And the Hampton Beach Half Marathon is Done!!!

Yes it is!  I am very excited to share a "race report."  This is my first event since my Olympic Tri in July 2012 and baby #2!!!!  I had a blast getting back out there.  My race day jitters were surprisingly low key for me....I am generally pretty darn nervous before any event.  The weather was perfect- cold at the start with a race day temperature of the mid-40's but I felt great once we got going.  I didn't even need the hat and gloves I brought along.  Maybe spring is on the way? Ha!

Overall, the race went well for me.  My finishing time was 2:18, which as I predicted, is significantly slower than my previous half marathon at 2:06 when baby #1 was just about 11 months old.  I will get back there and faster!  My average per mile pace was 10:36, which I can't complain about as most of my long runs were in the 11:30-11:40 range.  I did set out too fast as I had no idea what my current pace was until the 3 mile mark, which I hit at 30 minutes into the race.  So much for negative splits!  The course had great views of the coast and was virtually flat- hooray! 

One thing I noticed very clearly is that my breathing and heart rate felt GREAT!  My struggle was with my legs- they just would. not. go.  any. faster.  I could comfortably talk, until maybe the very end.  As you can see in my pictures, my face isn't too flushed and believe me when I tell you that I am a red faced runner!  I'm thinking my legs just need to get used to distance again and probably could do with a healthy dose of strength, hills and intervals.  I did none of those things this training cycle.

So, there you have it!  Half marathon #1 of the year done and 12 weeks to go until the next one.  I am going to juggle up the training plan a bit and work to get stronger in addition to getting used to these long runs again.  Here are some of my race day pics to capture my happy running day.


Any race experiences to share?

Advice for legs that just won't go?

Have a great week!