Binghamton Bridge Run Half Marathon

 A half marathon in my hometown of Binghamton that features 4 bridge crossings and a nice tour of the west side of Binghamton. This is a good race for spectators as the course is easy for a spectator to spot you three or more times with just a little movement. There is also a lot of spectator support and a good number of water stations, at least six.  Easy parking as well as the start and finish are by a baseball stadium with ample parking. I ran this race in 1:44:15 back in 2015 and managed 1:55 this time. I may try it again next year.

Hampton Half Marathon 2024

 I ran the Hampton Half Marathon again today. It felt very good - better than the Jingle Bell Half or the Harborside Half races I ran in the last few months. Yet my finish time was within a few seconds of those races. Remarkable that my last three half marathons have all been 1:54:xx. 

I did finish strong in this race, running the last three miles in 25:29,  just about the time I've been running the weekly D5K lately.

Jingle Bell Half 2023

 I ran the Jingle Bell Half again this year. I forgot what a difficult course it is. It's a fun race, though, with the Christmas theme and the excellent race organization. One great thing about the race is that the parking is right next to the start and finish line at Northern Essex Community College. My time was within a minute of my time at the Harborside Half, which is something of an achievement as the Jingle Bell course is significantly more difficult than Harborside. I'm glad I was able to lose 5 lbs since Harborside or I would have been struggling to keep it under 2 hours.

Harborside Half Marathon

 I ran the Harborside Half this past weekend, finishing in 1:54:35. That was about what I'd expected given how fast I had been on the training runs.

I haven't weighed myself in a long time and I guessed I was somewhere between 190 and 195. When I stepped on the scale this morning it said 202.8! Ha! I'm surprised I was able to run a 1:54 half that heavy. It does mean I can run some better times in upcoming races if I can shed some of that weight.

Harborside Half Marathon

 I ran the Harborside Half Marathon in Newburyport on Sunday. My half marathon PR (1:40:01) is on this course way back in 2015. I certainly didn't challenge that this weekend!

I didn't know what to expect for this race, since I haven't run many races this year. Also, I'm about 20 lbs over my good running weight, which is 180 lbs or lower (on the rare occasions I could get there). Lately I've been barely holding it under 200.

There couldn't be any complaints about the weather. It was threatening to rain, but never really did, staying in the low 50's with just a slight breeze. Perfect. I started out well enough, with an 8:36 mile and I felt strong. Usually I run best without looking at my watch, so I stopped looking at it after mile 1 and just ran a pace I felt comfortable I could sustain over the race. It turns out I immediately slowed down (without realizing it), running over 9 min miles. My quads never really warmed up either; usually I feel them the first couple of miles then they feel good. In this race, they never felt good and they felt a bit thrashed the whole race.

I  finally looked at my watch after mile 9 and was shocked to see the 9:11 on it. I was hoping to run in the low 1:50's, and maybe challenge for a sub 1:50, but with the pace I was at I would be lucky to break 2 hours. Saying "f*** this!" to myself,  I sped up and ran a slightly less than 9 min mile pace for the last 4 miles, enough to get me under 2 hours.

There was a little good news in that I didn't get hurt and my joints held up pretty well.

Jingle Bell Half Marathon 2021

I ran the Jingle Bell Half Marathon, the same race I did two years ago in a time of 1:48. This time I did it in 1:55:47. This course isn't easy, with over 500 feet of elevation gain. I'm not in the greatest running shape - mostly because of weight - and did about as well as I could expect. I'm more impressed with how I did two years ago on this course!

This race is a great one to run. At Northern Essex Community College, there is plenty of parking near the start and finish lines (which are essentially the same place.) There was good swag including a hooded pullover and a long sleeve t-shirt. Good post-race food including bananas, energy bars, pizza and hot chocolate. It's an attractive course as well with a lot of farms and animals to look at. Not a course to PR on, but certainly an enjoyable race.

Hampton Half Marathon

 Today I ran the first race in more than a year... and it was the last race I ran last year, the Hampton Half Marathon. Not having raced in a year, I really didn't know what to expect. Furthermore, the first half mile is run on the sand on the beach! That's new this year and is part of the race plan for social distancing. The rest of the course is similar to what it was last year. The start was staggered.  Runners were given a specific time to show up at the start on the beach and were sent off in 10 second intervals.

I'm still running no more than 20 miles/week, with a lot of time on the Nordic Track. This course is mostly flat, but includes some long inclines in miles 6, 7 and 8. I wasn't sure how I'd handle the hills after the initial half mile in the sand, or what kind of recovery I might make after the hills. It turns out that all that time on the Nordic Track helps, because my quads had second and third winds in them. My joints mostly cooperated as well. My knee and hip became a little sore in the last 5k, but not bad and not any worse than on any of my training runs. There was enough left in the old bones to make the last 5k my fastest part of the race.

