Dear Half Marathon

Dear Half Marathon: I’m writing this blog post to inform you that I’ve been struggling with you lately. Don’t take this the wrong way; it’s not you, it’s me that’s the problem. You’re perfect just the way you are. I’ve always loved that I could still train for you, work full-time, take care of my daughter when she was young, and fit other activities in my life as well. You weren’t as all-consuming as the Marathon was for me. You always felt like a challenge but it was a challenge I could handle.

Recently, however, I’ve found that I’m not happy when I’m running a half marathon, like I used to be. I guess our relationship is over, or we at least need to take a break for a while and see how things go. If it is over, we had a good run, 54 half marathons in all 50 states in 24 years is pretty good.

OK, now for the explanation of why I’ve been feeling this way.

When I found out I would have a free entry to the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon in April of this year, I was so excited. I had been to Savannah before, but only for a day trip from Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and I loved the area, so the race would give me an excuse to go back and spend the entire weekend in Savannah. It would also be my redemption half marathon for the state of Georgia since the other half marathon I ran for the state during my 50 state quest was such a disaster Run the Reagan Half Marathon, Georgia-14th state.

But when race day was rolling around before my race in Savannah, I found that I wasn’t that excited at all for the race. In fact, I kind of dreaded it. I had been having intermittent Achilles pain starting a couple of weeks before the race and I thought the pain would likely pop up after a couple of miles into the race and I’d either have to walk, if possible, or drop out entirely. But if I’m honest, there was more to it than that.

After the race started, I thought I felt some slight Achilles pain but certainly nothing like what I had felt on some of my training runs (although not every time I ran, as I said it was intermittent). If I’m perfectly honest, I actually hoped my Achilles would start hurting in Savannah so I would have an excuse to drop out of the race. I even toyed with the idea of just lying and telling people my Achilles had started hurting so I had to drop out, even if that didn’t happen, but that’s just not the kind of person I am. In hindsight, I think my Achilles were perfectly fine, at least during the race with me wearing a different pair of shoes, and any pain I might have thought I had during the race was just in my head.

The Laughlin Half Marathon (aka Death March in Nevada)

Never in my life have I had to do as much positive talk to myself during a race as I had to do during this race just to finish. Well, at least not for any races with ideal conditions and I had no health issues. This race was pancake flat, the weather was perfect for racing, the course was beautiful. There were simply zero reasons why I should have been struggling. I had no aches or pains. This is in contrast to some unbelievably difficult half marathons I’ve had to endure, like the aforementioned Run the Reagan, and the death march that was the Laughlin Half Marathon, Nevada-11th state, the time I was severely anemic and ran the Arbuckles to Ardmore Race for Mercy Half Marathon, Oklahoma-21st state, and more. So why was I struggling so badly during this race in Savannah?

On the car ride home from Savannah, I started thinking about this race and realized not only did I struggle mentally during this race, I also struggled mentally, although not as bad, during the Richmond Half Marathon in Virginia. At the time, I chalked up my struggle during the race to not having a solid base before I started training for the Richmond Half, but I don’t think that was the real reason I struggled in Virginia.

The Richmond Half Marathon was another race with ideal conditions- the weather was great for running, the course was mostly flat and had a fast downhill finish, it’s scenic, I didn’t have any injuries, and I had many friends there with me. Yet, I still found myself kind of dreading the race and wasn’t excited about it. I just wanted to “get it done.”

Friends that ran Richmond with me- we were a big group because this isn’t even everyone!

Looking back at my mile splits and finish time for the race in Richmond compared to the one in Savannah, they were very similar except for the last couple of miles where it’s a steep downhill in Richmond. If anything, the race in Richmond would be considered a bit tougher because there were at least some hills to run up that slowed me down there. Still, my finish time for both races was 1:57, with my race in Richmond a few seconds faster.

I think the true reason I struggled with both the Richmond and Savannah half marathons is because I’m burned out from half marathons. Prior to the half marathon in Richmond, the only other race I ran in 2023 was the The Krispy Kreme Challenge, a 5 mile race where you also scarf down a dozen glazed donuts halfway on the course, or as many as possible, far from a typical half marathon. Looking back even farther, in 2022, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, the Catching Fireflies 5k- My First Night Race!, and Two Firsts in Running For Me- My First Turkey Trot and My First 8k!. The Cherry Blossom 10 miler was amazing, as was the night race. The turkey trot was full of hills but I still enjoyed it. Of course, none of these races were half marathons.

So my last half marathon before the one in Richmond was all the way back in November of 2021, a full two years prior, when I ran the final half marathon of my 50 state quest The Albuquerque Half Marathon, Albuquerque, New Mexico-50th state. I started thinking about all of this and here’s my theory: I think because I push myself so hard internally at races (and most aspects of my life), I put this pressure on myself that frankly is exhausting. It seemed different when I still had my 50 states quest and I never felt like this during any of those races, for the most part anyway, except for the times when I was physically struggling, like during some of the races mentioned above, and when I was anemic or the course was extremely difficult.

Anyone who’s ever run a long-distance race knows it’s largely a mental game. It’s one thing to push yourself mentally for a 5k, and entirely another to push yourself mentally for 13.1 miles. That’s a long way to go if your head really isn’t there. You can easily talk yourself into feeling all kinds of things ranging from disappointment in yourself to sheer distaste for the race (“I’m never going to finish anywhere near the time I wanted to. Why did I even sign up for this? What am I doing here? This race sucks! It’s so hot! I’m so tired! I just want to be done!”).

The funny thing I also realized during my epiphany is I still enjoy the long training runs. When I was training for the Savannah Women’s Half, I liked going out for those 12-14 miles at the peak of training, so I don’t think it’s the distance per se, so much as it’s the racing half marathons that I’m tired of. When I’m just going on a 14 mile training run, there’s no pressure so I can take walk breaks, take some photos, and just enjoy myself. I wish I was the kind of person who could apply that mentality to races, but that’s just not me. I’m too competitive, not with anyone else, but with myself.

