I woke up at 5am and Todd and I got to the race site a little after 6am. I had plenty of time to stretch, use the portapots, and walk around.

I knew as soon as I walked outside, that unless the weather changed to cooler temps, there was no way I would PR this race. And that made me frustrated at the starting line.

My plan was to run 4 min., walk 1 min. and average at about 11:30min/mile. I’ve done it before multiple times so I knew it was the best strategy for me at this point. So, I lined up with the other people at the 11min/mile start.

Unfortunately, the first half mile I had to weave in and out because there were so many people walking! And not just one or two people, there were several groups of 4+ women walking side by side. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to walk, respect your fellow racers and head to the back of the starting line.

Before the race, looking hopeful!

Mile 1: Doing great so far! A little quicker than I should be right now but I’ve already conquered a few hills. This is going to be tough!

Mile 2: Still pacing okay, swerving around walkers and people who decide to stop right in front of me. Saw Todd and he took some silly photos of me.

Mile 3: Running through the city, the sun it starting to come out. Looks pretty but I know that sun equals unwanted heat! Pace starts to slow.

Mile 4: Oh hi little bridge! You aren’t so bad…Wait a minute, this means there’s a bigger bridge coming up.

Mile 5: @*@!^#&^! I hate bridges, especially when it’s almost a mile long and directly under the sun. I enjoyed the downhill part, but then I remembered we have to come back over this thing! This was also the turn around point for the 10K race. You have no idea how tempted I was to turn around at this point, but I knew I would be dissapointed if I gave up like that. So, I slogged (slow jogged) on…

Mile 6: Oh yay! Another giant uphill!

At this point we see the lead runner coming back down, she was doing great! Also, my pace was slowing down really quickly. My goal became to cross the finish line, no matter how long it took me!

Mile 7-9: In my opinion, the best miles of the race. These miles were a trail and it was flat, shaded, and breezy! The only bad part was a woman had collapsed and they had to bring a SUV onto the trail to move her. The trail was so narrow that the SUV blocked all but 2 feet of the trail so only a single line of people could get through. It doesn’t help that it was an out-and-back part of the course, so people were blocked each way. I probably waited 3-5 minutes before I could get through.

Mile 10: On mile 6, this part was all uphill, and now it was a downhill! I couldn’t get my legs working right though so I walked as fast as I could. Thinking about this now, I should have taken a minute or two to stretch, which is what I do on my training runs. But I was so out of it I thought that if I had stopped, I wouldn’t want to start walking/running again!

Mile 11: @*@!^#&^! Did I mention how much I hate bridges?

Mile 12: Oh, it’s the little mini bridge again! I don’t mind you, you are so much easier to cross!

Mile 12.5 – 13: Wait….we have to turn around and go back over the little bridge again?! Annapolis, you really need to rethink this course.

Mile 13.1: That last .1 I was so frustrated I just wanted to quit and sit down, even though I was so close to the finish. But once I looked up, I saw Todd waiting for me again near the road. He held my hand and walked with me to the finish line. I finally mustered up enough strength to run the last few hundred feet or so, so I might have a decent finish line photo.

It really does help to have a familiar face at the finish line. If it weren’t for Todd, I probably would have walked grumpily through the finish line, not running with my head held high and a smile on my face. Thank you Todd, you’re the best husband ever!

Overall, I wouldn’t run this race again, unless they changed the course. I loved running through town and the trail, but over 2 miles of bridges is a little much. Plus, some people say this half course is hilly, but not worse than Baltimore.

Let me tell you, I ran Frederick and Baltimore which are both considered to be very hilly, and they were nothing compared to this! I admit, I didn’t train as much on hills as I would have liked, but I don’t think if I had trained on hills more it would have helped.

A few things I learned after the race:

• I don’t run well in heat. Which is worrying me because of all the training I need to do during the summer for the marathon this fall. But, I can wake up earlier before it really starts to get hot.
• Camelbaks are a runners best friend during hot temps. I wore mine because to me, 3500 women running to the first water stop did not seem appealing to me. It was the best thing I could have done because I drank from it constantly and it was almost empty when I finished.
• I do not recommend Gold Toe sports socks for distances more than 8 miles. Two blisters on my feet speak for that.
• Don’t run a half marathon after May, preferably April. June is just a little too warm for this area.

I think the main reason I was so frustrated was because I’ve been training since February with more miles than the past three races, and this was my slowest one. Official time was 3:03:20, about two minutes slower than Disney.

But, there are three positives about the race:

• I finished, and got a pretty little necklace.
• My legs don’t hurt at all, mainly because I did so much walking.
• I jumped in the hotel pool when we got back. And yes, it felt amazing!

So, no race plans until September. I’m pretty much going to put running on hold for right now and work more on swimming and biking.