Hopefully things will hold together and this year will be a good racing year.

Hampton Half Marathon

The first race of the season is in the books, the Hampton Half Marathon that I ran last Sunday.  I have a knack, it seems for just barely missing running goals. I was hoping to run sub 1:50 and ran 1:50:03.

As I did in the Jingle Bell Half Marathon in December, I didn't look at my watch until the latter part of the race; only in the last mile as a matter of fact. It was clear I would be close to running sub-1:50 and stepped on the gas as best I could, but it wasn't enough. I'm satisfied with the race though, especially when I stepped on the scale later and saw I was close to 200 lbs. I'm actually amazed I could run that fast carrying that much weight.

It was a great day for a race, especially for early March. No ice or snow and the temperature at start was just above freezing, with moderate wind. I knew from the forecast it would warm up considerably so made sure to not overdress, as did many of the other runners (see the picture below). It turns out a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve was perfect.

It's a great course, mostly flat with some incline in the middle miles, with a lot of miles run right along the coastline.

Jingle Bell Half Marathon

Since the Oceanview Half Marathon went well, I decided to get one more half in this year - the Jingle Bell Half in Haverhill, MA on Sunday.

This race has been run for years out of Atkinson NH but this year they moved it to Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill. This is a great venue for the race. They have the use of the gym so it's not necessary to wait outside for the race start, and ample parking right by the gym and the start. My car was parked about 10 meters from the start line.

A good thing too as it was 10 degrees at race start. Fortunately there was no wind and the skies were clear so it was actually a beautiful day for a race. I sat in the car with the heat going until about 2 minutes before the start, then jumped out and into the pack lining up for the start. (I did do a 1/2 mile warmup and stretch a half hour before the start).

The first couple miles didn't feel particularly great, and I wasn't all that fast either with an 8:40 and 8:21. My legs felt a little strange, a little numb, because of the temperature (I was wearing black tights) so I concluded this wasn't going to be a fast day and I ignored my watch the rest of the way. Instead I just let my body dictate the pace.

The course wasn't too bad, but was hardly a fast course. It was rolling the whole way with very few sections that were actually flat. There were a couple of pretty decent climbs as well. 392 feet of elevation gain overall. It's a pretty course through the northern Massachusetts countryside with a fresh blanket of snow. I saw plenty of horses and goats, even a few llamas.

Based on how I felt I expected to run maybe a 1:52 or 1:53. I was shocked to see 1:48:xx when I turned back into the Community College and saw the timer at the finish line. I was going to beat my time at the Oceanview Half by more than a minute!

Post-race, they had the usual fruit at the finish line, and several different soups available in the gym. This was a nice little race and I might do it again.

Splits:

Ocean View Half Marathon

I ran the Ocean View Half Marathon in Ipswich on Sunday. Not so much as a race but as an experiment. I haven't run a half marathon since the Star Wars half in the Spring of 2018, which was an exercise in pain because of the arthritis in my knee and hip. For a time after that I wondered if it would be necessary to give up running altogether. Since then I've been experimenting with cross-training, running styles, distances and running surfaces to see if there is a way I could manage to continue running. Through most of 2018 and the early part of this year, I found I could run and race short distances, but never without some pain. 10k's or the Tapleyville 7 miler I would finish with aching joints and maybe a limp. In fact, after finishing the Pot O' Gold 4 miler this Spring in a lot of pain I reconciled myself (I thought) to retiring from running.

But as might have been expected, after substituting cross-training for running and some time away from the road, my joints felt fine again and I couldn't resist trying running a few miles. The old saw is that runners don't stop running until they simply can't anymore.

I went back to experimenting, and discovered that the key factor that caused the pain was mileage per week. As long as I kept the total miles per week somewhere under 15, I could run with only minor pain or no pain. Even better, it was the cumulative miles that mattered, not the length of any individual run. So I could run an 8 miler as long as I didn't run more than 7 miles the rest of the week.

Over a few months I slowly increased the weekly mileage, to the point that I have now been running between 15 and 20 miles per week, along with a lot of time on the elliptical. The thought occurred to me that I might be able to run a half marathon - an idea that had seemed permanently beyond me for the last year and a half. Well, if total mileage is what matters, why not 13.1 miles when I am managing 18 miles/week?

Thus the Ocean View Half Marathon.