So what I’ve determined is I need a break from half marathons. Maybe not forever but at least for quite some time. I’ve only run a handful of 5k’s, a couple of 10k’s and 10 milers, and maybe one 15k. I’d like to run a 5k or 10k and see how that goes. Who knows? Maybe I’ll decide I never want to run another half marathon again; maybe 54 half marathons is enough for me. Or maybe a half marathon will pop up that draws me in and I’ll run it next year, but likely not this year.

If you run races, have you suffered from burnout and needed to take a break? How did you deal with it?

Happy running!

Donna

Savannah Women’s Half Marathon

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon to review as a part of being a Bibrave/Vibe Ambassador.

When I had the opportunity to run the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon as part of the Bibrave/now Vibe community (ie free race entry), I jumped at the chance. I had been to Savannah before, but only briefly, as a day trip from Hilton Head Island, and I always wanted to go back. This was my perfect opportunity. Plus, I hated the half marathon I ran as my half marathon for Georgia, the Run the Reagan Half Marathon, Georgia-14th state, so I viewed the Savannah Women’s Half as my redemption race for Georgia.

The Savannah Women’s Half Marathon and 5k was held April 6, 2024 and the expo was most of the day on April 5. In the emails before the race, it said we would receive a “gift” along with our packet pickup, so I was curious about what that would be. It was a nice black zippered bag that could be worn as a waist pack or small crossbody bag with the name of the race embroidered on it. I also liked the shirts but was disappointed to learn they had already run out of my size, even though there were still three hours left to go for the expo, so I had to get the next size up. I didn’t linger around, but there were vendors selling shirts, shoes, and the typical other vendors like a chiropractor and similar running-related vendors.

Race morning was a crisp 47 degrees at race start, 7:30, with some wind gusts but not awful. Runners self-seeded into various paces, such as sub-8 minute mile, 9-minute mile, 10-minute mile, etc. There were also pacers and I tried to stay near the 2 hour pacer. The announcer did a good job of slightly spacing out the runners at the start by waiting a bit after letting the sub-8 minute runners start and telling the next group to wait until she said go, and so forth for the other groups. The 5k and half marathon runners started together but the Girls on the Run 5k (the group this race supported) started after the rest of us.

The race course wound along the downtown area and went through two parks. I was warned about the cobblestones by a friend who had run this race before, but I didn’t find them difficult to run on at all, and they were only minimally on the course. I thought the entire race felt pancake flat. It was especially scenic with the tree-lined areas draped in Spanish moss.

There were plenty of porta pots and first aid stations throughout the course, likewise there was plenty of water and electrolytes on the course. Where appropriate, roads were closed and/or monitored by volunteers or police officers. The course truly did highlight the most scenic parts of Savannah and wound around a couple of parks and finished at famous Forsyth Park, going by the fountain first. 

Although I had been dealing with Achilles pain in the couple of weeks prior to the race, and fully expected the pain to start around mile 2 or 3, somehow, I managed to run the entire race with no Achilles pain. The weird thing about my Achilles problem is it had been sporadic, so I could run 2 miles one day before I was brought to a walk, and even that was painful, but on another day, I ran 8 miles with no pain at all. I couldn’t link the pain to shoes, hills, speed work, or anything else, so I never knew what to expect when I went out on a run.

Honestly, I found myself struggling mentally during this race, starting early on. I’m not sure why (actually I’m going to go through my theory about this in another post), but I just wasn’t in the right headspace for this race. Pretty much for the entire race, I had to keep up the positive talk, telling myself everything from “It’s ok if you have to drop out,” “Just see how long you can go,” “The faster you go, the sooner it will be over,” “Just keep moving forward,” and “Just f*ing keep going.”

Despite my negative attitude during the race, my mile splits were pretty consistent, hovering slightly under 9-minute miles for every mile except miles 9 and 10 (they were 9:02 and 9:04), which is where I often struggle during half marathons. My watch decided to shut off completely somewhere around mile 11.2, even though the battery was fully charged. This had happened during a training run so I wasn’t completely surprised. I had even thought about buying a new watch because I know mine is probably due to be replaced, but I didn’t. I was able to start my watch back, but I lost a couple of minutes and somewhere around 0.4 miles, so my Strava time looked like the course was short, when in reality, it was a bit long, or at least the way I ran, it was longer than 13.1 miles.

Still, I had no idea what my chip time was until I got the email with my unofficial finish time, which was lightning fast after I finished. My unofficial time turned out to be my official finish time, 1:57:54, seventh in my age group, with an average pace of 9:00. BTW, this is a fast course, with the top two women in my age group finishing in 1:45 and the first finisher’s time was 1:21:21. In case you’re wondering, the race was open to males as well, despite the name, and for 2024, there were 61 male finishers, compared to 1,131 females.

At the finish line, there were volunteers handing out medals that looked like the famous Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, bottles of water, and a clear plastic bag with fruit, a fruit and grain bar, a bottle of water, and chocolate milk. We had 2 tickets for beer on our race bib. The grassy area of the park was filled with runners and areas for runners like the VIP area, gear check, beer, and more, plus there was a band playing on a stage that was really good. It was a sunny day and many people were hanging out with friends chatting about the race.

This race truly is a beautiful, well-organized race that I highly recommend. Even though I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked, that had absolutely nothing to do with the race itself, but more what was going on inside my head. You can sign up for next year’s race or read about the logistics of the race here: https://www.savannahsportscouncil.com/our-events/savannah-womens-half/

Have you run the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon or want to run it? If so, please share your thoughts!

Happy running!

Donna

My Best and Worst Running Habits

Since I’ve been running for well, let’s just say a long time, I’ve picked up my fair share of running habits over the years, both good and bad. These running habits have also changed so things I do now I may not have done five or ten years ago and some things I used to do, I no longer do. I always like to learn from my mistakes but I’m also aware that what may work for one person may not work for another so everyone needs to figure out what does and doesn’t work for them.

