Angel Island Half Marathon

 After a year of most races being cancelled in 2020, I’ve been itching to sign up for a real race again! The Angel Island half is a small trail race that was one of the few races around San Francisco this Spring that want cancelled. Now that California is mostly re-open it looks like a lot of the Fall races will still happen too! I can’t wait to run some more half marathons!

Packet pick-up for this race was in Tiburon near the ferry terminal, and the race bib was the ticket for the ferry ride. There’s no bridge to Angel Island, just the ferry and they chartered a special ferry for the runners at 8am before the other ferries get to the island. I was a little worried about getting seasick but it was a very calm day on the water, thankfully.

It started off a little cold and cloudy so I kept an extra layer on until the last few minutes, then left it by the picnic tables at the finish area. There was no chip timing for this race, we just lined up near the cones and we were off! I was prepared for there to be some elevation on the course (it’s a trail run after all!) but the first mile was all uphill on narrow single track. It was kind of good, because I had no choice but to go the pace of the runners in front of me, and it kept me from starting out too fast.

Eventually the trail got wider and there were some amazing views of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, and San Francisco. The trail also flattened out with just some minor up & down hills around the ridge. The sun came out for a bit and it got hot, and there were still a few good climbs in the first 5 miles. A bunch of people started walking around miles 4-5.

Then around mile 6 there was an intersection where a group of runners took a wrong turn. I guess there was a sign for the half marathon runners that hadn’t been moved after the first loop, so about 20 runners went the wrong way. I had gone about half a mile when the faster runners came back, saying “turn around!” It was a little discouraging to have to run the half a mile back to the intersection, but there was also a sense of camaraderie from all the runners who had done the same thing.

When we got back to the right turn, we had to run down the narrow single track again to the aid station at the picnic tables, then run back up the same steep section. That was rough! The second loop was on the roads around the outer part of the island. Again there were some beautiful views from every side of the island! I passed a couple of girls around my age who had been way ahead of me at the beginning but were petering out with all the hills.

I felt pretty good but I knew I had to run more than 13 miles because of the wrong turn, but I didn’t know how much farther it would be. I ended up running 14 miles total. I’ll take it because some of the other runners went even farther in the wrong direction. But it was a little sad when I got to 13.1 miles and my watch read 1:57! I would’ve had a sub-2 half marathon if I hadn’t gotten lost! That was a bit of a bummer; but it was a great race with amazing views, and the best I’ve ever done at a trail race!

I was surprised to find out I’d gotten first place in my age group! I got a cool pint glass :)

My Garmin: 14 miles in 2:04:39 (8:54 pace)

Official Time: 2:04:35

How far I’ve come

 Sometimes it’s nice to look back and reflect on my running journey. For me, I’ve never absolutely loved running- I hardly ever have a strong urge to run, and I don’t really miss it when I’m not doing it. But I do like getting outside and being active. Training for a race gives me a goal to shoot for, and that’s what keeps me motivated to run. Without a race to look forward to, I run a little bit here and there but I tend to fall off the bandwagon pretty quickly. Race weekends are so fun and make all the training runs worth it!

When I first tried to run in high school, I couldn’t even run a mile. I would get painful side stitches and I’d have to walk within half a mile. I was on the swim team in high school, so I was in decent shape, but I was terrible at running. When I was in college, I tried to run some for exercise. I did build up to 3 miles, but that was it. I always felt like I was going to die after 3 miles. Sometimes I couldn’t even make it 3 miles. I remember I used the elliptical for awhile and thought I was building up my endurance. Then I tried to actually run again, and realized the elliptical isn’t really that much like running! Lol. 

I was stuck at 3 miles for the longest time. Honestly 3 miles was the biggest mental roadblock for me. For about 5 years, it was the max I ever thought I could do. I only ran sporadically, but not fast and never more than 3 miles! It wasn’t until my first year of grad school that I really got into running. My best friend Tristan signed up for a half marathon so I started to try to get into running too. I remember Tristan came up to Maine to visit, and she had to do a 4 mile training run. I told her, “I can’t run 4 miles, but I’ll run 3 with you and just walk the rest.” 

Well Tristan and Kyle left me behind pretty fast, but I managed to slog through 3 miles. I was walking the last mile back to the house, and after walking for a minute, I felt like I had enough energy to run again. So I ran for a minute, then walked a little bit, then ran for a minute again. This was my first breakthrough! I was always so dead tired after 3 miles. The fact that I could recover within a few minutes of walking and actually have the energy to run some more was a revelation! I suddenly realized I could build up to more miles!

Then I went to Tristan’s race to support her. The atmosphere was SO fun. There was music, tons of people, and an excitement and nervous energy in the air that was contagious! Going to that race and seeing Tristan off at the starting line made me determined right then and there that I was going to do a half marathon too.

