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in Running, Wine · October 14, 2013

Baltimore Running Festival 2013 Recap

It’s time for my Baltimore Running Festival 2013 Race Recap! Let me start by saying that over the past 3 days there has been a lot of wine consumed. It feels really nice to just have a few glasses and not worry about being dehydrated for a run the next day.

bday dinner1

So let’s back up to before the wine drinking commenced. Everything pre-race was pretty standard. Friday night pasta with turkey meatballs, salad, and bread. Lots of water. Early bed time (8pm) and woke up before 5am on Saturday. Saturday morning coffee, bagel with peanut butter and banana. Warm up and get ready at home before heading over to the race around 7am.

1

3When I got to the start it was still pretty empty and I had plenty of time to just wait around. Camden Yards (the baseball stadium for the Orioles) was open and we could use the bathrooms in there.2I waited outside for a while and then around 7:40 I ate some sports beans and warmed up. I went in to use the bathroom around 7:50 and ran into my mom and sister, who were waiting to run the 5k. I am in the background of below picture mentally preparing for the race.  8

Once I decided to line up, I looked for the 9:00 minute mile wave. It was so crowded that I could barely get through. There were spectators and 5k runners all along the side, so a lot of the marathoners had a hard time getting onto the street before the gun went off. I pushed my way through and started about 2 minutes after the gun.

9Miles 1-5

Once the race started I was so excited to be out there. The fan support was amazing and I felt great. Even though the first 3 miles were uphill, I barely felt it. According to my garmin, my pace was around 8:55 at this point.

Miles 6-10

Still feeling great, and hit some major downhills. I went with a faster pace because I was feeling good and the effort felt less on the decline. I think my pace dropped to the 8:30s for some of these miles, but I didn’t feel like I was going that fast. Around mile 9 we got back into downtown where the 1/2 marathoners were starting to line up, and there was alot of crowd support there.

Miles 11-15

I start to realize that I have a lot farther to go. I am still running strong, and this stretch was flat. I was holding about an 8:50 pace and was with the 3:55 pace group during this stretch.  It started to get windy and I began to worry that I couldn’t hold onto this pace. Saw my parents at mile 13 and ran along some of the 1/2 marathoners starting. Then we broke away from the crowds and it was quieter for a few miles. At mile 14 I was given a 1/2 of a banana which I accidentally dropped (and a few miles later really wished I had eaten it.)

4

Miles 16-20

There were lots of things that went wrong during these miles. We began an uphill climb, and also merged with the 1/2 marathoners. I was frequently boxed in, so I started walking some of the hills to save energy. I stopped at mile 17 to refill my water bottle, and the volunteer there was super helpful and refilled it really quickly. When I hit the 20 mile mark I started to do the math about breaking 4 hours. I don’t remember the specifics, but I think it was something like if I held about a 9:15 pace I could do it. (However, I didn’t full trust my math so tried to just tell myself to keep doing the best I can but not focus on the time or pace).

Miles 21-26.2

Somehow I needed another refill at mile 21. It was super hectic at the water stop around Lake Montebello. I ended up just grabbing a jug of water off the water table and refilling it myself. My legs were feeling really tired and I didn’t feel like I had any energy left. I guess that’s what they call “hitting the wall”. For some reason, I also started to get really hungry. This has never happened to me before, and I fueled exactly the same as other long runs/races. At one point someone was giving out swedish fish so I grabbed some, but I found that I couldn’t chew them while I was running. I took my last Gu around mile 22-23. (my other  fuel was taken at miles 5, 10, 15, 18 or so). My stomach started to feel crazy at mile 24 but kept telling myself how close I was. Luckily there is alot of downhill during the last 2 miles, and so much crowd support at the end.

The Finish Line

Even during the last .2 miles, I still felt like the course was crowded and I was weaving through other runners at times. When I crossed the finish line, we kept moving, but pretty slowly due to the people in front of me. We got water, medals, etc and then were told to keep moving. The line for food was ridiculous. I think a lot of people were just cutting the line because we weren’t moving at all. After 10 minute I gave up and left the finisher’s area. I missed the beer tickets also (maybe that are was after the food?). I found my friends and family and collapsed onto a blanket my sister had brought. I had Rob bring me a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and flip flops so I put those on. My dad bought me a burger and Rob bought me a beer.We hung out for a little before heading home (after several comments that I might need a shower….)

