As a part of my challenge to stay healthy this year I have decided to participate in a series of half marathons. This past Sunday marked the beginning of this challenge with the completion of half #1: the New Bedford Half Marathon. I ran with E and 3 of her friends from high school. Together we were the Fab Five. We also had an amazing fan section made up of more of E's friends from high school. They were an amazing support system (including their personalized signs)!
On Saturday, after a morning of studying for our Child Bearing exam, E and I drove to New Bedford to pick up the race packets. We had a little time to kill so we decided to drive the course. Our initial impressions of New Bedford and the race course left us with a less than optimistic view point. Let's just say it wasn't the most beautiful town and course we had seen. The rest of Saturday was spent at the summer house of one of E's high school friends. What an amazing place right on the water! That night 10 of us sat down to a delicious pre-race meal of pasta, chicken, and salad. At bedtime E and I watched the Spirit of the Marathon to inspire fast dreams.
Sunday proved to be a beautiful day for running, sunny with a high of maybe 60. The Fab Five hit the pavement ready to race and sporting "13.1" tattoos. The first 7 miles of the race went great! E and I stuck to a steady pace (even up the first hill from miles 2-3). We also spent those 7 miles talking with a woman from Vermont about race training. She was pregnant with her second child and since the birth of her first she had run 8 marathons and had dropped an hour from her time (I believe. E correct me if I am wrong). She had some great advice, that will hopefully help me in my half marathon challenge and E in her goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon next year (The Boston Marathon is on my list for next year...but I will be relying on a charity team entry).
At 7 miles I was hitting a mental or physical wall. It was just an "off" day for me. I received a small boost when we saw our cheering section...but from mile 8 to mile 13 I was hurting. It was a struggle but low and behold I came across the finish line with a PR! So while I had a less than optimistic view on Saturday and I stuggled in the last 5 miles, I would say Sunday turned out to be a success.
After the Fab Five had all finished we hit the town for some free beer and local entertainment.
1 down......