It was an experiment because I haven't run more than 10 miles in any training run. When I used to run half marathons, I would regularly run 15+ mile runs and 40 miles/week. So there wasn't just the question of whether my joints would hold up, but how I would handle the half marathon distance. Does an hour on the elliptical followed by an 8 mile run really prepare one for a half marathon?

Happily, I discovered that my joints held up well and I finished the race without any significant joint pain. I also held up from an endurance standpoint, running my fastest the last 5k of the race. And that after some very serious hills in miles 8 and 9. So some moderate distance runs combined with the elliptical can be adequate preparation for a half.  There will likely be more half marathons in my future. The old bones still have some miles in them.

It was a beautiful day for a race. In the 40's, sunny and very moderate wind. All in all things could not have gone much better than they did.

Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon

Ellen and I ran the Star Wars Darkside Half Marathon at Disney World on Sunday.

I was signed up for the "First Order Challenge" which includes a 10k on Saturday in addition to the Half Marathon, but given the injuries, I decided it was the better part of valor to skip the 10k. This turned out to be a good move, especially given all the time I spent on my feet at Animal Kingdom on Saturday. By race time I was just hoping to finish.

Ellen and I made a fine pair, me with my injuries and Ellen with a bad cold. We agreed to to walk through the water stops (at every mile) and any other time we felt necessary. We also ran a slow pace, over 11:00 miles.

Compared to Marathon Weekend, the Darkside Half has a cozy feel. The start is at the Magic Kingdom parking lot (as opposed to the Marathon Weekend races that start at Epcot).  About 15,000 runners participated (compared to 20,000 for the Marathon Weekend races). The starting corrals are right there in the parking lot - no half mile walk to the start like at Marathon Weekend.  There were giant screens set up showing snippets of Star Wars movies and the usual fireworks at the start.

Up to now I've only run the January races, so I hadn't experienced a race in Florida April weather. The start temp was the high 60's and it was very humid. Even without the injuries this would not have been a fast race. The most interesting feature of the race in the first four miles is running through a dark forested area with a simulated Ewok battle going on either side of the road. Disney placed simulated blaster flashes and flaming flash pods in the woods, along with loudspeakers blaring sounds of Ewoks in a big fight. It was actually pretty cool. Not much to take a picture of, though.

I noticed as the race went along that there was no part of the course that was bereft of something Star Wars related. Either Star Wars music could be heard or there was a giant screen with a Star Wars movie playing, or there were Star Wars characters available for pictures. The January Half and Full Marathons both have sections of the course where nothing is going on and, except that it is in Disney, you wouldn't know that you were in a Disney race. The Star Wars race is also entirely Star Wars themed - there are no non-Star Wars Disney characters out, or marching bands or other groups along the way like in January. I think they really made an attempt for a full out Star Wars immersion and succeeded pretty well at it.

The course takes you from the Magic Kingdom parking lot down to Animal Kingdom, then up to Hollywood Studios (no ESPN) and through EPCOT. Quite a bit of time is spent in Animal Kingdom, including running through the new Pandora Area. I got a picture with Obi Wan just after exiting AK:

About this time my knee started to hurt and I swallowed more ibuprofen - I had taken a couple just before the start of the race. It got gradually worse over the next two miles and I knew that if it continued that way I'd have to stop. My other injuries - strains in my right leg - were not that bad and I didn't think they would cause a problem. But the knee could be a showstopper.

Taking walk breaks at the water stops helped and, fortunately, the knee settled in to a manageable ache at around mile 8. By mile 10 I knew I was going to finish and my mood improved considerably.

Something I was pleasantly surprised about was that I didn't have any endurance issues towards the end of the race. My longest run since December has been 8 miles, and I only managed one of those a few weeks ago. Maybe that lack of training would manifest itself in some hard labor the last few miles, especially given the weather. By mile 10 it was near 80 degrees and still humid. But this was one place where things went my way - I had no endurance issues at all and, the injuries not withstanding, cruised easily to the finish.

So I managed to finish. As always,  I find the Disney races a lot of fun - especially running with Ellen - even when I run them injured. I think it would have been a total blast to run the First Order Challenge healthy. Maybe some other time... in some galaxy far, far, away...

Star Wars Darkside Weekend

Event Guide for the Star Wars Darkside Weekend at Disney World is now available. I'm running the "First Order Challenge" (10k on Saturday and Half on Sunday). I won't be running anything fast but my injuries now seem to be at the point that I should finish both races. I've been able to slowly build up my training the last few weeks and my plan is to get in an 8 or 9 mile run before the Star Wars Weekend.

Here is the 10k course from the Guide. Looks like the course starts in the MK parking lot, then goes down to Hollywood Studios and back up through Epcot. I've not started a Disney race yet anywhere but in the Epcot parking lot so this will be new.

