While on vacation with my family in Maine this summer, I decided to make a weekend trip to run a half marathon in Easton, Massachusetts. The Narragansett running festival is a smaller race with a half marathon and 10k option. Leslie decided to come along with me and run/walk the 10k while I ran the half.
The race starts and end at Stonehill College, a pretty campus with a nice big parking lot for all the runners. We got there an hour early and had plenty of time to park, use the port-a-potties, stretch, and wait for the race to start.
I lined up near the 2 hour pace group but quickly passed them near the beginning of the race. Everyone seemed to start running at a pretty good clip- even though it was a little crowded in the beginning, I ran the first mile in 8:05 and hoped I hadn’t started off too fast! We ran through some nice neighborhoods and I settled into a good pace. I definitely wanted to finish in under 2 hours after all the training I’d put in! So I was pushing myself a bit, but also it’s a summer race in New England so I had to keep in mind that the heat and humidity could slow me down.
Luckily, it was a good day for running. It was cloudy and cooler than normal, with relatively low humidity. Towards the end I noticed the humidity more because my shirt got completely soaked, but it was definitely on the cool side for a day in mid-July!
The course was advertised as “fast and flat”, but I’d describe it more as rolling hills. My pace for the first 5 miles was pretty consistent from 8:04 to 8:12 but the bigger hill at mile 6 slowed me down to 8:27. There was one guy slightly ahead of me who would pull away from me on the downhill sections, and then I’d catch up to him on the uphill sections. I eventually passed him. There were a couple other runners who I was trailing for a long while but couldn’t seem to get up the speed to pass them; but I just tried to keep a consistent pace and eventually caught up to them.
I had crossed the starting line about 100 yards back from the 1:50 pace group so I could see them ahead of me from time to time, and I finally passed the 1:50 pacer around mile 6.5. I was convinced I was capable of not only breaking 2 hours but finally getting a new half marathon PR! If I could only maintain this pace I could do it! However I was realizing that despite the cooler weather, it was still humid and I was sweating a lot.
Miles 7 and 8 were still good at an 8:15 pace but around mile 9 my legs started to feel tired. I’m still in the midst of triathlon training and I had biked 14 miles the day before. Miles 9-13 were inching closer to an 8:30 pace and I was really pushing myself to stay under 8:30 and get a time under 1:50! Miles 10-13 were on Stonehill campus, which was pretty- but also annoying because it was on gravel, dirt, and grass sections with lots of twists and turns. I saw Leslie who was on the second lap of her 10k. I really had to push to finish the last mile in under 8:30, but I did it!
Official time: 1:48:03, an 8:15 overall pace, and a new PR!
After the race though, I was hurting. My legs felt like they were about to cramp up, my stomach hurt, and my shirt was completely soaked with sweat. I took off my shirt and sat in the grass trying to gently position my legs in a non-painful position, and watched for Leslie to finish. I drank some Gatorade and juice to try to restore some electrolytes and prevent muscle cramps while I waited.
When I saw Leslie, I got up to meet her at the finish line, and we took some pictures. Then I told her I needed to find a port-a-potty ASAP (stomach/bathroom issues). As we were walking around, I felt like I was on the verge of calf cramps again and was sort of half limping. A girl saw me awkwardly walking and asked if I wanted some of her Liquid IV. She told me, “I’ve been there before, I can tell you need this! This is the good stuff with 500mg of sodium.” OMG. I drank some and it worked almost instantly. My cramps got better, I felt more hydrated and less light headed, and immediately started to feel better. It didn’t taste too bad either! Kind of salty but it had a good mild flavor to it. I was surprised I’d never heard of Liquid IV before! Especially because later on I found out a bunch of my friends use it and love it!
Leslie and I got some Narragansett beer at the finish festival and I got a really cool beer can medal!
Official Time: 1:48:03
Pace: 8:15
