Race Report for Monson Memorial Half Marathon

Today the girls and I headed two towns over to run the Monson Memorial Half Marathon. I signed up for this race as a sort of dare to myself. I’ve done long runs with the stroller before (an 18-miler with my youngest in the single running stroller), but this was going to be my longest run with both of the girls. I had heard from some friends that this was a hilly race, but I routinely run on hills with the girls, just not in a race-type setting.

Before the race

We almost missed the start of the race because for some reason I had it in my head that the race began at 1pm. Luckily I looked at the race website this morning to see where the registration tent was going to be and noticed that the race actually began at noon. We made it to the registration table at 11:56. My run from the jeep to the table served as my warm-up. I had just enough time to double knot my sneakers and off we went. I was instructed to start at the back of the pack since I had the stroller. I always hate when they do that. I spend the first mile weaving and bobbing instead of a nice smooth start. I didn’t even get to the starting line until 44 seconds into the race.

The course was front loaded with hills (see below) so we went out cautiously. I tried my best to run WITH the stroller and not AGAINST it. I methodically trudged up each hill and sailed down the backside. I honestly believe that taking advantage of the terrain is even more important with the stroller. The total climbing for this race is about 1100 feet, but it is ALL contained in the first 8 miles. I was so happy to see the 9 mile marker because I knew it was all about sailing from that point on.

Hill Profile

I took this picture somewhere around mile 10 or 11. The funny thing is that I hadn’t planned on taking a picture. My beloved Patriots were playing the 1pm game today and I kept checking my iPhone for updates on the score. On one of my score checks I thought, “Hey, see if you can snap a pic” and I did.

We're chasing down that guy!

My cautious strategy worked. I still felt fresh at the end of the race and passed quite a few people. I think we passed 25-30 people in the last 5 miles. Even with the 44 second delay at the start my watch had us finishing in 1:51:12, but the official time listed was 1:51:22. Whatever. My goal for this race was a 1:50:00 (11 minutes slower than my PR) and I’m satisfied that I accomplished what I intended. That’s the good news.

The bad news…something’s wrong with my legs. It’s been two weeks since my marathon and my stride is still all screwed up. And now it’s creating other problems. As I sit here typing this I am icing BOTH my left knee and right achilles. The blood blisters on both second toes have yet to go away, and today only made the left one worse. I think that toenail is soon to be only a memory. That doesn’t bother me, but this knee and achilles thing is concerning.

We’ll see what the next week brings. I have a 5-mile trail run next weekend and I wanted to kick a$$ on that race because I ran it last year and I know I’m in much better shape this year. I wanted to use the time as a measure of how much progress I have made.

My dailymile friend Stephanie from Hawaii was also doing a stroller half marathon today so we were trying to motivate each other. My fingers are crossed that she met her goal.

Anyway, it was a good day. We enjoyed 60 degree weather in New England in November. The Pats beat the Dolphins. And I didn’t worry about school work once. Life is good.

Finish line photo from race website

After the race