Jamie: "Caitlin, do you want to do a guest post about your first half marathon?"
Caitlin: "Ow. Guest post done."
Friday, July 13, 2012
On Friday afternoon we set out on our way to the great state of Rhode Island for the second installment of the Unitedhealthcare Triple Crown. Read about the first part of this series
here.
After a quick stop at the Wrentham outlets, we picked up our race packets, and checked into our hotel (we opted to spend the night in RI due to the 6:30 am start). Caitlin and I then headed north to Providence to pick up Drew who is not on staycation and took the commuter rail down from Boston.
We enjoyed a delicious pre-race meal at the Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, RI (see excited for the race, and excited to be wearing my new fluorescent shirt photo below).
Following dinner we headed back to Middletown, RI, set our alarms for 4:45 am and hit the hay.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
After a seamless start to the day (bagels and PB are now a pre-race routine), we boarded the shuttles to the start of the race!
This was the first annual Jamestown half marathon and despite a few hiccups before the race (the port-a-potties were not delivered on time and there was no bag check), we crossed the start line just after the gun went off.
Mile 1: 10:34 - A little slower than we usually start however slower miles seemed to be the theme of the day.
Mile 2: 9:52 - We picked it up a little, saw the first of very few fans on the course, and began to find our groove.
Mile 3: 10:04 - Began to realize that maybe this race was not going to be as flat and fast as I hoped. Who knew there could be so many hills on such a small island!?
Mile 4: I hit the first of few turns on the course, continued over a rather rugged road section, passing a few people along the way.
Mile 5: More running, more hills, and then some more hills.
Mile 6: My memory of this portion of the race is a little hazy but I'm pretty sure I passed this marker at 59 minutes. I was convinced that the miles were longer than they should be and that I was running way faster than 10 minute miles. Turns out the miles were actually the right length, go figure.
Mile 7: About half way down the island at this point, more rolling hills, some busier roads, and a sweet looking wind mill. Best homemade sign during this mile "Run like a fugitive."
Mile 8: Cows, water station, another hill at 8.3.
Mile 9: Into the town, more "fans" (unexpecting locals out to pick up the paper).
Mile 10: Passed at 1:36:00. Leaving the main part of town, into quieter neighborhoods. And yes, you guessed it - MORE HILLS. Not as rolling at this point, more short and steep.
Mile 11: Starting to feel it in my knees, but knew I had less than 2 miles left so continued to push through the exhaustion.
Mile 12: Out of the hilly neighborhoods, past the last water station, and along the beach towards the Jamestown Bridge in the distance. At this point I knew I wasn't going to PR and was quite ready for the race to be over.
Mile 13: Final push. And to keep with the theme of the morning, more hillz.
Finish: An uncomfortably steep DOWNHILL through the finish. This makes for very fast sprint through the finish, and some high quality finishing shots.
Finish Time: 2:02:55
Pace: 9:23
Some additional quotes about the race from the Unitedhealthcare Triple Crown Facebook page:
"Holy shnikes Jamestown was the toughest half I have run. The hills were alive with the sound of runners grunting... and sweating..."
"Hilly indeed!"
"Hills, hills, and.... more hills. Mile 13? Really? I was saying "WTF".... where's the finish?"
"That last half mile was absolute torture."
"I agree too hilly!!! Very unexpected."
"I forgot to mention, where did all of those hills come from!!!!!!"