Let’s start out with some of my best running habits that I’m currently doing. One thing I’m pretty strict about is foam rolling after every single run. First I like to stretch out my hamstrings and open my hips a bit before foam rolling. I’ve been doing that for years and I firmly believe it’s the reason my Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) didn’t return once it was finally resolved. I use my foam roller all over my legs, starting with my hamstrings, then my calves, then my IT bands, and finally my quads. Occasionally I’ll foam roll my back and glutes but only if they’ve been tight or bothering me.

Foam rolling!

Another good running habit I’ve stuck with is getting enough good, quality sleep. Some people may not even associate sleep with running but to me, it’s probably the most important thing you can do for your body, not just when it comes to recovery from running but just having a healthy life in general. Every night, no matter what, I make sure I stop using my phone at least thirty minutes and preferentially an hour before bedtime and I like to read a book to help my brain and body settle down. I’ll also sometimes have some Nuun Rest if I feel like I need a little extra something to help me sleep. It has good-for-you things like magnesium and tart cherry extract to help you sleep better.

I started strength training several years ago, in fact so many years ago I don’t even remember how long it’s been. Now that I’m over 40 and it’s a battle between Father Time and muscle loss, I make sure I do strength training two or three times a week. I know I’m not going to gain much if any muscle at this point in my life but I just want to maintain what I can and limit the inevitable muscle loss. Having strong muscles helps you in just about every aspect of life, not just running but as a runner, strength training can help you be more efficient and minimize injuries.

Nutrition is also an important aspect of running and I consider myself an overall healthy eater. Yes, I have desserts but instead of having half a tub of ice cream, I’ll have a small scoop occasionally or a cookie or a small piece of cake, etc. In other words, I don’t restrict myself and not much of anything is totally off limits. If I want a cookie, I’ll have a cookie, but I make sure it’s a good one and not just some junk that someone from work brought in that doesn’t even taste good. I also make sure I eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. Although I still eat chicken and fish, I rarely eat any red meat and I found I felt better when I cut that out of my diet. One big thing that I don’t have in my diet is sugary drinks. Many years ago I stopped drinking soda and other sugary drinks, including diet soda and I haven’t missed it at all.

Some of the delicious foods I ate on vacation in Portugal. See, I eat mostly healthy, even when on vacation! I enjoyed everything too!

Now on to the not-so-great running-related habits I have. One of the first things that pops to mind is warming up before a run. I’m terrible about this and the only time I do it is when I’m with the Fleet Feet group I mentor and that’s because someone else makes us all do it. That’s not to say I hate it because really I don’t but for whatever reason, when I’m running by myself or with other people that don’t warm-up, I almost never do warm-up exercises.

Another bad running habit I have that I’ve been working on is I tend to run my easy runs too fast. I know your fast runs should be fast and your easy runs easy but I tend to go into auto-pilot and not pay attention to my speed on my easy runs. I’ll look down at my watch 20 minutes into an easy run and see I’ve been going too fast and try to slow it down but I need to get better at this.

The final thing that I need to get better at when running is not putting on sunscreen before runs. I tell myself I’ll be running in a shaded area and I have a hat to protect my face but my arms and legs are still exposed to the sun and even if it’s shady, there are still areas that are sunny. There’s really no excuse for not wearing sunscreen, especially on a sunny day. I used to do cancer research for many years so I’m well aware of the risks and I know this is a bad habit that can have severe consequences.

I absolutely remembered to wear sunscreen while running in Hawaii

Now I’m going to throw out some bad running habits I used to have but not anymore thankfully that will make some of you laugh or maybe even cringe. In college, I used to run in sneakers I had since who knows when and I never once gave proper fit or mileage a thought. I also developed excruciating shin splints that I believe must have turned into a stress fracture because of wearing these old shoes. That bad habit of not having good running shoes came to a screeching halt.

Nor did I give what I wore on runs a second thought until I experienced chafing in places I didn’t even know could chafe. When you’re so chafed you’re bleeding but don’t realize it until you get in the shower, it will give anyone the motivation to seek out proper running attire. I also didn’t pay any attention to what I ate or drank before a run until I had some terrible nausea and heartburn after eating bacon and fried eggs with toast for breakfast before going on a long run (I know, what was I thinking?). In my defense, I was visiting family and didn’t have much of a choice about what was for breakfast. In hindsight, I should have just had the toast before my run and saved the rest for after my run.

What about you all? What are some of your best and worst running habits you’ve acquired?

Happy running!

Donna

What I Would Buy if Someone Was Paying for My Running Expenditures

I read this story on the iRun Canadian running blog, https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/78597171/posts/4967553742 and it gave me some ideas. The woman who wrote the blog post included pretty much anything you could imagine running-related, from Lululemon and other expensive brands of clothing and shoes, down to laundry detergent to wash all those sweaty running clothes in. If I had someone paying for absolutely anything I could possibly wish for running-related, what would I buy? It’s fun to dream, right?

For starters, I’d have someone put together my Sole treadmill that the movers took apart when I moved in July and I haven’t had the time or money to pay a professional to put it back together again. No need for a brand new one, since this one is relatively new and worked great before it was in a million pieces (those movers were the WORST!).

Photo by Max Rahubovskiy on Pexels.com. While I’m at it, I might as well take the whole bathroom shown here along with the sauna!

Next, I’d buy an infrared sauna, not a portable one like in the other blog post, but not a giant 4 person sauna either. A simple one person sauna, but not one where your head sticks out would be great. I don’t know about you but those portable saunas where your head sticks out just don’t seem right (seriously, check out the link above to the blog post to see that contraption and if any of you actually own one, please correct me if you think it’s the best thing ever).

I’m sure my Fleet Feet running buddies would love a free race entry and all travel expenses paid!

