Richmond half marathon - 18.2 miles total

November 16th I had a chance to run the Richmond Half. Last year, this was my first half marathon. I had such a great experience, I signed up the next day to run again this year. In the six months after, I ran three more half marathons. Since then, however, my training has fallen off quite a bit. I knew I had the endurance to make it through yesterday, but I worried that my body didn't.

Again, there was a rough start to the day. I was supposed to pick up my neighbor at 4:30. But instead of my alarm going off at 3:45, I woke up in a panic at 5am. She offered to drive while I threw on clothes and tried to wake up. I think a banana ended up being dropped somewhere along the way. Thankfully, I had a very caffeinated energy bar to replace my breakfast.

It took quite some time to work through the traffic and find a parking spot. Thankfully, we were able to make it to the start and drop off our bags with about half an hour to spare. 

The rain was pouring. Not a downpour, but a soaking to be sure. Did I mention in my haste, I forgot to change socks and had on cotton socks which were absolutely saturated at that point? My head was filled with fear of what would come from running in that.

But, it was what it was and it was time to go. I hid under an awning for a bit, then had my fellow awning hider take a picture for me.

Friday night, Brad and I worked on putting this shirt together. I wrote the 5k on the back and will add each run. We are going to get one for everyone. I was running with a few hundred others in wave F. There were 9000 runners registered for the half, but the organization is phenomenal.

A year ago, I finished the race in under 2:30. I figured I could run it this year in under 2:15. That wasn't going to happen. So I started at the back of the wave so people wouldn't have to run around me. I usually start out at a 10mm pace anyway, so I would keep up for a while. I would have dropped back a wave, but I welcomed the opportunity to avoid side running myself.

The first two miles are a straight shot down Broad St. I was surprised how good I felt after two miles. I was still worried about my feet, the squishing in my shoes was very disconcerting, but no problems yet.

Soon after, the pace cars came cruising down the other side of the street as the lead marathoners caught up (even though we had an 18 min head start). All the half runners turned to cheer them on. 

Then the courses diverted as we went on to climb the hill to go over the interstate towards the stadium. 

This is the part of the course, around mile 4, that folds back on itself. Both sides are cheering for the other.  This is truly what I love about running races.  The support that everyone has for each other. 

The Richmond half marks the halfway-ish point with 10k time in Bryant Park.  This part of the trail is no walk in the park (see what I did there?)  Some pretty serious hills lurk in this loop.  Still, there is a pretty cool party spot for spectators, complete with free food and music.  Makes for some awesome cheerleading lines at a pretty rough spot in the course.

Coming out of the park, we come upon this display.  My knee was starting to hurt a bit at this point, off and on.  I would adjust my stride and it would fade for a bit.  8 miles down, too far to look back.

Usually around mile 9, I start to lose clear thinking.  I saw the sign below and I was touched.  This person is saying that the work that goes into being a mom is so much more than what it takes to run a half (or full) marathon.  "If this were easy, it would be called your Mom."  Yea, it wasn't until Monday morning when it hit me what that sign really meant.

One of my person favorites...

 

So, around mile 10.5, my knee started hurting with a little more persistence and a lot more pain. Changing my stride wasn't working, so I walked past the 11 mile marker.

 

I kept attempting to run again, but after a few steps, the pain would return.  So, I was able to have more time to enjoy these signs...

Around mile 12, I finally figured out that my knee hurt less if I slowed my pace a little.  I still walked a bit more, to ensure that I could run for the finish.  This sign just seemed to tease me as I walked past it.

I don't remember if I was walking or running past this photographer, I guess I'll see once the pictures are released.Last year, I ran this marathon in just under 2:30.  I hit that time around mile 12.5.  Also last year, I finished at the same time the winner of the marathon finished, even though I had a 15 minute head start and he ran twice as far, but still.  This year, the winner passed on the other side of the street as I hit the 12.5 mile mark.  ("Hi, remember me?  I waved to you about 24 miles ago, well 10 miles ago for me?")

 

And one of the best features of the Richmond race is the downhill finish.  Seriously, the last quarter mile drops about 150 ft.  Thankfully, I was able to maintain a slower pace, but lengthen my stride to finish strong with minimal pain.  

And the beautiful, the amazing finish line. 

One benefit of walking toward the finish was that I didn't feel sick after the sprint.  I collected my medal, and my fleece blanket (it is quite an awesome blanket) and headed for the party on Brown's Island.  My neighbor was just outside the finisher chute, which was nice to have a friendly face.  Traveling on my own to races means I don't get that very often. 

So I did it.  13.1 miles towards our goal, for a total of 18.2.  Some more reflections on this race to come soon.

Reflections on our first run

Yesterday, we began our journey on our way to 460 miles.  I have to admit that it wasn't an easy start.  We had to get all the kids up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7AM.  On a typical Sunday, we try to be out by 8:30.  And those of us who see us cruise up the side aisle at church looking for an empty pew know that we hardly ever meet that goal.