6 Post Race Thoughts

This was a tough course, and I don’t think I regret how I ran. I questioned going out too fast, but honestly I think those hills from miles 18-21 would have done me in no matter what. 26.2 miles is a really long distance and there are alot of things that can go wrong. While positive splits are not cool, at least I finished and still got a decent time for me (right in between my other 2 marathon times). I can’t think of a better way to spend my birthday than running for 4 hours. And now I want that sub 4:00 even more. However, I think I am done with marathons until the spring and want to spend time recovering and getting stronger. Yesterday I signed up for this:

imageRob was already signed up, and I am planning for this to be a no-pressure way to end the 2013 running season. I am planning to take this week super easy, and slowly get my mileage back up to maybe a long run of 10-11 miles 2 weeks before the race. My max weekly mileage probably won’t get higher than about 30 miles.

While part of me is thankful to cut back on the running and regroup, there is definitely a part of me that wants to jump back into training and get some PRs/meet some goals. I will be thinking about my 2014 races and goals over the next couple months and working on plans to reach those goals.

How do you usually spend the week after a big race?

Any tips for running a 1/2 marathon 6 weeks after a full?

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Comments

  1. Chocolate Covered Race Medals says

    October 14, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    Amazing race! And really looks quite beautiful!

    • runningoutofwine says

      October 15, 2013 at 9:55 pm

      Thanks! Its a fun race, but not an easy course!

  2. txa1265 says

    October 30, 2013 at 11:43 pm

    Great summary … I struggled around those same miles in the marathon I ran at the beginning of October (Wineglass in Corning NY … runners get a wineglass and a local-made champagne split – right up your alley 😉 ). Also wanted to break 4 hours … also failed. But still pulled a PR for myself – yay!

    I only took off one day after the marathon – which is a first, as in my first few marathons and half marathons I took off at least 2 days. I was back to full distance and pace by the end of the week.

    As for running a half 6 weeks later … well, I run a half this weekend, which is 4 weeks after my full. I have slowly built up my miles and now am tapering off. But I did a 15.5 mile run this past Saturday including a 1400+ ft hill – not really advised but I decided I didn’t care. I am hoping to PR the half, but if I don’t I won’t care 🙂

    • runningoutofwine says

      October 31, 2013 at 12:30 am

      I have read about the Wineglass marathon on another blog and it sounds like a fun race! Congrats on the PR- I heard it was hot that day! It sounds like you turned around your training pretty quickly after the race, and I ended up getting back into my training faster than I expected. Good luck in your half this weekend!

      • txa1265 says

        October 31, 2013 at 1:03 am

        It is a fun race – this was my 2nd time running it. It was really hot – 80 and humid when I finished! I couldn’t wear my race shirt because they give you a long sleeve tech shirt!

        One good thing on a smaller race (5000 between half and full marathon, they start at the same time with a shared finish line so most half traffic is gone before the full marathon crowd finishes) is that you can pretty easily get to the post-race food. They have chocolate milk from local farms, and so on. It is a nice touch.

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Fall is pretty good too but there’s nothing like Fall is pretty good too but there’s nothing like seeing the sunrise on a morning run! As an early morning riser I would be fine with a 4am sunrise but I know that’s not for everyone so I will just enjoy the 2 months of the year when the sun is up (almost) as early as me. #morningrunner #sunriserun
Let them be your reason, not your excuse. I coul Let them be your reason, not your excuse. 

I could sit here and tell you how hard it is to train with 2 young kids. How I rarely get a full night’s sleep anymore. How they got me sick the week before my race. How my SI joint just isn’t the same since my pregnancies. But that wouldn’t be fair, because I need to listen to my own advice that I give them about how to keep working hard and that there will always be obstacles to overcome.

After my race on Sunday I was thinking about how my Kindergartner has been working for a special award all year long. Many times he has told me he just wants to give up, because he works so hard for months at a time and still hasn’t earned it. I keep telling him that if he keeps working hard he will earn it, but what’s most important is that he gives his best each and every day. All those good days add up and even if he doesn’t earn the award, it will mean he had a great year.

Don’t I need to take my own advice and remember that all the good training days add up, even if I don’t get the outcome I want on race day? Before my race he kept telling me to do my best, and that he would give me a prize (artwork) even if I don’t win. So maybe all the lessons I am teaching him are starting to pay off? #motherrunner #halfmarathon  #frederickrunfest
I can pretty much see the humidity as I look back I can pretty much see the humidity as I look back on these videos. After a few days to process my race I am feeling better about how it went and starting to focus on what’s next. I guess it’s officially time to acclimate to the heat and humidity because it’s not getting cooler any time soon! My full recap is up at milebymileblog.com

Have you acclimated to the warmer weather yet?

#run #runner #runchat  #frederickrunfest
Happy Medal Monday! This is a unique medal because Happy Medal Monday! This is a unique medal because the middle part is actually a removable pin! So you could take it off and display it somewhere else. What is the most unique medal you have received at a race? #run #halfmarathoner #frederickrunfest #medalmonday
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