I do like the Canadian runner’s idea of limitless race entries for not only herself but her friends as well. How much fun would that be to tell your running buddies that you would be paying for all of them to run in Napa Valley or Spain? I would also take it a step further and have all travel-related fees paid by my sponsor. Now that would be amazing! Half marathon in Iceland anyone?

Another thing the Canadian runner and I agree on is getting some compression boots like Normatec air compression boots and while we’re at it, let’s go all in and get the Normatec 3 Full Body that massages your arms, hips, and legs. Of course I’d have to also get a Hypervolt 2 Pro Heat Pack to work out any kinks with the added perk of heat. These would be used in addition to weekly deep tissue massages. I’d be feeling good after all that!

I’d get a fancier Garmin watch than the one I have that’s a few years old at this point and even then wasn’t one of their fancy ones but is pretty basic. I would also stock up on all of my favorite Nuun hydration products and Honey Stinger waffles and bars. I’d pick up some JUNK Brands headbands, Sprints running hats, an unlimited supply of running shoes, Pro Compression socks, and Turtle gloves. Finally, I’d get different colors of Shokz open-ear headphones (I only have one pair of blue ones I’ve had for several years and I’m going to cry the day they stop working).

Lest this all be just about me (and my running buddies when we travel to races), I’d donate annually to Girls on the Run, a group near and dear to my heart since it sparked the love of running in my daughter. If someone is bankrolling my running-related endeavors, surely they’d go along with the idea of supporting and empowering young girls. I’d also support local races by donating monthly to ones that come across my radar.

What about you? What are some things you’d buy if you had an unlimited budget for running-related expenditures?

Happy running!

Donna

Running Highs and Lows of 2023

Every year in December, I like to look back and see how things went for me in the running realm. 2023 was a different year for me than previous years in that I ran the fewest races I ever have, and not just races but I had the lowest running mileage I have in a very long time (decades). Let’s look back and see how my year went.

My first race of 2023 was the Krispy Kreme Challenge in February. I have a post that goes into much more detail, The Krispy Kreme Challenge, but briefly, you run 2.5 miles, eat a dozen glazed Krispy Kreme donuts (or as many as you can), and run back 2.5 miles where you started. Finishers are grouped into “Challengers,” those who eat all 12 donuts, and “Non-Challenger, or Casual” runners, who eat less than all 12 donuts (imagine eating 11 but not being able to finish that last one?!).

I was freezing, nauseous, and just wanted to go home but I had my daughter take this quick photo after the Krispy Kreme race

I had been intrigued about this race and wanted to run it simply for the experience. I also wanted to support the cause that the money went toward, UNC Children’s Hospital. That being said, I am a competitive person with myself and also stubborn so when I put my mind to something, I almost always follow through. If you want to see how that went for me, you can read my post above.

Although I had planned on running a 5k in April, Covid put a stop to that. It was the first time I got the virus and it was literally days before the race. You may think, it’s just a 5k, who cares, but it was a race I had been preparing for and wasn’t your ordinary 5k. I won’t go into further details other than that since I didn’t run it and I may run it next year.

Needless to say, it was a low point for me not being able to run that race in early April. Even more importantly, I had long-lasting lung problems from Covid and it took me some time to be able to run without getting out of breath. Truth be told, I still don’t feel like I’ve 100% recovered, and I may never get back to where I was. I had also planned on running a 10k in late April in South Carolina in a place I’ve never been to, so I was looking forward to having a racecation. Because of Covid, I also wasn’t able to run that race, so another low point.

Finally at some point in late May, I was able to run, although like I mentioned earlier, still not at my pre-Covid state. Unfortunately, that’s also when my personal life began to get extremely hectic. I had to get my house ready to sell and look for a new home beginning in June. Since I was so busy, my running fell to the wayside for the summer months.

A few short weeks after I moved into my new home in July, I dropped my daughter off at college and was able to start running consistently again in August. I had signed up for the Richmond Half Marathon in November so I jumped right into a training plan. However, since I didn’t have the solid base I normally have before starting a half marathon plan, I felt like I struggled week after week. My ongoing lung issues could have also been a factor.

With some running friends before the Richmond Half Marathon

Shortly before race day for the Richmond Half Marathon on November 11, when friends asked me how I thought it would go, I usually answered, “We’ll see,” or I told them I had zero expectations but I wanted to enjoy the race. Even though I struggled to get through most of the speed workouts, I had run all of the long runs. I didn’t have any injuries or even niggling pains anywhere. Despite not having a strong foundation before starting my training plan, I felt like I did what I could to prepare.

You can read my detailed race report here Richmond Half Marathon in Virginia, but I’ll also say here, I thoroughly enjoyed this race. I ran a 10 mile race many years ago in Richmond and absolutely hated that race. It was hilly and not that scenic and it had left a bad taste in my mouth about Richmond races. However, after hearing for years from running friends how much they loved the Richmond Marathon and Half Marathon, I said I’d try it and see if it lived up to the hype as “America’s Friendliest Marathon.” After running the half, I can say, yes it does indeed. It’s one of my favorite half marathons I’ve run anywhere and can now recommend it to all of my running friends who haven’t run it. Richmond was a high in my running for the year, which I desperately needed after all of the previous lows throughout the year.

My final race for the year was the Mill Chill, a 4-mile race in Rocky Mount, NC on December 10. All proceeds of this race go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, the course is said to be scenic with views of the Tar River, there are over 30 breweries at the race (more on that in a second), there’s music and food trucks, and the race has a start time of 1:30 pm, meaning I don’t have to get out of bed super early or stay overnight before the race and it’s not freezing cold during the race. What’s not to like about all that?

When one of my friends from a run club associated with a brewery I’ve been a part of for a while suggested some of us run the Mill Chill, I looked it up and as you can read above, it all sounded pretty good. When you sign up online you have the option to choose a local brewery to “represent” in the Brewery Throwdown. The top runners from each brewery win bragging rights as the fastest brewery.

