Big Lake Half Marathon Report (Read 481 times)

This past Saturday was my first half marathon ever, and I chose the Big Lake Half which runs around Lake Winnipesaukee, starting in Alton Bay, NH. It was a gorgeous course, lots of views of the White Mountains, the lake, and the awesomely expensive summer homes of the rich. Saturday was a gorgeous day- super sunny, warmer than predicted (at race start at 9 am it was around 65 in the sun). I had assumed there would be a breeze off the lake, but there really wasn't. There also was barely any shade, so it made for a very warm run. And I am now proudly sporting a Garmin tan line on my wrist. This race is fairly large, with around 1200 finishers this year. I like bigger races because I know I won't come in last . I went into the race knowing it was much more hills than I was used to, so I had a goal of finishing in 2 hours. The first 7 miles or so were great- slight but steady incline. The water stops are all themed and there's tons of musicians along the route playing for you. The best water stop was the mardi gras theme, with a clown and kids handing out beads. I really felt great through this part of the run. After mile 7, the course turns around and runs back a different way, on a closed road. The elevation map shows that it loses elevation in total in the second half, but what I discovered was tons and tons of ups and downs. The steep inclines really worked my lungs and the downhills were so steep my knees hurt. I definitely had my worst times during miles 9 & 10. But I knew that the last 2.5 were back on the main road that was flat and straight, so I was looking forward to that. Once I rounded back onto Route 11 (the main road), I discovered a new problem- they had closed half the road for the first half of the run, but going back, the entire road was open to traffic and runners were on the shoulder. Well, the shoulder was a steep slope down to the water, so it was like running across a steeper hill. It was really hurting my ankles to be on that angle. Plus, I had a tank top on that I hadn't ever worn past 9 miles and apparently after that it starts to chafe under my arms- owwwwww. I really at this point just wanted the run to be OVER. I also really didn't like that the finish line is kind of around a curve behind some trees. I had my Garmin so I knew it was close, but it was hard to kick it without SEEING the finish. BUT- I managed to kill my goal time and finished in 1:53:45, placing 401 out of 1197 overall and 42 out of 201 in females 25-29. I was really ecstatic with that time. And overall, it was a fun race. Oh the one weird thing- after finishing, I wanted some vaseline for under my arms where it was so raw, but the first aid tent was about a quarter mile from the finish line- does that seem weird to anyone else? It was fine for me, because I wasn't really injured. But for someone realllly hurting, that seems like an awful long way to go to get to first aid! Just seems that maybe the van giving away samples of propel could have been moved to make way for the first aid truck. Definitely a fun experience! The only thing that really hurts is the sores under my arms. Oh and my butt, but that I think is from the fact that I also am in the process of moving and brought boxes up & down stairs allllll day yesterday!

Eeek, that 10 mile I ran 3 weeks ago didn't close the roads at all. I do NOT like racing while having to share the road with cars. Some of the drivers during that race were NOT considerate at all (police actually ticketed a guy for drivine recklessly in his Jeep...after he drove off he was speeding down the roads, again...jerk). Sounds like it was otherwise a really great race--and you had a killer time! If you like that tank and want to wear it again, give Bodyglide a try. That stull is amazing for preventing chafe. j