The kids have been running races for a while now.  J started when I did, around 2 years ago.  She even ran a few 5ks.  Then running started to be painful for her last winter.  Whether it is growing pains or food allergies, we are still uncertain.  She still loves to compete, and often takes prizes in her age group, but always pays a price after she runs.  She wants to run, but doesn't want to run.  Between signing up for a race and race day, she often changes her mind several times.

C started running 1.5 years ago.  He was still young enough to do the kids fun run during the Great Train Race.  It is 400 m all downhill and they have snacks at the finish line.  Who wouldn't love that? Now he is old enough to run the mile.  He is quite fast, but often has trouble staying focused on running.  Many times I have seen him during the mile striking up conversations with his fellow runners, course marshals, costumed characters, etc.

I've been running races for 2 years.  I started to try to lose weight and just to prove to myself that I could finish a 5k. Now I have four half marathons behind me and I am looking to finish a full marathon before this challenge is over.

The past month has been tough for training.  The challenges that come with working a full time and a part time job and being a Mom to four kids have made finding time hard.  I tease that I can't train without a bib on my shirt, but this past month it has been true.  I ran a 10k on Oct 20th and a 10 miler on Oct 26th.  Then my sister-in-law passed and we traveled to be with my brother's family. I had not run at all for 2 weeks before this 5k. 

Every runner knows how therapeutic running is.  It is a time to be alone with your thoughts, which can be good or bad.  I tend to run with headphones in case I need to drown out those thoughts, though it doesn't always work.  Our local running club often enforces no headphones rules for safety.  Little do they know the voices in my head are much more distracting than those from my Ipod.  I had headphones yesterday, but I may as well have run without them.  I had a question to answer.  What was this website for?

My sister-in-law's death has left many people with holes in their heart.  She was much too young to go and she had so much left to do in this world.  I know I am not alone in wanting to do something, anything to lessen the pain for her family and friends.  I know that our challenge can't do that, this website won't do that.  I think it may be more our own therapy than anything else.  It is something we can do to honor her memory.  I know that she enjoyed running, and she was successful in using running to lose weight and improve her health.  But her determination to accomplish her goals was evident in many things that she has accomplished during her life.  And so we are determined to accomplish our goal.

In short, this website is part therapy, part accountability, and part tribute.  I guess we will have to figure it out as we go.

But I do hope that if you read this, and happen to find yourself in a situation to help out a stranger in some way, however small, please do so and let us know about it.  You never know how much a small act can change a person's day.  You never know what people are going through.  The world can always use more kindness. 

A journey of 460 miles begins with the first steps.

Today J, C, and I will take the first steps on our journey at the FCA 5k and 1 mile. The kids run first at 8:00, followed by the 5k at 8:30. J and C will be running the 1 mile and I'll be running the 5k. A healthy, if chilly, start to out total of 460 miles.

J and C ready to run.

And they are off..  It was about 50 degrees as they headed out of the chute.

B-Dad, cheered them on with K1 and K2.

J coming in for a strong finish!  She finished her mile in just over 9 minutes.  1 mile.

Poor C took a spill mid-race, but still finished strong.  Still coming in just over 11 minutes.  2 miles.

Post-race bounce. Because, of course they will...

While they bounce, I head out on my run.

The first two miles, I averaged a 10 minute mile, but the 3rd mile was basically uphill and I lost a lot of time there.  As I turned the corner toward the finish line, I gave it all I had.  You always have to finish strong.  I passed both of the women in the picture below and finished in under 33 minutes.  5.1 miles. 

C earned 2nd place in his age group

J also earned 2nd place in her age group.

I earned 3rd place.  Not in my age group, because that will never happen.  This was in the special group for women of a larger persuasion.  I was minutes behind the 1st and 2nd place and about 20 seconds ahead of the 4th place.

It was a beautiful morning to run.  It was a great start to our journey. 5.1 miles down.

Welcome

Welcome to the 460 Miles blog.  This blog will document a pledge by our family to run 460 miles in the next year.  This pledge begins on November 10th, as I run the FCA 5k and my two oldest kids, J and C, run the FCA 1 mile in Fredericksburg, VA.  (I have two other kids, K1 and K2, but as they are still under 5, they arent quite up for the mile. B-dad will be watching them during the race) The 460 miles will be logged during races as well as outdoor training runs and we hope you will join us in celebrating this journey.

Why would anyone want to pledge such a thing?  460 Miles is the distance from our house to my brother's house.  Last week, he suddenly lost his wife and the mother of his two young children.  We recently made the trip (by car) and expect to do so many times in the next year.  We hope that our journey this year will produce some good, and perhaps encourage others.

So what do you have to do with this?  I thought about asking for pledges to raise funds for his children, but I could easily direct anyone wishing to donate for a fund already set up for them.  In this blog, I would rather encourage you to pay it forward.  For every mile that we run, I would like to hear about a random act of kindness performed in their honor. 

Thank you for reading and we will see you at the finish line!