Beginners and Beyond

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Chambersburg Half Marathon (Read 36 times)

GinnyinPA


    I have run this race before, as it is our longest local race. The course is rural, past farms and fields and sleepy cows, and is notoriously hilly. The hills aren't bad, just gentle rollers, but it adds up to about 650' gain and loss. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 28 degrees at the start. There was a bit of a breeze - about 8 mph - which made it cold when facing into it, but otherwise wasn't much of an issue. It is a small race - usually 200-300 people, but can have some very fast runners (1:10:29 winner).

     

    Since I am in the middle of marathon training, I didn't taper for the race aside from cutting my MLR on Wednesday from 12 to 9 miles. I really felt that lack of taper. I remember being told years ago that the first 5 miles of a half should feel really easy. They didn't. None of the miles felt easy, except the last one. I set my Virtual Pacer to 8:40 to help keep me on track. It was sometimes a struggle to stay close to that pace. Fortunately I had several people around me running about my pace so I could use them as motivators, reeling them in one by one or sometimes playing leapfrog with them. The hills were interesting. I run this course fairly often, so I knew what to expect. The biggest hills are at 3, 7 and 9, so spread out, but there is very little that is flat.  I am in good enough shape the hills were not as bad as I expected and the downhills felt faster and easier than usual, which helped a lot. I think all my downhill training for Boston paid off today. Some days the course feels like nothing but long uphills. Today it felt just gently rolling. It's a lollipop course so the first and last four miles are done in both directions and there is an out and back at mile 6.5-7.5 where I got to see runners going in the other direction, though not the frontrunners since they were close to finishing at about the time I ran that portion. I enjoy seeing the other runners though, and saying hello to those I know.

     

    I ran a HM in October at 1:54:27, so my goal today was to PR if possible, but at least to get under 1:55 again. I ended up with 1:53:05, so a decent PR. I was first of two in my AG (60-65) but actually beat all the 50-59 women as well.  I feel good about my time. I don't feel great about how hard it felt. According to my Garmin, my HR got up to 191, so I would say I was working harder than usual.

    Docket_Rocket


      Congratulations!  Nice new PR and placement.  Must feel good going into the marathon and racing this hard.

      Damaris

       

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      Half Crazy K 2.0


        Congrats on the PR and AG placement!

        Bert-o


        I lost my rama

          Awesome job Ginny!  Especially with no taper.  And yes, that hill work will pay dividends come April.  Congrats on a great race!

          3/17 - NYC Half

          4/28 - Big Sur Marathon  DNS

          6/29 - Forbidden Forest 30 Hour

          8/29 - A Race for the Ages - will be given 47 hours

          Cyberic


            Huge congrats Ginny. Super PR and placing. Hard work pays!

            Coastal


              Congrats Ginny!  You've worked hard for it.

              RunningOnSand


                You are amazeballs  Awesome job and incredibly well done!

                LRB


                  Nice job. PRs are hard to come by when you've been at it as long as some of us have, and more impressive that you trained through it.

                   

                  Where are you staying in the land of beer and beans?

                  onemile


                    Congrats on the PR! I totally disagree that the first 5 miles of a half should feel easy and I really don't think you should feel bad about how hard it felt. You raced!

                    GinnyinPA


                      Nice job. PRs are hard to come by when you've been at it as long as some of us have, and more impressive that you trained through it.

                       

                      Where are you staying in the land of beer and beans?

                       

                      We have a B&B in Cambridge. I'm too cheap to stay at one of the hotels near the finish line, nice as that would be. This way we're only a couple of miles away, so getting to and fro should be easy.

                      LRB


                        We have a B&B in Cambridge. I'm too cheap to stay at one of the hotels near the finish line, nice as that would be. This way we're only a couple of miles away, so getting to and fro should be easy.

                         

                        I stayed in Cambridge and had no issues. The subway trains there travel at the speed of light. You can practically feel your face being pulled while seated. lol

                        Runshortii


                          Awesome PR and great job on the hills! I also disagree that the first 5 miles of a HM should feel really easy. Of the 8 or 9 HMs I’ve done I don’t think any of them felt easy the first 5 miles, and I tend to start conservative.


                          delicate flower

                            Nice job, Ginny!  That is awesome to throw down a PR in the middle of marathon training without a taper.  I hope you got a good AG award.

                             

                            The course is rural, past farms and fields and sleepy cows, and is notoriously hilly.

                             

                            Sounds like the February HM we have here, and I love that race.  Smile  Cows, goats, chickens, and horse poop in the road.

                            <3

                            PleasantRidge


                            Warm&fuzzy

                              Nice job!  I am totally envious.

                              Runner with a riding problem.

                                Congratulations Ginny!!!  That's a great PR, you are kicking ass!  Nice job beating out the 50s too Wink

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