I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for all your advice and support during my training for this race. I asked a ton of questions and you all always responded with such good advice, as well as learning a lot from all of your Dailies posts and race reports....for all that information and advice I am so so grateful!!!

Short Version: On Saturday, October 12^th, 2013, I ran my first half marathon, as part of the Baltimore Running Festival. The BRF includes a 5K, half marathon, full marathon, and marathon team relay option.  I had a primary goals of sub-2:30 (under 11:27 minute miles), under 2:24 (under 11 minute miles) and a reach goal of 2:20. I finished with 2:21:47 and was more than thrilled!!!

Long Version: This is a long report, but it was my first half marathon, and 13.1 miles is a long race so oh well lol….. enjoy my verbose report….and if you get too bored, at least enjoy the pictures!

Background: This race was a year in a making for me. Last year, I ran the 5K in the Baltimore Running Festival and it was my first race ever. One of my roommates from college, Janis, who I have remained good friends with, lives in Baltimore and was running the half marathon last year and it would be her first half. She convinced me to come down and run the 5K. So I decided to train and run it. Thank goodness I did, because it changed my life.  I had an AMAZING experience at the running festival last year, both running my first 5K (I finished in 37:07) and watching Janis finish her first half. Riding the high of our race finishes, Janis told me that next year, I should come back and run the half. I like long term goals, so I bought an “In Training for the Baltimore Running Festival” shirt from the merch tent to wear to remind me of this goal. I kept this goal in mind all year, and it kept me working hard. Since the Baltimore Running Festival 5K last year, I have finished 20 races of distances 5K, 4M, 10K, 15K and 10M…some I raced for PRs, some I ran for fun. I registered for this year’s half on the first day of registration and began officially training the first week of June.

Janis and I at the Baltimore Running Festival last year, after my first 5K/first race ever, and her first HM:

Training: I bought a customized Running Wizard 20 week plan. Running Wizard is based on the principals of Arthur Lydiard and has phases meant to build off each other. The first and longest phase is the Aerobic phase and this phase in my particular plan emphasized a lot of easy miles, long runs, and 2 informal speedwork runs per week--a fartlek and an up-tempo out and back. Then there is a short Hill phase for leg strengthening, a short Anaerobic phase which was speedwork heavy, and then a Coordination phase which was also speed heavy, and then a taper. Things were going very well throughout the Aerobic phase, which lasted most of the summer. However, I went on a 2 week vacation at the end of August during what was supposed to be the Anaerobic  phase and although I ran quite a bit on vacation, I really didn’t do the intervals and such. I decided after that I didn't have much choice but to forget the speedy part of the plan and then just redid the last few weeks of the Aerobic phase when I got back…. I knew that it would affect my time and I would not finish as fast as following the plan to a T would have allowed, but I would be able to cover the distance, and that was fine by me for my first. I had completed 4 runs of 9 miles plus a 15K race 6 weeks out, two 10 miles runs and a 10 mile race I ran as a training run back in June, and two 11 mile runs.

Goals: I gave a lot of thought as to what realistic goals for myself would be. I had raced a 15K in mid-August and ran a 1:34:25, a 10:08 pace. This translates to a 2:15:51 HM, 10:22 pace according to McMillan...but A) I know that McMillan equivalencies aren't accurate for beginners, and B) My 15K was a flat and fast course that is so ideal that they host a marathon called Chasing the Unicorn there to help people BQ. The Baltimore Half has a reputation for being a tough, hilly course. It is impossible to compare the 2. I was pretty sure hoping for sub-2:16 was only setting myself up for disappointment. I decided that of course, my main goal was just to finish. But I had a few others too:

D. Sub 2:30 (11:27 pace) I figured with some race day magic it was reasonable to hope I could cover 13.1 at a slightly faster clip than my longest training runs, which were done between 11:30 and 12:00 minute miles

C. Sub 2:24 (under 11:00 minute miles) I would be thrilled if my average pace was anything starting with a "10"

B. Under 2:22:47....I am a little competitive, so secretly I was dying to beat my friend Janis's time at the Baltimore Half last year, which was 2:22:47

A. I decided a good "reach" goal was 2:20

Race Plan: I spent plenty of time analyzing the elevation profile as it was pretty integral to developing a strategy. I decided that I definitely wanted to be conservative at the beginning, because the first half of the race was definitely front loaded with hills, with 3-6.5 being mostly uphill, and 10-13.1 being mostly downhill. I wanted to start comfortably, run the hills as best I could without expending too much effort, and then pick it up from miles 7 on if I could and hope for maybe a negative split.