However, a couple of days before race day, a severe storm front was predicted to roll in on the day of the race. The race director made the tough decision to cancel the race, with hopes to reschedule it in January. I was disappointed but understood since they were concerned about flash flooding, thunderstorms, and strong winds. So now I’m still waiting to see if they’re able to get all of the necessary components to put on the race next month.

All in all, I had what I’d call an “OK” year of running. It was a busy year for me outside of running so unfortunately there wasn’t as much time for running as there typically is. I loved the Richmond Half Marathon, which was definitely a high point but other than that, there wasn’t much else to love.

How was your year of running in 2023? Any running highs or lows you care to share?

Happy running!

Donna

Richmond Half Marathon in Virginia

Disclaimer: I received entry to the Richmond Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Ambassador.

It feels so strange to not note which state number this half marathon was, which I’ve done for every other half marathon I’ve run (well, at least since I had the goal of running one in every state). For the record, this was my 53rd half marathon. This was also my first half marathon since the Albuquerque Half Marathon in New Mexico in 2021, my 50th state. Since that race, I’ve only run a 5k and a turkey trot in 2022. I had high hopes of running another 5k and a 10k earlier this year but I wasn’t able to run either of those races.

Back to the Richmond Half Marathon on November 11. When I arrived at the expo the day before the race, I thought, wow! This is a big race! The expo was at the Richmond Raceway and there were so many cars they had police and volunteers directing traffic. In addition to bib and shirt pickup (a cute light blue long-sleeve technical shirt), there were vendors selling running apparel and the usual local race promotion. There were also some speakers sitting outside there but since it was cold and rainy, I skipped that, otherwise I’m sure I would have wanted to hear them talk.

When I looked it up, I found there were around 18,000 runners on race day including those doing the marathon, half marathon, and 8k. The marathon started promptly at 7 am, the half at 7:15, and the 8k at 7:30, with each race including waves spaced 5 minutes apart. I was in wave c so I started at 7:25. It was cool and overcast, at 40 degrees at the race start and hovered in the 40’s for the first couple of hours.

Despite the inclusion of waves, I found the course to be crowded even in the latter miles, even though usually races thin out after the first couple of miles. Part of the reason for this was they often had cones with signs on the roads saying “Half Marathoners stay to the left,” so runners were bottle-necking at those places. The course was scenic, especially with the autumn leaves, and was mostly flat with some rolling hills and only a couple of hills that were moderately steep but not that long.

There were plenty of volunteers on the course offering Nuun and water, a first aid station on the course, and even some unusual stops like a “junk food stop,” which I didn’t partake in but I heard they had gummy bears, a beer stop, and a pickle juice stop. I overheard one runner say he got two shots of beer and it “energized” him for the rest of the race. Many people said they stopped for pickle juice but I didn’t, nor did I get any beer on the course.

Myself along with some running friends who also ran Richmond; some ran the half, some the marathon, and others the 8k. We had all distances covered!

Honestly, even though this is a well-known fast course, I found myself pushing my limits, not due to course or weather conditions, but because my training leading up to the race hadn’t been ideal. Since I barely ran at all April through July, I didn’t have a solid base leading into training in August, and I struggled to get through some of those harder training miles. I went into this race with no expectations; my main goal was to have fun. However, being that I’m a fairly competitive person at races, not with others but with myself, I also found myself pulled into the race day excitement.

I should also note that the race bills itself as “America’s Friendliest Marathon,” which I assume refers to the phenomenal spectator support. I’ve never run a race before with such spectator support. Usually there are people cheering runners on at the start and finish lines and some scattered here and there along the course but this was near-constant streams of people. Some had funny or motivating signs, others had music and were dancing, and some were dressed up, all to help encourage runners. I appreciated all of the massive support from the good people of Richmond and all of the out-of-towners who also cheered runners on.

My mile split times were fairly consistent, at 8:57, 8:53, 8:50, 8:50, 8:57, 8:44, 9:12 (where the moderately steep hills were), 8:55, 8:56, 8:58, 8:53, 9:06 (my hips and legs were feeling it here), 8:41 (downhill!), and 7:35 for the final 0.2 miles (my watch had me at 13.21 miles, so just a bit over the official 13.1), for a total time of 1:57:33. I was 34th out of 289 in my age group. The first woman to finish the half marathon finished in 1:15:40 and the first man finished in 1:03:17. This is a FAST course and the downhill finish only adds to that. Some of my friends said they didn’t like the downhill finish because it was too steep but I loved it. While I didn’t go all-out, I let gravity carry me and definitely finished faster than if it would have been a flat finish.

At the finish line, I got my race medal (they were unique to each race), fleece blanket, and hat. There were also tents with pizza, beer, water, granola bars, and bananas, plus some food trucks and places selling beer and other things. I loved the blanket and hat but I’m also realistic and realize anything you receive at a race isn’t truly “free,” and is always calculated into the race entry fee. Registration fees start at $85 for the marathon, $75 for the half marathon, and $30 for the 8k, plus signup fees; all fees increase over time. Considering what you get for your money, however, this is a pretty good deal, especially if you can sign up early before the fee goes up.

There were still some trees that hadn’t dropped their autumn-colored leaves yet, which added to the beauty of the course

Would I recommend this race? Absolutely. It’s one of my favorite half marathons I’ve run and I truly loved everything about this race. The course was beautiful, not too hilly and had that fast downhill finish, the volunteers and aid stations were plenty, there were more spectators on the course than I’ve ever seen at a race, the bling was great, and the finish party was fun. It seemed well-organized from beginning to end. Other than being a little crowded at times, there aren’t many negatives to this race.

https://www.richmondmarathon.org

Have you run the Richmond Half Marathon or any of the other distances there? If so, what was your experience like? Is this race on your bucket list?

Happy running!

Donna

What has running brought into your life that you otherwise wouldn’t have had?

I saw this blog post idea and it inspired me. Running has brought a myriad of things into my life I wouldn’t have otherwise had, both good and bad, to be perfectly honest (shin splints, IT band issues, to name a couple of the bad), but of course most people want to hear about the good so that’s what I’ll focus on here.