And here is the half marathon course. Also starts in the MK parking lot, but includes Animal Kingdom on the course as well as HS and Epcot.

Fast Half Marathon

I was scheduled to run the Maine Coast Marathon on Sunday, but the weather forecast is showing a nor'easter with steady downpours and 20 mph winds - out of the NE so its a headwind no less. And all in 45 degree weather.

If it was Disney or Boston, I'd fight thru the weather, but for a small local marathon I'm not interested in (likely) 4+ hours of misery. Instead, there was a local half marathon put on by Yukanrun that I decided to run. Given I was trained up for a marathon, I was hoping to challenge my 1:40:01 PR.

I ended up running a 1:42:28, so I missed the PR goal, but it still is the second fastest half marathon I've run. And the course isn't quite the "fast and flat" affair that is advertised. It's rolling hills and, according to my Garmin, has 383 ft of elevation gain.

It was a great day for running though and I'm glad I did that rather than suffer through Maine Coast. To really challenge for a sub 1:40, I probably have to do more speed work. I was more or less cranking out 7:45 miles during the race but I found I couldn't sustain any pace faster than that - I simply couldn't get enough oxygen into my lungs. I'm not sure I care enough to change the way I'm training as I like my long slow runs.

1.   7:41
2.   7:52
3.   7:45
4.   7:39
5.   7:47
6.   7:40
7.   7:53
8.   7:43
9.   7:47
10. 7:44
11. 8:06
12. 7:55
13. 7:52

Fool's Dual Half Marathon

Ellen and I ran the Yukan Run Fool's Dual Half Marathon in Gloucester today. This was a free entry we earned from volunteering at the half marathon last December.

It was a cold day (high 30s at race start) and the course is not an easy one - up and down hills the entire way - although it is not as bad as Yukan's Triple Threat course. Here is the Elevation Profile:

Fool's Dual Elevation Profile

I wasn't running hills training for the Myrtle Beach Marathon, and it wasn't until last week that I was fully recovered from the marathon, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Things weren't looking so good the first few miles as up through mile 5 I could really feel the hills and I was well off my typical half marathon pace. Finally in mile 6 I began to feel comfortable and felt stronger as the race went on. I managed to negative split the race and run my fastest mile at 13:

1.   7.56
2.   8:03
3.   8:10
4.   8:10
5.   8:27
6.   8:08
7.   8:19
8.   7:44
9.   8:05
10. 7:59
11. 7:59
12. 7:53
13. 7:38
13.1 1:48

Interestingly, the 1:46:18 I ran today is only about 3 minutes faster than I ran the first half at Myrtle Beach - but that was flat and better weather. Ellen hasn't been able to train a lot lately and ran 2 hours plus.

 

"Fast Half" Marathon, Hamilton MA

Ethan and I ran the Fast Half Marathon in Hamilton this morning. This is a new event in the YukanRun series. The course is advertised as flat and fast, although it is not quite flat. There are a few not insignificant hills but it's not a bad course. I run part of it as part of my regular Wenham training loop.

I wasn't expecting great things today. I've been building up my training in preparation for the Mad Marathon in Vermont in July, but I still weigh in the neighborhood of 200 lbs, more than 20 lbs heavier than I ran the Goofy in January. I better not be this size when I run the marathon in July!

My plan was to take the race out comfortably and see what happened. I ran in the neighborhood of 8:30 miles in the first 5k and sped up a bit as the race went along, ending with a 1:47:57 at an 8:14 pace. I ran hard but didn't put it all out there, as avoiding injury is a lot more important to me at this point than shaving a few seconds off of a half marathon time.

This was Ethan's first half marathon. We ran together for about the first 4 miles, then I pulled ahead a bit after that. He finished in 1:49:40, which will give him a good corral at the Disney Marathon next January. He also came away with some big blisters on his feet, a typical rite of initiation for first time half marathon and full marathon runners.

Here are Ethan and I prior to the start:

And Ethan just after the start. I'm just in front of him and you can barely see the top of my head.

Here we are rolling in to the finish:

 

 

Killer Courses and the Triple Threat Half Marathon

My first half marathon was this race - the Triple Threat - at just this time last year. It wasn't until I had run some other half marathons that I realized just how difficult a course this is. Looking back at it this year, the course almost seems designed to break your spirit. It's an out and back course, net downhill on the out and (naturally) uphill on return. It's rolling hills most of the way, and the final 5k is mostly uphill, including some very steep sections. And just when you think you have climbed the final hill, and make the turn for the last quarter mile back to Rockport High, what greets you but a final insult in the form of one more small hill to overcome. I have seen far more runners walking the hills on this course than any other, and I'm talking about runners who were on pace to finish sub 1:50. Here I am on the first half of the course before the beatings began:

Another unique feature this course has is a 100 yard stretch running through sand as you go past Pebble Beach at about the 3 and 1/2 mile mark. Of course, as an out and back course, you must run through the sand again just before you take on the final 5k. Thanks Rockport!

