The Johnny Kelley half is the second of a series of three halfs taking place on the Cape (Cape Cod, MA). If you complete all three in the same year, you get a bunch of sweet swag and the privilege of super-awesome-totally-badass status. Okay, so I might be exaggerating, but I wanted to start doing halfs, so why not start with this series?

The day started out much cooler than I had expected. I figured I could wear a light jacket and shed it just before the race, leaving me in a tank and capri tights (my normal running garb). It was chilly enough that it wasn’t until mile 5 that I finally shed the jacket. It was also pretty windy, with gusts along the water that nearly knocked me over, so I was thankful for the windbreaker. The weather, however, was a vast improvement over my first half (back in Feb) since it was a more manageable temp and the conditions were mostly dry.

I was running with my sister (again) and we made specific rules after our less-than-impressive half debut in February:

1. Eat properly
2. Drink properly
3. That does not mean tequila until 1am the night before
4. Sleep more than 4 hours
5. Do not arrive late and rushing in the morning
6. Be better prepared for the weather
7. No stopping to pee on the course

(Rules 1-4 were kind of specific to me……)

We had a very sad time of 2:34 on our first half, so I knew I could beat that, but I wanted to put up a respectable time, born of genuine effort, that I could train to beat for the last race of the series in the fall.

So with that, we ate and drank properly and were in bed by 10:30 the night before the race. We awoke with ample time to grab some food, drink coffee and water, and get to the race to pick up our bibs and walk around a bit. We are from the area so we just sat in the local 7-Eleven to stay warm and didn’t feel the need to look around at the touristy stuff prior to the race. Five min before the gun, we headed to the start line and waited.

I felt pretty good before the race. I felt energized and excited and focused. So when the gun went off, I was ready to go. I settled in after about 2 miles, reminding myself to stay slow and not to take off like a bat out of hell just because I felt good. Things seemed pretty easy and my pace was consistent. I was worried that I would feel great and then peter out at the end like I had the first time, so I continued to remind myself to keep it slow and save my energy for the long haul. I’m not speedy, so my “slow” is probably agonizing to others, lol.

The course itself was almost exactly the same as the first half. But, the Army Corps of Engineers had determined a bridge on the original route was too washed out and the construction to the bridge that was supposed to have been completed before race day was not, and they had to reroute the course last minute. So, thought most of the roads were the same, I did get to amble through some neighborhoods I hadn’t seen before. There were some gentle hills sprinkled throughout the course, but nothing formidable or truly strenuous.

My son, nieces, and brother-in-law were waiting for us between miles 7 and 8 so just when I was starting to get a little antsy, we saw them up in the distance. They were screaming their bloody brains out for us and I have to admit, I almost cried. It’s so nice to have someone cheering you on and this is the first time I’ve had family come out to watch me. It was damn nice. I picked my little guy up and squeezed him tight, and it gave me the mental boost I needed to feel great the rest of the race.

During the race, my sister and I kept saying how good we felt. No numbness, no aches, no mental breakdown. Every once in awhile, I’d check my pace to see if we were slowing down and I was surprised each time to find we were actually pretty consistent. That alone was a good mental booster. I didn’t take any water or Gatorade until mile 9 and only every other stop after that. Everything seemed to be in working order so I didn’t want to do anything to compromise the machine, lol.

When we rounded the corner to mile 12, we decided to boost it up a bit and finish strong. There was a moment when I thought, You shouldn’t do that. Do what you know and finish as planned. If you over do it, you’ll end up walking across the finish line instead of running. But with the confidence I’d been building throughout the race, I decided that I can go faster and finish stronger. So that’s what I did.

When I crossed the finish line, I knew I had PRed big time. And that accomplishment was only enhanced by the surprise appearance of my childhood best friend, her boyfriend, and her father (former B.A.A. exec) and their MASSIVE poster they had made for me. All three are runners and it was great to be able to share the accomplishment with folks who know how challenging it can be. They’ve watched me grow up and know how much of a personal challenge it was to “become a runner” considering I’d never, ever wanted to be one before last year.

Though my pacing is not as impressive as some of you speedsters, here is the breakdown:

1: 10:35

2: 10:24

3: 10:42

4: 10:56

5: 10:30

6: 10:21

7: 10:43

8: 10:42

9: 10:46

10: 10:42

11: 10:46

12: 10:18

13: 9:56

14: 9:41

Official time was 2:22:34 with an average pace of 10:53. So my gps may be a little off, but that’s still an improvement over my first half by almost 1 mile/min. Not too shabby

The course did run a bit long, so I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to beat the new personal best at the next half in the fall. With even more diligent training and maybe a little more dedication to speed work and hill training, I can definitely put up an even stronger showing the next time. All in all though, I came away feeling absolutely fabulous and was super proud of setting and meeting my goal. Makes me wanna go out and run right now, actually

And here are some pics:

Anna and me at the start line, looking like the n00bs we truly are:

Anna on the course, sporting our company's race shirt (they pay our entry fees if we wear their gear):

The sign Liz made at 1am the night before. She swore up and down that she wasn't drink when she made it. I think she may've been lying, lol:

That's my medal on the sign. I wish you could see it better. I'll post official race photos if there are any good ones later.

Thanks for reading!!

Awww... Amy, I love that you can race with your sister. I envy you even. You girls did great! What a nice fat PR! Congrats! And awwww to when you picked up your little guy, what great fun it must be for him to watch his mom do something so cool. And awww again at your childhood friend and her family waiting for you at the finish line. You are a much loved person, obviously. You must be such a great individual! And you and your sis are really adorable!

Nice PR and it looks like you had fun doing it.

Congrats on a new PR, nice pics..

Great race report and pictures Amy. Funny about your rules, and I think that's great that you can do the series with your sister.

Congrats to you and your sister on your half!  Way to go on your new PR!

LOL.  Tequila and racing generally don't make the best of companions.

Excellent!   That is a huge PR.  Congrats on no tequila! lol