenge” event in 2020, which consisted of a 5k, 10k, and half marathon over three days, but the event was cancelled. I decided to do it virtually in 2020, and it was fun to earn my medals and swag, but not the same as a real race.
Months ago I signed up for the Long Island Half Marathon, figuring that it would be a good chance to test my fitness before my fall marathons. As race day approached, I shifted that goal – I decided my “A” goal was just to run without stopping, regardless of the pace, and add on some miles before and after the race to make it the last long run before Chicago. I knew I would likely have to stop for a few minutes between getting to the park and the race start, but that couldn’t be avoided.
Mike and Sophie were also signed up to run this one, so on Friday night Mike and I headed to Eisenhower park to pick up our race gear. The expo was set up right at the events finish line and seeing the finish got me excited for the miles ahead of me. The first room of the expo had our bibs and race swag – a tech shirt and a drawstring backpack. I was a little bummed that the race shirt were the same design as the 2020 ones I earned virtually, but its not like I don’t have a plethora of running shirts accumulated from various races. Once we had our bibs we made it through a room of vendors and collected some more swag. There was also one local running store there, so I took a few minutes to look through their racks. It was a small expo, but still nice to experience after so much time. Outside of the tent was a setup of a dozen or so food trucks and some picnic tables, and Mike and I scoped out the scene so we would have an idea of what we would be able to pick up post-race. I couldn’t resist the doughnut truck, and got a yummy pre-race treat. We both decided to get some empanadas, which I ate for dinner that night after Mike and I went for a run that night.
On Saturday night I packed my race bags and set out everything that I needed for race day. Dennis was going to bike along with me as I ran from home to the race start, so I loaded some supplies into his backpack. When my alarm went off on Sunday I ate a peanut butter sandwich and drank some nuun endurance, and then got dressed and headed out. Our house is about 2 miles from the park, and when we got to the corner of it we found the race course being closed off from traffic. As Den biked along with me he joked that I was probably cheating, getting on the course before the race had even started. When we turned into the park to head towards the start, we saw the mile 12 marker of the race. I kept the pace easy, and just enjoyed the beautiful morning weather. As we turned the last corner before the finish line, a spotted a beautiful Dalia garden in the back of the park, and ran by to sneak a peek. By chance as I ran away from it and towards the start area, I spotted Mike and Sophie as they made their way to the start area. I got in just over 3.6 miles in my “run to the start,” and caught up with the two of them to get myself put together before the race start.
The marathon corrals were already going off when we got there, and we had about 10 minutes before our corral was set to go off. Once we were loaded up with race fuel, we handed Dennis everything that we did not need, and he loaded it into his backpack. He was planning to spectate from his bike, so he could catch us throughout the course.
Mike and I were planning to stick together for the half, while Sophie did her own thing. We split up shortly after crossing the start line, and Mike and I settled into a comfortable pace as we started our race. It was a new course this year, that I was excited to experience. We found Dennis cheering as we left the park, and headed out onto the main road. It took us from Eisenhower park towards the Nassau coliseum. Around mile three I took a peek at my pace, and slowed us down a little – this was about endurance, not speed. We went from the coliseum, passed museum row, and into the Mitchel athletic complex. We were lead onto the track, and got to run a lap there which reminded me of Disney marathons passed. Mike and I kept chatting as we ticked off the miles, and around mile 6 Mike mentioned that he would love to break a 2:20 half, as it would be a PR for him.
I put that thought on the back burner and kept moving forward. We had a few out and backs before we went back towards the start, and then started running around the perimeter of the park. Dennis had gotten a flat shortly after we saw him but was back on the road when we made it back near the park, and he spotted us as we turned the corner of the outside perimeter. For the rest of the race, we spotted him every mile or so, as he would cheer, and then pedal ahead of us to wait for us to run by. It was fun to be able to spot him so many times. As we got towards the later race miles, Mike started to fade a little bit, but we kept pushing, managing to keep the pace under an 11 minute mile. We took in a little extra fuel, and trudged onward. I felt good, happy to be doing a real race in beautiful weather.
My one complaint about this course was that the water stations were a little too spread out for me. I didn’t carry any water with me on course, so I was relying on the on-course stations. The stops were every 2-3 miles, and there were times when I was thirsty when we ran into the stations! Towards the end of the race, I started grabbing more than one cup of water, and sometimes some Gatorade. One unusual thing about the Gatorade – the flavor changed at every station! It was a little exciting to see what flavor we would get at each station, I feel like most races stick to one flavor.
As we headed towards the end of the race, we finally turned into the park and spotted the mile 12 marker. I was pushing Mike as we made our way through that final mile, doing all I could to hype Mike up as we got closer to the finish. At long last we turned that final corner, and made it into the finish line chute – we held our hands high together as we crossed the finish line, complete with a shiny new PR for Mike!
We made our way through the finishers area, getting water, fresh fruit, and bagels. I was at 17 miles total, and was debating going to 19. I texted Sophie to see what mile she was at as we left the finisher area, and found we found Dennis near the food trucks. I snacked on a piece of watermelon, and Sophie texted back that she was at mile 12 – so I decided to run back to her to add on a little more mileage. I started running back towards her, and found her on course, and was happy that she was excited to see me and have some company. She was still running strong, and nearly at the finish. When we got to the finish chute I peeled off, and took the long way back to Mike and Dennis so that my total mileage was 19. I was tired, but I felt so good and was proud of the work that I put in.
As we hung out among the food trucks we decided to get some sno cones, and they really hit the spot. I wasn’t hungry enough to really eat anything, but I felt like I was at least hydrating. I also found a churro for Dennis, and his face lit up when he saw me coming back with it.
I was done running for the day, so Sophie gave me a ride home. Dennis was nice enough to offer to make us post race burgers, so after we all went home and showered and rested a little, Mike and Sophie came by the house. The three of us devoured some thrown together taco dip while Den prepared the burgers, all in a great mood after a fun race morning.
I had forgotten how good a race day like this can feel, and it was just thr confidence boost that I needed with my last long run before Chicago – fingers crossed that marathon morning feels as good as this half did!