View Workout (Julia Ernst)

Return to Log

Nantucket half marathon!!

October 12, 2014 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: perfect, low 60s

Comments:
What an exciting day! I was pretty nervous before the race and even had several strange dreams where I ran the race then I'd wake up and be pretty confused...anyways, I did the classic cc warmup for the 45minutes before the race then started with about the first 30 people. Over the course of the race, I'd run to catch up with the next group, hang with them (and get some shelter from the wind) a bit then move up to the next group. I had this wonderful feeling that rather than racing against people, I was racing with them. At the beginning of the race, I had some nice little chats then for miles 9 through 13 I ran by one guy who kindly blocked much of the wind.

I went out in 7:15 the first mile (oops) and the first mile marker seemed to come quickly. Miles 2-8 or so were on packed sand roads along the south shore so I'm guessing my pace was around 7:40ish for those miles. My legs felt a bit tired from the game yesterday but no pain! And wow was I treated to some gorgeous views of the ocean! I really just enjoyed my surroundings and running with various groups.

Miles 8-12 were on Tom Nevers (so hilly! There was ~mile long hill) then Milestone (a little boring and rolling hills but I appreciated the hard ground). I felt nice and controlled and not too tired up until mile 11 but then my legs started tightening up a bit. I'd start to get worried about not finishing/slowing down but then I'd look around my and realize what a beautiful day it was on ACK and take a deep breath and relax and get back into my pace. I enjoyed that I never felt really in pain during the race; instead, the last 3-4 miles requires a lot of mental focus (reminding myself that I'm doing the race for fun!) and pace awareness.

The last mile probably hurt the most because my legs started tightening up and I felt near the end of my tank. But, I was glad to have runners ahead to focus on to catch. Plus, the volunteers in the race were awesome!! There were tons of water/gatorade stands and even more random clumps of people cheering racers on. Overall, I had such a great time and can't wait to do another half.

The course: http://nantuckethalfmarathon.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/half-marathon-2013-draft.pdf

P.S. There was a 12 year old boy who ran 1:35:21! So cool to see!