When people ask me how long I’ve been running, I always tell them the same thing: I’ve been running since I was in grade school. Usually I’ll get a side glance and they’ll raise their eyes and ask, “REALLY?” To which, I’ll say, “Yes, really.” I guess I’m not your typical runner. I did take a few years off from running consistently in college after a particularly bad bout of shin splints but other than that, I’ve been running since I was about 8 or 9 years old.

I’ve written before about how influential my grade school PE teacher was to my running. He also highly encouraged me to earn the Presidential Physical Fitness awards when I was in the 5th and 6th grade.

In grade school, I ran on our school’s track team, which is when I was introduced to the camaraderie that often goes along with running. I still remember doing laps around our school on those chilly days with my track teammates. Even though I couldn’t tell you the name of any of the meets or even where they were (not at my school is all I know), I remember a couple of the “big” ones, and winning some ribbons. When I went to junior high and high school, I chose not to even try out for the track or cross country teams because I chose other extracurricular activities instead since running was one thing I knew I could do on my own. I continued running through college on my own until aforementioned shin splints happened so the camaraderie part was just a brief glimmer of my relationship with running in my life to that point.

When I picked running back up after college, I noticed how running lets you get to know an area like no other activity. I had moved to a new state and running allowed me to learn the area better than just driving around ever could have. Often, I would set out to run a certain route but get sidetracked when I saw a greenway or new neighborhood I didn’t know existed before. Running became an outlet for me to go exploring.

I discovered even when I traveled, I could run and stumble upon restaurants, parks, or shopping areas that looked interesting. When I got back to my hotel room, I would look up those places I had seen on my run and often go back to them later to spend some time there. I’ve also seen countless animals while on runs, including deer, peacocks, a wild turkey (and so many other birds), dolphins, alligators, snakes, but I’ve never had a bad encounter or anything that scared me.

Deer poking their heads out to get a drink at a lake (seen on a run)

When I decided to run a half marathon in all 50 states, running allowed me to travel to every state, something I’m sure I never would have done otherwise. By having that goal and specific half marathons on my calendar that I had planned out, sometimes years in advance, it pushed me to achieve that goal. Although I’ve always enjoyed traveling, I’m sure I wouldn’t have otherwise traveled to many of the states I went to, like Nebraska, which I loved, or South Dakota, which was one of my favorite half marathons ever and I fell in love with the area, or Rhode Island, another state that I feel is underrated and I had a great time visiting, plus so many more.

Probably one of the absolute best things that running has brought into my life is my group of running friends I met at a running group just a few short years ago but I feel like I’ve known some of these people my whole life. Some of them have become like family to me. A few people in the group have been through some traumatic events over the last couple of years and no matter what, we all ask, “How can I help?” when something comes up. I know I can count on these people regardless of what I asked from them and I hope they know they can count on me.

I’ve joined some other running groups over the years but none of them have been what this group is to me. We come from all walks of life and have very different types of jobs so if not for running in these group runs, we never would have met, or certainly never would have become as close as we have. Running together has allowed us to open up to one another in ways we wouldn’t have otherwise.

One of the running groups I’m a part of asked me to be a mentor with a training plan they offer in the spring and fall months. There’s always a goal race at the end of the training plan, usually either a half marathon, 10-mile race, or sometimes a 5k as well. I’ve been a mentor for a few times at this point and every time I’ve been inspired by the people who sign up for these training plans. Inevitably, the vast majority of these people don’t see the potential that I’m able to see in them, but by the end of the plan, they’re starting to see glimmers of what they’re capable of and what can happen whey they push their bodies in a thoughtful, educated way (proper mileage build-up, good nourishment, hydration, stretching, etc.). I always feel like I get so much out of these sessions and have found myself looking forward to them and am always pleased when I’m asked to come back as a mentor.

One thing I didn’t mention is all the miles I’ve run with my daughter. It’s brought us closer and she’s gotten to run in many of the same races I ran in, in addition to running on non-race vacations and just running at home together.

Finally, running has given me a mental health outlet. I’ve always known that when times were difficult, all I needed was to go for a run outside and I would come back feeling better. That’s not to say running magically made all of my problems go away but after running, I felt like I had the mental clarity to deal with my problems better.

If you’re a runner, what has running brought into your life? If your preferred form of movement is something else other than running, say cycling, hiking, swimming, or walking, what has it brought to your life?

Happy running!

Donna

Top Five Most Beautiful Races I’ve Run

Similar to my other post, Some of My Favorite Places to Run- Vacation Edition
these are my top five most beautiful races I’ve run. Some of the places I’m going to show you will likely surprise you; they surprised me. For example, even though one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to was San Diego, California, that race I ran there was not one of the most scenic races I’ve run. Likewise, the half marathon I ran in Anchorage, Alaska was primarily along greenways and since I was running on greenways at home all the time, I didn’t find the race that scenic, or at least not that uniquely scenic, especially since it was in Alaska. On the flip side, I was pleasantly surprised that one of the most beautiful races I ran was in South Dakota, which I’ll start with here (these are in no certain order, however).

Not the best photo but a good example of “the photo just doesn’t do the area justice.” This was taken at the start of the Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon in South Dakota.
Spearfish Canyon Half Marathon, South Dakota- 34th state

Mountain views, greenery and trees everywhere, and a downhill start made the Star Valley Half Marathon in Thayne, Wyoming one of my most memorable.
Star Valley Half Marathon, Thayne, Wyoming- 46th state

I’m a sucker for a race through a canyon, because here’s another race that was through a canyon, like the previous two. This was at the Famous Idaho Potato Half Marathon in Boise, Idaho.
Famous Potato Half Marathon, Idaho-42nd state

One of many of the covered bridges you run through or past on the course of the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Vermont. Between the covered bridges and greenery everywhere, this course ranks high as far as scenery.
Covered Bridges Half Marathon, Vermont-9th state

You get views like this of the bay on the Bayshore Half Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan, a hugely popular race that regularly sells out quickly (photo credit to SexyMotherRunner on Pinterest. All of my race photos were terrible compared to this one.)
Traverse City Bayshore Marathon and Half Marathon, Michigan-15th state

Have you run any of these races? If so, what did you think of them? What are some of the most beautiful races you’ve run?