If you want more, the race is called Triple Threat because there are 1 mile and 5k races before it, and you are invited to run all three. The half is plenty for me, but even if you don't run the earlier races, their very existence pushes the half marathon start to later in the morning (10:15) so the weather gets a chance to become nice and hot - mid 80's in this case, significantly hotter than it was last year.

I normally don't take any water on half marathons, but given the heat, I thought it would be the better part of valor to take water every chance I had. I'll have to work on the technique, because I had trouble drinking while running and eventually just stopped briefly at the water stops and walked while taking water. That's something I'm going to have to work out before the Clarence DeMar marathon in September.

I ran a 7:50 pace on the way out, which put me about a minute ahead of a PR pace. I had no illusions about PR'ing, however, knowing what was facing me on the way back. One thing I was determined to do was to keep running up the final hills and not bail out and walk like I did last year. And I managed to do that, eventually finishing in 1:46:49, a couple minutes slower than my PR but more than 3 minutes faster than my time on this course last year.

Tricia came to cheer me on along with our friends Jeff and Dianne (who took the picture above). This race is well run with cheerful volunteers and a lot of spectator support along the course. At least three times I ran through sprinklers people had thoughtfully put out. And it certainly is a beautiful course. But the best summary is one an older female runner made as we were walking to the car and cheered her on as she passed still on the course. Her comment: "This course is harder than childbirth."

Sometimes, however, it's good to take on a challenging course rather than just looking for a PR course every time. If you can take on this beast and finish running, you can feel satisfied you slayed the dragon and your other half marathons will seem easy.

Binghamton Bridge Run

Well that was fun.

And not just because I blew away my half marathon personal record by almost five minutes (which I did!) This run is very well organized, traces an interesting route through downtown and the west side of Binghamton, and is well-supported by spectators. Peculiar to the race are six bridge crossings over four different bridges spanning the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers. The weather was wonderful, about 50 degrees at the start and warming as the race wore on.

It was also special for me because Tricia, my father-in-law Walt, and my brother Ed all turned out to support me at the race. Because the race winds back and forth through this area of Binghamton, it's possible for a spectator to see you multiple times. I saw Tricia, Walt and Ed at least three times each, never together and I was never sure who would pop up next.

The race starts and ends at the NYSEG stadium, home of Binghamton's Double A baseball affiliate:

Here is a picture Tricia took of me running up Court Street, just after one of the bridge crossings:

 

 

and here is a video Ed took of me hoofing it up Grand Boulevard, somewhere around mile 9:

 



 

I did my usual slow start and strong finish. My splits from the Garmin GPS watch:

 

1. 8:29

2. 8:10

3. 7:58

4. 7:51

5. 7:48

6. 7:58

7. 7:56

8. 8:04

9. 8:13

10. 7:57

11. 7:50

12. 7:35

13. 7:23

 

The course is relatively flat, with some long gradual hills at miles 6,7 and 8, and a steep but short hill at mile 9. The final two miles are a small but steady downgrade along Main St. to the finish. As I settled in to the racing groove at miles 3 and 4, I was pleased to see I was pulling sub 8 minute miles without straining. I figured to hold that pace, then reevaluate at the 10 mile mark and see if I perhaps could take it up a notch for the final 5k. As it turned out, with 4 miles to go I was feeling strong and, not wanting to leave anything in the tank, I decided to turn it up then instead of later at the 5k-to-go mark. The downgrade to the finish is a real boost, and I ran the last mile just about flat out (pulling the same mile time I did for the final mile at the Tapleyville 7 Miler). Unlike the 7 miler, I didn't have much left in me at the finish so I think I paced it about right.

 

Near the finish you turn left off Court Street toward the stadium and the street is lined with cheering spectators, the buildings on either side (and later the stadium itself) providing the stadium effect I so enjoy. Another nice touch is the announcer broadcasting your name and hometown as you cross the finish line. That's me in the middle running more or less along at the finish:









 

 

The post-race goodies include water, Gatorade, fruit and, a nice local touch, Nirchi's Pizza. Another goodie: I ran a 1:44:15, PRing by four and half minutes. The finisher medal is also nice and heavy and will look good on my medal rack. Finally, there was a good little race expo the day before at packet pickup. All in all, a great race and I hope to do it again next year.