In the first few years of this blog, I wrote a lot about running. I even wrote about my boring training runs! Every new distance was a milestone (see what I did there 😉) and I almost couldn’t believe it when I was regularly running 6 miles or the first time I ran 10 miles! The Richmond half marathon in 2011 was my first race, and afterwards I remembered how I felt at every mile (and documented it).

I’ve come a long way since that first race. Now 10 years later, I’ve run over 30 half marathons and 4 marathons. This year I’m training for a half Ironman! I’ve never been a very fast runner, but my endurance has improved tremendously. In the past few years, I’ve been challenging the notion that “I can run far, but not fast”. I’ve never been a naturally good runner. It has taken years to build up stamina and speed. But this year, I’m finally seeing consistently fast paces (for me). Ten years ago, I started with 10 minute miles. Then I got to 9:30 paces for awhile, then around 9:15. For a long time, a 9:00 minute pace was my fast pace where I really felt like I was pushing myself, and a 9:15-30 pace was my comfortable pace. My lofty goal for a half marathon is usually to run a sub-2. I never really thought I could get much faster than that.

This year I’ve been getting into triathlon training, so I’m biking and swimming in addition to running. And the most surprising thing about all this cross training, is that it’s making my running faster. In the past few weekends, I’ve done a long run every Sunday, and I’ve been running almost every mile at a sub-9 minute pace. These were my last few runs:

7 miles. 8:47 pace.

8 miles. 8:34 pace.

7 miles. 8:20 pace. (Last mile @ 7:49 pace)

9 miles. 8:19 pace. (Mile 8 @ 7:55 pace) (Mile 9 @7:48 pace)

10 miles. 8:32 pace (Last mile @ 7:57)

11 miles. 8:28 pace

Today. 9 miles. 8:10 pace. Last 4 miles all sub-8 min (7:59, 7:53, 7:49, 7:33)

This isn’t to brag or to make me feel all proud of myself. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come. There are still lots of runners who are way faster than me, and probably got to these paces a lot faster than I did. But the thing about running is that it’s a race against yourself. It’s trying to beat my best time. It’s trying to go a little faster than I have before. It’s about reaching the limits of what I thought I could do, and then saying, “I think I can go a little farther.”

When I was stuck at 3 miles running a 10+ minute pace, I never, never thought I’d be able to run 10 miles at a sub-9 minute pace. And now here I am. So even though I don’t LOVE running like some people do, even though I’m not a naturally fast or gifted runner, even though it’s taken me a long time to get here; running has taught me so much about how to overcome mental barriers, how to push past my limits, and how to persevere when things get hard. That’s why I still run. That’s why I keep running. Once one goal is met, there are always new goals to chase.

West Virginia New River Gorgeous half marathon

I’m posting this almost a year after the fact, but last year as the world was shutting down due to Covid-19 and most races were getting cancelled, I managed to find a small trail race in West Virginia that was still happening! It was a great chance to knock WV off the state list and my sister and I made a little vacation out of it. We brought my nieces along and did some hikes and spent one day on the water at Ace adventure.

To be honest, I thought I was in great shape for this race. I had lost about 15 pounds in the past year and I was running faster paces in training. But I forgot how tough trail races can be! The single track dirt trail provided a great way to naturally social distance (lol) but there were lots of rocks and roots and loose gravel, and LOTS of elevation change. I felt like I had to constantly watch my step to avoid tripping and careening down the narrow rocky path.

We ran through beautiful lush green forest, and there were even some mini waterfalls! But it was August in WV, so it was pretty hot and humid! My friend Will met up with us there and also ran the half marathon, but he’s much faster than me and left me in the dust at the start. But he did circle back after he finished to cheer me on and ran the last half a mile with me. He let me know when the finish line was coming up, which was a nice surprise because the course was short by over a mile! (Almost makes me wonder if I should count it as a half marathon!)

I’m still on the fence about whether or not I like trail races. The scenery is usually better and it’s nice to be out in nature. There were times during this race when I was pretty much alone in the woods, or I could see maybe one other person ahead of me. The small laid back atmosphere at trail races is nice. However, I’m constantly worried about twisting my ankle or falling. I did fall at my first trail race in Golden Gate recreation area and I had a huge bruise to show for it. Another time when I was running down the trail from Dragon’s Tooth, I caught my foot on a root and hyperextended my knee. So while I’ve never been seriously injured, I’ve come close enough to wonder if the risk of injury is worth it!

After the race, the runners got a taco lunch. My sister and nieces did the 4 mile walk while I was running the half so we all got to enjoy some tacos! Then we had tickets for a day at Ace adventure water park. It’s not a typical water park; it’s a pond with all kinds of inflatable mats and slides that you can climb on and jump off. Some of the obstacles reminded me of the ones on Wipeout!

New River Gorgeous trail half

8/22/20 Official Time: 2:10:57