Happy running!

Donna

Mistakes I’ve Made at Half Marathons

Mistakes? Oh, I’ve made plenty of mistakes at half marathons over the years. However, I prefer to call them learning moments because I learned what not to do and my hope is to pass along this knowledge so that others may learn from my mistakes. Here are just a few of the many mistakes I’ve made at races.

• Not fueling properly

This one took me several years to get “right.” I started out not fueling enough and would run out of energy after running for around an hour. After I figured out I needed to run long training runs with something to give me quick energy (simple carbs), I tried gels and they made me nauseous. Bloks likewise made me nauseous and sometimes also have diarrhea (the absolute worst when you’re on a long run and are desperately searching for a bathroom).

Finally I discovered Honeystinger products. First I experimented with their waffles and found they were good for runs up to an hour but I needed more for longer runs and I just didn’t like eating them while running. I really liked the taste and convenience of their chews so I experimented further with those. Before starting on a run longer than an hour, I eat three chews then have two chews after thirty minutes. At the next thirty minutes (so after 60 minutes of running), I have three chews, then two chews thirty minutes later, and three chews after another thirty minutes if I’m going to be out longer than 2 hours. For a two hour run I will (sometimes) end up having about 10 chews. If I just wasn’t feeling up to more chews, I would occasionally skip some, usually around 90 minutes but often at the two hour point. Before a half marathon I have a waffle within 15 minutes of the race start time, along with three chews, and continue my alternate schedule of chews every thirty minutes after I begin running. I find it easier to put my chews in a plastic bag and stash it in the front pocket of my Nathan running vest for easy access.

Nuun and Honey Stinger are a good combination that works for me!

Fueling is more than just what you eat, though, and it also includes hydration with electrolytes. For runs more than 60 minutes, since I have a high sweat rate, I need more than plain water; I need sodium, potassium, and magnesium as well. I started out making my own by adding honey and salt to water and putting that in water bottles when I ran. That worked fine but I realized I wanted more of a flavor (plus there was no potassium or magnesium) so I tried Gatorade and Powerade. I wasn’t happy with the long list of ingredients and how much sugar was in these. Finally I discovered Nuun hydration products and I’ve been using those for what feels like a decade at least.

Nuun makes several kinds of hydration products but my favorite ones are Sport for shorter runs or when I get back from a particularly challenging run where I lost a lot of sweat. For long runs, I make some Nuun Endurance and put that in my water bottles which I put in my Nathan running vest. When I have my Honey Stinger chews, I’ll take a long drag of Nuun along with them and that combination works well for me.

• Starting out too fast/getting caught up with the energy of the running crowd

This one is an easy trap to fall prey to. You’re excited about running a race, everyone around you is also excited, and for many people, it’s their first time running a race, or maybe even their third time but the point is, the experience is still fairly new. You’re trucking along, feeling great for the first few miles and you think to yourself, “I could continue at this pace for maybe even the rest of the race. I feel great!” and then it hits you around mile 6 that no, you can’t continue at that pace. It’s too fast for you to sustain and your body starts slowing down. If the course is hilly or it’s hot and humid, starting out too fast will come back to bite you hard. By not reserving some energy for later when either the course begins to get challenging or your body begins to fatigue, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment later in the race.

Even though it may seem tough mentally, you will benefit from holding back in the first few miles of the race regardless of how “amazing” you feel. Just think how strong you’ll feel when you’re able to pass all of those people who ran past you in the beginning of the race when you’re hitting mile 11 or 12 and those people who started out too fast are now walking.

• Not dressed properly for weather conditions

Weather can change quickly so being prepared for the weather on race day can be a challenge if you’re traveling to a race. I learned that when you’re in the mountains, even in the summer, if a storm blows in suddenly, the temperature can easily drop by as much as 20 degrees from one day to the other. In the winter, extreme temperature changes can be even more drastic.

Challenging doesn’t mean impossible, however, you simply need to pack a little more running clothes unless you are more of a cold weather runner. For me, I tend to fare better in warmer temperatures so for a summer race in the mountains I like to bring shorts and a short-sleeve shirt, along with back-up capris and long-sleeve shirt in case of those quick temperature drops. I might even consider bringing a buff and lightweight gloves if the predicted temperature at the race start is already on the cool side of a summer race, in case it drops even more.

I was so cold at this race in Utah I never fully warmed up even though I was dressed properly!

If you know you warm up quickly when you run but it will be chilly at the race start, you might want to bring a jacket, hat, and pants that you can either hand off to a non-running friend or family member right before the race starts or put in your gear check bag if that’s offered. My daughter is the opposite from me when it comes to dressing for the weather at races and she fares better in colder temperatures. For races in cold weather, what works best for her is to wear a jacket to the race and remove it just before the race starts, and she’ll run in shorts and a tank top even when it’s in the 30’s. Meanwhile, I would be dressed in running tights, long-sleeve pullover, hat, gloves, and have a buff around my neck and I would run the race in all of that. Find what works for you in advance before the race.

For hot weather, make sure you’re not over-dressed but this is more difficult than when it’s cold because there’s only so much clothing you can remove. Many women like running in just a sports bra but test that out on training runs. In fact, you should test out all of your running gear before race day to make sure everything feels the same after wearing it for a couple of hours or more as it did when you put it on. Sometimes bottoms will tend to bunch up around the thighs or the waist band will pull down after you’ve been running for a while. You don’t want to discover this on race day. Sports bras often chafe, especially on hot days so test different sports bras as well as different lubrications like Squirrels’ Nut Butter, BodyGlide, Vasoline, or others.