Elevation Profile on the Website:

Pre-Race: I took off work on Friday to head down to Baltimore from Brooklyn, NY to  attend the Expo. I didn’t do that last year, I just had Janis get my packet and came down after work, but this year I really wanted to have the whole experience. The Expo was awesome, and I bought WAY TOO MUCH. Under Armour is the sponsor of the BRF, and all the official merchandise was really nice UA stuff, plus there were great discounts on other running stuff like socks and Body Glide. I may have gone a little overboard in my excitement. Oops?

I was staying with Janis who lives right in the city of Baltimore. Unfortunately, she was not racing due to injury, but would be volunteering at the race, and was really excited to be a part of my first HM. I finished at the Expo almost exactly when she got home from work, and I headed to her apartment. We went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Fell’s Point (carb loading yay!). My parents decided to make the trip down for the race (they have been my biggest running fans and I love it!) and my parents had arrived in Baltimore by the time we were done with dinner so we met them for dessert (I only had a little bit of a canoli because I was worried about eating too much).

I slept terrible that night. So nervous! I woke up a ton and probably only got a total of 3-4 hours. The alarm went off at 5:30. The half did not start until 9:45, but Janis had to be there at 7:00 to volunteer and it just seemed easier to go with her. The marathon started at 8:00 and the 5K at 8:15 and I decided that would be fun to watch those start, and see the fast 5K finishers. Because of all the free time I would have, I took my breakfast of banana, bagel with peanut butter, coffee and Gatorade to go and ate it after I got Janis to her volunteer post (bag check area). It had been raining in Baltimore for days, and there was a 30% chance of rain throughout the race, and was supposed to be low 60s. I wore a bright pink I Run 4 Judy short sleeved tech shirt (who is Judy? Story here: http://www.runningahead.com/groups/BF_and_Beyond/forum/b9b2288648cb49759b200ebde66d903e/0), a Sparkle Skirt, and a visor in case it rained. While it drizzled a bit before the race, and started raining harder right after I finished, it did not end up raining while I was running.

It also may be worth mentioning that I had a cold all week before the race, and was still rather congested, even though I felt fine otherwise. But ugh.....running with a stuffy nose is no fun. Snot rockets!

Pre-Race photo:

I met up with another friend before the half started….a woman I had met during the Baltimore 10 Mile race in June because we were both wearing Sparkle Skirts and running at a similar pace. We got to talking, and it turns out she is my boyfriend’s neighbor, and now we run together often when I am down there. She was with a lot of friends who all had Sparkle Skirts on, so we all got a pic.

And here is the two of us heading to the corrals:

The Race: Start time was 9:45. It was cloudy and about 62 degrees, and the drizzle that had been on and off all morning had stopped. I was in the 3rd wave out of 5 for the half. I lined up at the very start of the 3rd wave. There was a long walk from the corral staging area to the start and just played follow the leader....there were plenty of people to follow as the half had almost 10,000 runners. My mom caught a pic of me as I walked by towards the starting line, I am the one with my hands up if you look closely:

For reference throughout my RR, here is the elevation profile off my Garmin, which I think tells the story better than the one off the website that I used to decide on a race plan:

First mile: I always, always, always start too fast. And my ability to judge effort vs pace during the first mile of a race is about as accurate as a blind person trying to hit a bulls eye on a dart board. I could swear I’m taking it easy, and then look at my Garmin and see like 9:05. I had promised myself not to allow myself to finish the first mile a second faster than 10:30, and had to do more Garmin watching than I wanted to in order to keep this in check. But when it beeped, I was very pleased to see 10:32.

Second mile: I settled into the pace and effort level, tried to stick to my race plan and run the uphills at an effort that felt easy-ish, and let my legs go on the downhills (for me I think it takes more energy to try to slow myself down on the downhills, so I just let gravity do it's job). There is a decently significant uphill and then immediate downhill in this mile, so I ran this mile by effort and did not really look at the Garmin, and in fact missed the beep and never knew my split for it until after the race. It was 10:24.

