Race Report: Lake George Half Marathon

Hubby, my sister, and I headed up to Lake George, NY on Friday evening, picked up our race packets, and headed out to dinner. It was the first Lake George Half, so we figured it was going to be a fairly small race. The race numbers were assigned alphabetically. Our last name begins with "W" and we were numbers 345 and 346. Not even 350 people total had registered! Crazy.



After dinner we went back to the hotel and I obsessed over the weather and what to wear. The forecast was for rain and 39 degrees. All week it had been saying rain, but initally it was going to be 60 degrees. We layed out our clothes, set the alarms and went to bed. The best thing about staying up there the night before was that we got up at 7 and walked out of our hotel at 7:50 over to the start. It was raining/freezing rain out and 34 degrees. FREEZING! At least it was uplifting to see that we weren't the only idiots out there!




Since it was a small race, there wasn't any timing chips or any clocks along the course. I had my watch and we kept track of our splits with that. The first mile looped through the parkinglot of Million Dollar Beach at the southern tip of Lake George. This really would have been a pretty course, if it hadn't been for the rain! We then headed up the west side of the lake, just past Diamond Point. It was an out-and-back course with the turn around at about mile 7.

Around mile 4.5, my right hand was just freezing. I looked down and it was purple. I had started out with gloves on, but had taken them off around mile 1.5 when I had warmed up a little. By this time, we were completely soaked so I decided to try the gloves back on again - they were just the litle thin knit ones, so I didn't think they were going to do anything, but they made all the difference.



We knew that this was going to be a tough course - the elevation changed the ENTIRE time - we were running either up or down for the majority of the race. Because of this, we knew that we wouldn't be breaking any PRs, so the three of us decided to stay together the whole race, just stopping around mile 8 so my sister could get the "kink" out of her knee and stretch out her hip/ITB. We carried our hand-held water bottles, filling up just at one of the water stops, but there seemed to be pleanty of water stops available for those who needed them.

All in all, it was a good race. Very well-run for being the inaugural one. Once it becomes more popular and more people are running, it would probably be a good idea to close down the roads - we ran on the shoulder with cones to our left. Most drivers were considerate enough to slow down, but others seemed to have cared less and just sped right past us. I guess that would be my only complaint about the race.

We finished in 2:31 and some change. The post-race food was under a tent and the pizza and garlic knots were AMAZING! We grabbed some food, headed back up to the hotel to shower and warm up, and then left to go home.
The "after picture", AKA the "drowned rats" picture



And of course, by the time we got into the car, the rain had slowed to a slight drizzle, and by the time we arrived back to my parents house an hour later, it was no longer raining. :) Oh well


What I learned:
- Don't obsess about the weather. No amount of worrying will change it, and once you're out there, it's really not that bad
- When you run slow enough, the uphills really don't seem that bad
- There are some big-ass houses up on that Lake!
- Steve's theory on the meaning of a "drowned rat"
- Even though cold+wet = miserable, we still were able to laugh and joke and have fun
- Thighs and bellies turn BRIGHT RED after running in the cold/rain for 2 1/2 hours and stay that way for a couple of hours. I'm talking like worst sunburn ever. Crazy
- I am thankful that it wasn't my first half. I really relied on crowd support through my first few halfs, but now it's kind of peaceful to not have the huge crowds
- Pace makes all the difference. We headed out slow since we knew about all of the hills, and we all finished saying that we felt great!
- I need to sign up for another one....these are getting more and more fun!

Advise needed - half marathon training plan

I knew when we signed up for the Lake George Half Marathon that I had to modify my usual training plan, since we dragged our feet about signing up and it only gave us 8 weeks to train. I made a modified schedule, have already deviated from it, and now am questioning my next move. I have been doing 3 - 4 miles, twice during the week. My long runs so far have looked like this:

4 miles

5 miles

6 miles

7 miles

and I just did 8 miles yesterday.

I have 2 long runs left. For the past four half marathons I've trained for, I've always done 10 miles the week before the race, so I am planning on doing the same this time around. Where I'm stuck is what to do next week. I am thinking fall back to 6, since I really haven't had a fall back week yet, and up one of my weekday runs to 5 this week.

So this week: 5, 3, 3, 6

Next week: 5, 3, 3, 10

Taper week: 3, 3, 2, 13.1

Thoughts????

8 miles in the book!!

Just finished up my 8-miler and I felt GREAT during the whole thing!!!! 8.21 miles in 1:29:49, just under 11-minute pace. I decided during this run that it's sooo much better to go a tad slower (11:00 pace) and feel good during the whole thing, than a little faster (10:30 pace) and struggle, be negative, and not feel so great. The weather was bright sunshine, about 40 degree, and slightly windy, so it was really pretty good - a little chilly in the shade when the wind blew, but overall not too bad. I also RAN up my entire Big Hill (see my previous post here from my 6-miler where Big Hill beat me)!

Hope eveyone has a great Sunday! Enjoy those long runs today!!

Goliath got David today.....but only for about 30 feet...

I was looking forward to today's long run since it was supposed to be another gorgeous day out. I knew it was going to be mentally tough becuase I was running in the afternoon (I'm a morning runner) and it was my reunion with my lovely hills.

If I want to run more than 3 or 4 miles, I need to leave my neighborhood. There are two choices that I have to run DOWN when I leave the neighborhood - Big Hill and Bigger hill. I usually choose Big Hill...which means I finish my long runs by running UP said big hill for the last mile back to the house. Since today had 6 on the schedule, I got to meet up with Big Hill again, for the first time since the fall.

Along with the gorgeous weather today (temp was 67 and sunny!) the wind was absolutely brutal. I really can't complain 100% about it, because I know it helped a ton to keep me cool. There were some parts of the run that I literally had to close my eyes because of the sand and leaves blowing up into my face. It felt great to be out and about on a long run though, with a training plan. I had my GoLite Hydro Clutch and had brought a Gu which I had around mile 4. Overall I was feeling great as I began the last uphill mile.

And right at mile 6, just before I reached the top of the hill, that nice ol' wind hit me HARD. I don't even think I was moving forward! So I did it...I gave in and walked to the next mailbox. Just about 30 feet, but I let it beat me. Next time Big Hill, you are all MINE!!!

I finished in just over an hour. I hit the "stop" button instead of the "lap" button at mile 1 (which was a wicked fast 8:06 DOWN the hill!), and didn't realize it until I went to hit it again at mile 2. Rest day tomorrow and probably 2 or 3 for Sunday, depending on how I feel.
Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm signed up for my next Half!

My sister had emailed a link to me about a week ago to see if I was interested in running a half marathon in April. It's not too far from my parents house, and it's the day before Easter, so it is perfect timing for us to both do it. I went back and forth, but hubby and I decided we're both on board (he actually just signed up for Marine Corps Marathon next October!). It's the Lake George, NY Half Marathon on Saturday, April 23 at 8:00. And its 7 weeks away. I figured out a training plan, since lately I've just been doing random runs with no plan in sight. 3 miles has been my go-to distance with one or two 4-milers and one 6-miler mixed in. I think I'll do something along these lines for the long runs:
March 12: 4 miles
March 19: 5-6 miles
March 26: 6-7 miles
April 2: 5-6 miles
April 9: 8-9 miles
April 16: 10 miles
April 23: 13.1 Race Day!

It is an abbreviated schedule from the plans I've done in the past, but since I've been consistantly running, and this is all the time we have, it will have to do!