Extra Jam Please: FHR does Hyannis Half Marathon

^^Maura's face clearly shows how we all were feeling pre-race!

^^snazzy singlets.

^^and then I ate a hamburger in less than 3 minutes.

Notice how all of these photos were taken inside?

There's a reason - rain.

Even though it rained throughout the entirety of today's race, the ten hardcore/extreme/dedicated Forest Hills Runners who ran and resilient cheering squad were all smiles after the race.

As far as the race was concerned; the goal was to run the race comfortably, but not hold back too, too much at the same time. I ran with my Garmin, but didn't look at it until I crossed the finish line since I was running by feel rather than by checking my watch constantly. I attempted to keep an even pace throughout the whole race and managed to do that for the first ~9.5 miles.

After I passed the 10 mile mile marker I was pretty soaked and starting to get a little cold. I decided that I would pick up the pace a bit until the finish. This tactic led to miles 12 and 13 being quite quick, but after a very comfortably paced race I was feeling good about it (plus I was VERY ready to be done at this point).

The course was pretty flat with only one or two short hills throughout the whole race. It wove next to the water and through neighborhoods for the majority of the race. Honestly, I had trouble remembering any specifics from the race (probably due to the fact I was so focused on running comfortably and trying not to let the rain bother me). There were a couple memorable spots by the beach with boarded up snack shakes and boat rental shops (which made me really excited for summer)! Other than that, just a lot of cape-y homes and neighborhoods.

All in all, it wasn't my favorite course (and probably my least favorite race conditions in the last year), but having so many of our running group complete the half today was really something special. It's so nice to be part of such a great group of people who trained all winter together and to see everyone's hard work pay off! Congrats to all the runners out there (and especially the full marathoner's who ran the second lap in even worse conditions than we had)!!

And here are my splits and route map!

Official Time: 1:58:56