This has been in the making since fall 2012 - I registered for the 2013 edition of this race in September 2012, a couple weeks after running my first 5K, and ended up DNSing and spending the entire spring rehabbing a ridiculous case of shin splints - time off, time pool running  and starting over with 9 minutes walk/1 minute jog x3. After going through that fresh hell I decided that I'd wait on the half marathon, build mileage for a while and get solid at shorter distances. Finally felt ready to tackle it this spring! I chose this race in particular one, to get vengeance for my 2013 DNS and two, because it's not super far away but still far enough north and coastal that I could have reasonable weather expectations mid-May. Worked out well, the sun came out around mile 8 but it never got super hot and the breeze off the ocean was just divine.

Training got off to a rocky start - I'd spent late fall/early winter recovering from minor surgery in October. I started adding in some faster work in January, 18 weeks out from the race, having not run anything at a faster pace since a 10K on October 13th and within a couple weeks got sidelined by ITBS. Fortunately, I was rehabbed out of that ASAP and didn't miss too many miles, but had to be really careful about ramping up the quality stuff.

The 12 weeks prior to race week went really well, though - had to skip a workout here and there and take an extra day off occasionally, but I went into taper week feeling strong and ready to kick some ass. I averaged just under 40 mpw with two cutback weeks and a peak of 51.1 miles. The meat of the plan (very loose plan - I basically went week to week with guidance from my coach rather than mapping the whole thing out from the start) was to get in a lot of work at HMP, long tempos and the like, work up to 15 mile long runs, dropping some MP miles in there as I felt like it, and do some faster-than-HMP running closer to the race as tolerated.

The Race was in Rye, NH - right on the seacoast, close to two hours from my house. Fortunately, my parents live halfway between my town and Rye, so I packed up all my race stuff yesterday and crashed on their couch. Forgot that I was going to the House Where Nobody Eats Breakfast and had to go back out at the last minute to grab a bagel for the morning. Slept OK but not very much - too excited! The 50 minute drive at 6AM wasn't so bad. Got out of the car to pick up my bib and shirt and knew immediately that I'd made a good choice - very chilly in my shorts and long sleeve over club singlet. They put everyone's first name on their bib, which was a nice touch but I don't think it mattered much as crowd support was almost nonexistent until the end - totally appreciated the few people who came out of their houses to cheer for the race though. Milled around for a bit, did my hair and put on sunscreen and cap, got in a 1.5ish mile warmup and finished that off with some dynamic warmups and strides in the parking lot. My legs felt flat and cold when I started out but much better by the end of the strides. One last bathroom break and headed over to the start for the national anthem.

The race is pretty small - 1200 runners total - and the start area is even smaller, so they sent us off in 6 waves according to the finishing time that had to be provided at registration. I had put down 1:55 in December and didn't think 1:50 was enough of a change to correct it; started in Wave 2, probably would have been there either way.

Miles 1-3 I settled into a rhythm and just tried to hold back - lots of miles ahead, no need to waste energy now. Heard one guy behind me completely sucking air before mile 3 and I did not want to be like that! Little bit of surging and weaving in the first quarter to half mile and that was that - wave starts are great. 8:30, 8:25, 8:21. Already questioning my sanity but too late to turn back now.

The interminable middle was interminable. I had wanted to think of the race as 5 miles/5 miles/5K, but really it was more like first 3/fucking forever/Gatorade- and sun-induced pain/last mile. Mostly ignore watch, just keep on pushing, pass people if they seem to be fading. I hung behind a couple of girls around my pace and ditched them at mile 5ish. Hung behind a couple different girls not too long after that and they faded back around mile 8, I think. Skipped most of the water stations until my legs started feeling heavy at mile 8 or so. Grabbed a blue gatorade (crap, I trained with lemon-lime! That seemed like the most common flavor/color, no?), spilled most of it on me but eventually got a sip and chucked it to the side (that mile is the 8:25 split listed, slowed a bit to take the cup and drink). That did the trick - just had to remind my body that nutrition was coming and no, we don't have to stop. Hooked up with another pack of about 5 women shortly after that, passed them all by about mile 10 except for the leader, but eventually ran her down too. I was absolutely 100% positive I had no kick in me whatsoever at this point. 8:20, 8:24, 8:24, 8:15, 8:16, 8:25, 8:15.

The Gatorade- and sun-induced pain miles totally sucked. Like big time. The sun came out around mile 8 but didn't really bother me until I went into the Gatorade pain cave. I'm going to have to play around with fueling over the summer because fuck ever feeling like that again. Stomach was not happy and couldn't tell which end it wanted to use to expel its contents. All I wanted to do was stop and possibly find a bathroom but I pushed on because goddamnit, the faster I ran, the sooner this shit would be over. I wasn't super in control of my legs, I had put them on autopilot miles ago, so I just had to not consciously stop and the legs took care of me. Thanks legs! 8:12, 8:13.

The last mile was where, apparently, I had left my kick during warmup. I reeled in runner after runner. 7:52, 6:19 for 0.06 according to Garmin. A sub-8 mile after 12 miles of anguish, where on earth did that come from??

I may or may not have sworn my way across the finish line from the sheer agony and enormity of running that many miles that fast, but when I looked at my Garmin and it sunk in I was absolutely elated. 1:48:11 on Garmin, 1:48:09.8 chip time.

The course was beautiful and flat and I'd totally run it again. Not much more to say about it than that - very quaint New England coastline.

Got a Gatorade, half a donut, and a clementine, had a post-race calf massage (ahhh), went into Portsmouth for delicious food. Solid race, solid day The last mile has me a little baffled, I feel like it might suggest that I left some time out there in the earlier miles but I honestly don't think I could have run any faster before that. All in all I'm very happy! Next on the agenda: find a 5K to race, base build some more, start marathon training. Next half is October 11, 6 weeks out from my first full marathon in Philly!

Pictures will be coming - they are FREE, woohoo! Race management says they will be up tomorrow.

Nice! You trained very well and it paid off. I never realized you were that fast! The course sounds great but too bad about the lack of crowd support. We've all been there. Congrats again, Lauren.

Am I reading that right, this was your first HM?    Wow, you nailed it!  Congratulations on a great time.  Glancing at the results, there are lots of really fast people there.  You're in really good company!

Wait, wait, wait. HALF a donut?

Fantastic race!  I kind of felt like a quasi training partner with you for this race since it seemed like we were posting the same workouts in the dailies all through this cycle. So I'm thrilled, but not surprised that you did so well.  Can't wait to see what you do in the full.

Congrats! Looks like you had a little negative split even.

Congrats, great job!  And great ESU!!!!

I had no doubt you would kill it!  Congrats!!

Wow! That is great Lauren! From the way you describe it, I don't think you left much time on the field. Sure, your last mile was faster, but to me, it sounds more like will power than a not empty enough tank.