running past 75

I flew across the country to Vancouver, Canada for this race. The weather was perfect, cloudy, in the mid 50's. But hilly! I missed my goal time, finishing in 3 hours 47 SECONDS! I came in at 3293 out of 3345 finishers. According to the info from the race, I was passed by 9 runners in the last 5 km, but I passed 31!  Yay!   Last year there were NO female 75-79 finishers. This year there were five in my division. I finished 4th, failing to place for the first time this year. Missed 3rd place by only 6 minutes. Oh well.   After the race we boarded the Disney Wonder for a week long cruise to Alaska. We visited Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, had a wonderful time.    On to the next half marathon for July! My goals continue to be a finish in less than 3 hours and place in my division F 75-79!

Held at Cape Henlopen State Park, this race is flat and fast. Except for a short section in town, it is mostly on boardwalk and gravel trail, with great views of the wetlands and Delaware Bay. Also Jen and I got to do some great state tax free shopping at several outlet malls in Rehoboth Beach! Unfortunately I developed blisters on the soles of both feet!  Despite good conditions, I came in at 3 hours 23 SECONDS, but good enough for first and only in my age group. Also great swag in the goody bag, and pizza, pasta, fruit and salad at the finish. I gave away my beer coupons to another runner. I hope he made it home safely!

It took nearly 8 hours of difficult driving to New Hampshire to get to this race on a Tuesday. There was continuous heavy traffic on interstate highways, where the lane we were in either merged unexpectedly with another, or kicked me off at an exit! To top it off, a rock hit the windshield and ultimately we had to replace the windshield. So why New Hampshire? Well, I couldn't find another half marathon in May that looked interesting. Also the state was on Boyd's bucket list. He has now visited 49 states, and has only North Dakota remaining. The race was held at Nashua, NH at Mine Falls Park. It was in a series with races in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It is geared to "Fifty Staters" whose goal is to do a half or full marathon in all 50 states. Runners can check off 6 states in 6 days of running! There were only around 20-30 half and full marathoners. This park was very scenic, through the woods and along the Nashua river. The ...

Wow,over 18,000 Princesses (and 2,000 Princes) finished this race at Disney World! We ran from Epcot through Magic Kingdom then back to the finish at Epcot. The event and medal honored Princess Aurora this year.  The run through two parks included the iconic Cinderella castle. There were Disney characters, with spectators and music entertainment the whole way. I have never seen so many people in one place! The course was crowded the whole way, at times I was forced to walk. Which probably affected my time. My finishing time was 3:04:17. I came in 2nd place out of 11 women 75-79 y.o.Two months later- I got a plaque on the mail-- see above!     I actually did this race 2 years ago and finished in 3 hours. So. Still, I was not disappointed. This exciting race was so worth it!

This is the 4th half marathon in a row I came in 2nd in my division! For all of them - my times THIS year would have put me in first place LAST year. Oh well. My time was 2:57:45, and this was the 7th half marathon since 9/1/2018. I finished in under 3 hours for 4 of these races.  This was a nice course, mostly level along the lake. I finished 254 out of 284 finishers, 139 out of 159 women. The division winner's time was 2:35. I could never come close to that! By the way, I came in 2nd at the Princess Half Marathon 2/24/2019. Disney is mailing a plaque, I want to take a picture of it for this blog. I will blog that race as soon as I receive the plaque.

I almost quit this event before I started! Four days before the race, Boyd fell playing softball, sustaining a femoral fracture. Surgery followed. He was still in the hospital on Sunday. Boyd encouraged me to run anyway, but it would be without his presence and support. I decided to do it. But on my way to the hotel Saturday afternoon, I got a flat tire! I waited 3 hours for AAA service. That meant I had to drive 2 hours in the dark on unfamiliar roads. I almost bagged the whole thing! With white knuckles, I drove to the hotel. Too keyed up to sleep, I would have to drive to the race start, again in the dark, plus it was raining-hard. And it was cold, around 50 degrees. I went ahead with it. But not anticipating the satisfaction of finishing. Instead I knew I would feel terrible if I quit without trying  I finished the race in 3:01:53, 2nd of 3 in my age group, 1,088 out of 1,330 finishers.It was raining, cold and windy the whole way. Considering the weather and my stress level...

My 11+ years of running along with some research has taught me some helful strategies! 1. Running diary. For every run I record my time, distance, pace, as well as the temperature and how I felt during and after. And any other relevant factors. I also write down my non running exercise-swimming and fitness center workouts. 2. Caffeine. This drug has been shown to have a positive effect on endurance. It acts to stimulate the central nervous system, is absorbed within 45 min, and begins to wear off in 3-4 hours. About 85 mg.is recommended. A soft drink contains around 50 mg, an "energy" drink, much more. However, be careful.I did the NJ marathon in 2008, had too much caffeine and experienced heart palpitations. It took almost 7 hours to finish! 3. Mantras. It improves my pace if I repeat an inspiring phrase over and over. My current favorites are "Light, Strong, Fast, Smooth, Easy" and "I feel good, I feel strong, I can do this all day long!" 4. I wear a fit...