• Not wearing appropriate running shoes

When I first started running, I just wore whatever athletic shoes I happened to have. When I was a kid, it wasn’t a problem but as I got older, I saw just how important having good running shoes is when I developed shin splints in college. I have no doubt they were caused by wearing old, run-down athletic shoes.

If you have a locally-owned athletic store where you live, see if they do running shoe fittings to determine the best type of shoe for your feet. I would skip the big box athletic stores for this, because at least in my experience, they don’t have qualified people for this. People in local running stores are happy to talk shoes with you all day and they’re trained to know what they’re talking about, plus many stores have cool gadgets that measure things like your arches and more.

So many things went wrong at this race in New Mexico, but I had to just go with it!

• Putting too hard of expectations on yourself for a race

One race won’t define your life. Things often happen that are out of our control on race day and even before the race that can alter your performance in a race. You get sick, the weather is unseasonably warm, a storm rolls in and it’s cold and rainy, you didn’t sleep well for the past week, you miss a turn on the race course, and on and on. Life happens. If you put so much pressure on yourself for a goal time and you see during the race that you won’t be able to reach that goal, it’s good to have a plan b (and plan c). I’ve had many races where I wanted to finish in x amount of time and the course was more difficult than I thought it would be or I was having stomach issues or I just wasn’t feeling that great and I had to alter my goals. If you go into a race with multiple levels of goals, it will make it easier to drop down to your b goal if you already have one in mind. Preferably your b and c goals shouldn’t be linked to a specific time but more general like “finish with a smile on my face” or “not die.”

I’m sure I’ve made plenty of other mistakes at half marathons but these are the first ones that come to mind. What are some mistakes you’ve made at half marathons or other distance races? Have you also made some of the same mistakes I made at races?

Happy running!

Donna

Running Goals for 2023

Every January I like to figure out my running goals (which I used to call resolutions but from here on I’m going to call goals) for the upcoming year. Let’s take a peek at how my goals from last year went. Running Resolutions and My Word for 2022. My first goal for 2022 was to do more hiking on my off days. How did that go? Not so great.

I only went hiking while I was on vacation in Portugal, Costa Rica, and Asheville, oh and I did go hiking locally once. Even though I originally wanted to go hiking about once a month, that just didn’t happen. I guess I should be happy for the hiking I did do and don’t get me wrong, it was in some beautiful areas around the world so even if it wasn’t frequent, it was pretty fantastic when I did do it (see photos below from hiking in Portugal).

My second running goal for 2022 was to run different distances than the half marathon and just see what I was capable of at that point in my life. I did pretty well on that account, having run a 5k in May (and a night race at that), a 10-miler in April, and another 5k in November. I would have liked to have run a couple more races but shin splints and other things in my life put a halt to that. Still, it had been many years since I had run 5k’s and a 10-mile race so it was fun to push my body at those distances that I wasn’t used to racing.

My final goal for 2022 was to start running the Canadian provinces, with the ultimate goal of running a half marathon in all of them eventually. That didn’t happen for various reasons but I haven’t given up on that goal. When the time is right, it will happen. It may take me another 21 years to achieve that goal like it did to run all 50 states (hopefully not!) but if it does, so be it.

On to my goals for 2023. For some inspiration, I worked on a worksheet sent out by Honey Stinger, in conjunction with pro-runner and coach, Neely Spence Gracey and GRC, which I’m going to attach here if any of you want to fill it out for yourself. https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0498/2374/4162/files/Goal_Setting_Worksheet_1_Editable.pdf?v=1671219861

I’m not going to include the answers from my entire worksheet here but I’ll put a couple of things that stood out to me. One section had the questions “Why do I want to set a new goal? What goals have I already achieved?” My answer was “I’ve already achieved my goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states but I don’t feel the need to “top” that.” In other words, I don’t feel like I need to run the Canadian provinces any more than I felt like I needed to run all 50 states. It was always a goal that I felt like I would someday achieve but I also knew life sometimes has unexpected things pop up and it might take some time to achieve that goal. To me, this is a fun goal that since it includes travel and is thus more complicated since there’s time off work, money, and many other factors involved, I’m in no rush to achieve. It does give me motivation, however.

Another section of the worksheet has the questions “What gives me FOMO? Who or what inspires me? What do I value? What brings me joy?” My answer was simply, “What brings me joy is running in new places or different settings.” I almost never have FOMO; when I see other runners post online about races they ran that I didn’t, I don’t feel left out but I’m genuinely happy for them. I’m constantly inspired by other runners doing big and small things (what’s small to one person may be big to another and vice versa but it’s all important). I value my health and I know running is good for my mental and physical health. One thing that brings me joy in life is to travel to races and not only run the race but also experience that part of the world after the race.

So what are my goals for 2023? I have two goals, one of which I teased out while working on the worksheet, with the first goal being to simply have fun when running and to run races in different places when possible. There’s really no more limitations or specifics set other than that.

More runs in places like this (Hawaii) would be wonderful!

My second goal is to practice yoga more regularly. Before the pandemic, I used to go to a yoga class at my gym once a week and incorporate some of the basic stretches into my post-running stretching a few days throughout the week. When my gym closed and I was doing workouts at home I told myself I would continue doing yoga on my own but that got less and less often until I wasn’t practicing yoga at all. I later joined a different gym but they only offered classes online, which I’ve never been great at following regularly.

Recently my daughter asked me to do a 30-day yoga challenge with her that someone from YouTube was doing, starting on Jan. 2. While I don’t expect to continue practicing yoga every single day, especially after January is over, as long as I can continue doing yoga once a week, I’ll be happy. So far, it’s going well and we both are amazed at how quickly the time flies by during these yoga sessions together.

So that’s it! I’m keeping things simple for 2023 when it comes to running goals. What about you? Do you set running goals or intentions for the new year? If so, care to share one of your goals for 2023?

Happy running and Happy New Year!

Donna