Third Mile: We merged with the full marathon runners towards the end of this mile, who were in their 16^th mile, and would run the next 10 miles together, which was pretty cool. I don’t remember much else about this mile, except I think there was a water stop and I grabbed a cup and walked for a second to drink it. 10:20

Fourth Mile: The long climb began. From the 3^rd mile marker to a little after the 6^th mile marker the course basically goes on a steady uphill, with a few slight undulations on the way. It is never particularly steep for the most part, but is pretty relentless, and I kind of was prepared for these miles to be my slowest and promised myself not to push too hard on the hills. I wasn’t expecting another aid station until the 5^th mile marker, but the next one was actually before we even got to 4.5. I looked at the elapsed time on my Garmin, and it was exactly 45 minutes, so I decided to take my first GU. I grabbed 2 cups of water (they were less than half full) and walked for a second while I took half the GU, drank a cup, had the other half and drank the second cup. Mmmmm salted caramel GU delish! 10:47

Fifth Mile: More uphill. 10:51

Sixth Mile: The hill gets steeper near the top. I am SO ready to be done with this hill but I just keep chugging along. 11:25

Seventh Mile: Just after the 6^th mile marker we get a short downhill (finally), but then immediately followed by a short but steep uphill (ugh, no more!). At the top of that last uphill there was a man with a sign that said “It’s All Downhill From Here”…. and I was so happy to see that sign I could have hugged him, lol. At about 6.5 we start our loop around Lake Montebello, which was quite pleasant (and flat). I happened to glance at my Garmin at exactly 6.55 miles, so out of curiosity I looked at the elapsed time and remember it was 1:10 and change. 10:26

Eighth Mile: 11:03

Ninth Mile: 10:52

Tenth Mile: This was the worst mile of the race for me mentally. In my memory from the elevation profile that I had studied before the race, after we hit 6.5 there wasn’t much in terms of hills for the rest of the race. Well, this isn’t entirely true. There were a few little hills in this mile, and even though nothing compared to the beginning of the race, for some reason to me they felt like mountains. And looking at the elevation profile post-race, there is actually more downhill this mile than up....but I do not remember going downhill, only up lol. There was “supposed” to be an aid station at the 9^th mile marker. I know those maps aren’t always accurate, and they had not been for the rest of the race and I had no reason to think it would be for this one. But I planned to take my second GU at the 9^th mile marker and was REALLY looking forward to it. I actually got it out of my pocket and ripped off the top in anticipation when I saw the 9^th mile marker. Right after the mile marker, we began a “small” (I swear it felt huge) uphill, and I could not see the aid station, and for some reason this was a little soul crushing. The aid station finally appeared around 9.5, and I was almost in tears (strange the things that really affect us during races for better or for worse isn’t it?) I took my GU with 2 waters while I walked. I saw that there were no lines at the porta potties at this aid station. There were porta potties at every aid station (approximately every 1.5 miles) but they always had LONG lines. I didn’t have to pee REALLY bad, but I did kind of have to go and I decided to take advantage of no line and went. I also was excited to really blow my nose, as I am terrible at snot rockets. And kind of appreciated the private few seconds to take a deep breath and tell myself to lady up and stop whining in my own head. Shortly after my GU and potty stop, a large man in a bright orange shirt was playing loud salsa music and salsa dancing right on the road, and I took a second and did a few dance moves with him and this was oddly a huge spirit lifter. 11:54

Eleventh Mile: When I saw the 10^th mile marker I was over the moon!!! I knew a huge downhill was coming, and that most of the rest of the race would be downhill, and there was only 5K left! 5K!!! That is IT!!! Easy peasy!! Forget about the 10 miles you just ran....it is time to run downhill 5K! Let’s DO THIS! I dropped the hammer. 10:08

Twelfth Mile: Umm may have been a bit overzealous in the previous mile. I seemed to have dropped my hammer, and it turns out I still had work to do. I hadn’t nailed it yet, and there was no way I was ready to just screw it (like my allegory?!) So I picked the hammer back up. In my memory from the elevation profile, it was mostly downhill from the 10^th mile marker til the end but in actuality this mile is mostly uphill…and it just about killed me. There was a bridge in this mile I hadn’t known about and was in no mood for it. Everything hurt. My legs were SHOT. My feet hurt, and my knees, and my hips and my lower back. My quads were shot. Nothing hurt like INJURY hurt….it’s hard to explain because I have never felt like this before. In fact, the usual suspects (my left IT band, my right inner knee, and my calves) were staying quiet, but every part of my body was exhausted and achy. It took a lot of mental toughness to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 11:06

Thirteenth Mile: Right at the beginning of this mile, I saw my guardian angels pictured below. People in red underwear handing out Dixie cups of free beer to runners. I took a beer from a man with a Viking helmet and red briefs (not pictured) and it made me LIFE. It was probably a Bud Light but it was the best beer of my life.Someone got a pic of 2 of them and put it on the BRF facebook page:

During this mile, the City of Baltimore carried me to the finish line, metaphorically speaking. We turned onto Eutaw Street, and people were lined up on either side, 5 people deep, all screaming. I took out my headphones and took it all in. About .2 miles from the finish line, we ran passed Camden Yards, and then the finish line was in sight. The crowd was huge. I took in so much energy from the atmosphere, I forgot I was hurting. 10:16

Last .18 (Garmin measurement): FINISH LINEEEEE!!!!! 9:51 pace

Official Time: 2:21:47, 10:48 pace

Finished: Check

Under 2:30: Check

Under 2:24: Check

Beat Janis’s 2:22:47 from last year: Check….by exactly a minute

2:20: Meh. Not too upset about that one!

Best signs on the course: "You're Running Better Than the Government," "Trust in the Training," "I Know a Shortcut," "Will You Marry Me? If Yes, Keep Running!" (that person had thousands of people accept his marriage proposal!), "Baltimore Marathon Today, Law and Order SVU Marathon Tomorrow."

Post-Race Reflection: I was hoping for a slightly negative split, as the back half of the course looks much easier than the front based on the elevation profile. Thank goodness I started conservatively with that in mind, because I am sure I would have been death marching had I not. I ended up with about a minute and a half positive split, which, when all is said and done I am quite content with. Most of that minute and a half was lost in the 10th mile, when I walked a bit while taking a GU, made a porta potty stop, and was having a bit of a tough time, so....meh. I finished my first 5K one year ago with a time of 37:07 and a pace of 11:57, finished my first 10K in December of last year at 1:07:46 with a pace of 10:54, both of those courses significantly easier than this one, and I have now finished my first half with a 10:48 pace....so getting faster and faster while running farther and farther over the past year makes me happy. I thought I ran the race as well as I possibly could, and I am very pleased with my effort and the experience overall.

Photographer Pics:

Post Race: There was a ridiculous crowd of runners in the finishing chute. Had to wait FOREVER for water, then space blanket, then medal, then porta potties, then beer and free runner food. But I guess finishing with a half marathon clock time of 2:30 and 4:15 on the full marathon clock time this was to be expected I guess. Janis was able to get into the “runners only” area with her volunteer pass and kept me company while I waited in line for all these things, and then we went to the reunion area to meet up with my parents. After hanging out in Celebration Village for a bit, the 3 of us went for lunch and more beer. Then I showered at Janis’s apartment (best shower of my life!) Later that evening my boyfriend came to Baltimore (he lives about a half hour outside the city, but because of some work issues couldn’t come in til evening) and we went to an awesome Brazillian steak house with my parents for more food and wine.  I was absolutely over the moon! I was very happy with how my first half marathon went!! And BRF is definitely a great running festival that I would highly recommend.

Post Race Pics:

Janis and I:

Erica and I:

Swag: Nice gender-specific, long sleeved UA tech shirt and I love my medal!

What’s Next? I plan to spend the rest of the fall season concentrating on PRing at shorter distances. My 10K PR is soft as a puppy’s fur, and my 5K PR was set at the beginning of May and I would love to set a new one too. Then, in December, I am going to start fresh with a new Running Wizard plan for an April half. Since I have covered the half distance already and don’t need to build up to it, Running Wizard is structuring my Aerobic phase a little differently this time, and several of my long runs call for distances of 12-15 miles, so I may throw in some winter/early spring half marathons as supported training runs. I guess we shall see!!!

THANK YOU for reading, and again for all your support and advice!

Fantastic job, Kristen! I liked the detail of your RR, and how you describe the mental battle near the end. The progression in time that you've accomplished over the past year is really cool - faster paces at ever longer distances! I'm sure you're going to continue that kind of improvement, too. What's your goal going to be for the half next April? Something like 2:15? Maybe faster?! Good luck!

Congratulations on your first HM! By the looks of it I don't think it will be your last. That 2:20 is so close and I don't think it will be a problem for your to smash it!

Thanks bozy, lilac and brr!

Kiwi- I will figure out goals as training goes on. RunningWizard seems to think I can do 2:06 (!!!) but we shall see I guess....seems like quite a stretch but who knows!

Phillie- Thanks! I did lose 20 pounds since this time  last year!

Congratulations and all that jazz but I WANT A CRAB MEDAL! 

Congrats on your first. Great job!

Very cool!!  Congrats!!

Love the swag!!  I'm on a "green & orange" kick lately so that shirt & medal are friggin awesome looking!!

Also, loved the bit about the best beer ever........in a Dixie cup, no less....LOL   

Great job, Kristin!  I am glad everything worked out for you and that you killed this HM!