Wineglass Half Marathon

Of all of my races I signed up for, this was the one I was looking forward to the most. A glass medal is so unique. In addition, you get a free wine glass and mini champagne bottle! Definitely my kind of race. 

Expo/packet pickup
The expo this year was at the Corning Glass Museum. I overheard another person saying how much nicer it is now that it is at the Museum this year. It gave me the impression that it was elsewhere before. 

There was a sign to go downstairs into the shop; however, there weren't any other signs letting us know where to go from there. I found the expo, but not the packet pickup. Eventually I just asked someone and was directed to the far end of the building. 

Behind the escalators there was a table set up for the bibs then a table for the shirt/wine glass. You receive a long sleeve tech shirt (pink for girls, blue for boys, ugh really?), wine glass, and mini bottle of sparkling wine from a local winery. 

You walk down the hall to double check your timing chip then enter into the expo. 

It is in a meeting room which could be a touch bigger. There were local running shops along with local vendors (honey, wine, etc). There was a large store with lots of branded Wineglass Half and Marathon gear. I picked up ear warmers since the temperature just kept dropping. All I had were caps and I just wanted something to cover my ears. 

Early to bed since the race was scheduled to start at 7:45 with the last bus leaving at 7 am. 

Race day:
A balmy 35 degrees at the start which means it was slightly less (I think 33/34) when I was waiting for the bus. All racers had to meet at the finish line in order to catch a bus to their respective starts. My parents were up with me so my dad was able to drop me off close to the finish line around 6:40. It is definitely not a good sign when you have to scrape ice off of the car before you leave so I was freezing waiting in line. It was not obviously clear which line was for the half marathon and which was for the marathon. I went to the first line I saw and hoped I picked the right one. I made friends quickly since it was a decent wait until we finally got on the very warm bus. It was a quick (15 minutes?) ride to the starting line near a school. We got off of the bus and were greeted with a huge line of porta potties (yea!). My advice: look around at the different lines. Some lines were for only a couple of bathrooms while others used 5 or 6. I picked a quick moving one and got to the start with plenty of time. 

walking to the start

The sun was finally coming up so I was starting to warm up. Unfortunately the race started at 8 and not 7:45 am.

view from the starting line

My race:
I felt much better for this race vs the one I did two weeks prior. For one, it was cooler. Cold is always better than hot! My muscles weren't too sore and my knees didn't bother me. The first couple of miles were just me trying to warm up. Once I hit mile 4 I started striping off layers. The next few miles really just flew by. The scenery was gorgeous with rolling hills and fields.

One road was closed off and just for runners, but then you turn onto a semi-busy road and you are stuck on the shoulder. There are cones and policeman, but I still was not a fan of this. At one point there was a guy who really had to go pee and just ran into the cornfield. Between mile 8 and 9 is when you turn off the roads and into the park/school. 

Around mile 9 I noticed I was doing really well and could possibly PR. I tried to start picking up the pace, but this is where it became tricky getting around people. The path narrows considerably in the park. This is also where a water stop was so people were stopping or walking in the path. You couldn't go around them on the outside so you were stuck slowing down or even stopping yourself. I can tell it did slow me down since I was doing negatives split since mile 9 except for the water break mile. The time between mile 11 and 12 seemed to take forever. I was really pushing myself trying to get that PR.

Soooo close. My Garmin clocked in at 2:14:43. My previous PR was 2:14:20. I did this at the Hershey Half Marathon in 2013. It was my first half and not knowing what to expect, I took it easy. Afterwards I felt great and could have keep running. This go around that was not the case. I definitely was beat. The back of my knee finally started to hurt and I physically felt drained. In order to find our your official time, you scan the QR code on your bib. Annoyingly this meant I had to download an app to see what I did it in. I crossed the finish line at 2:17 and change, but I also knew I started around 8:02. The results were a little behind and stopped around 2:10 time, 2:12 gun time. The website then did not publish an update for another hour and a half UGH! I was dying to know my time. When they finally did update it, it only gave the overall gun time, not your net time. At this point I thought I'd never know my real time. Later that *night* they finally updated it properly with the gun and net times. 22 seconds off my PR :(

best part- finally enjoying the sparkling wine!

My slowest mile: Mile 1- 10:47. My fastest mile: Mile 13- 8:38. Really pleased with my timing. I kept it steady in the mid 10s until mile 9 when I was hitting around 10 minute mile. By mile 12 and 13 I was at 9:14 and 8:38.

The course:
Flat. Technically I think it is considered a downhill course but it really is just a flat course. You definitely cannot tell you are going downhill. There was a minor hill at the beginning of the race and another "hill" to go up to a railroad track. It manages to stay flat while going through the rolling hills of Southern New York. 

The half marathon begins 13 miles from Corning while the full marathon  is 26 miles away. 

It was my first point-to-point race. Parts of the course were very scenic especially the start, but parts were eh. For awhile we ran on a road which was alongside a highway. There were not too many spectators along the course. You go through a couple of small towns which would have a few. Since it was a point-to-point I anticipated fewer fans. The finish line for both the half and full marathon went through the center of the town and had fans lined on both sides of the streets.

Final thoughts:
I would definitely recommend this race. In fact, I hope to come back here someday and do the full marathon. The race would be a touch better if it was a week or two later to coincide with the changing leaves. To me this is the perfect size race- just big enough to get all the goodies and perks of an expo, but not too big that you are overwhelmed and just a number. Best part- the food! Hello pizza mmm. Yes, they were handing out slices of pizza after the race. The rest was fairly typical post-race munchies. Circling this one to do again in the next couple of years. 


Next race: Runner's World 10k

Hibiscus 5 Miler recap

This race offers a half marathon, 15k, and 5 miler. I originally had signed up for the Hibiscus 15k, but since I only started running a few weeks prior there was no way I would be able to run 9.3 miles. I downgraded a month or so before the race and concentrated on training. The week before I was able to run 4 miles so I was pretty confident about the 5 miler. This was going to be my first race since my injury that I was going to be able to run. Going into it, my hip felt fine. I have no more pain from my fractured pelvis. What I do have to worry about is endurance and strength. Everything is still weaker which means I wear down a lot sooner. 

The expo:
There was none. There were three opportunities to pick up your packet. I chose the one in Kailua since this is where I was staying. Kailua is a town about half an hour from Honolulu. I received a sweet blue shirt which said 'Half Marathon' on it. I feel kinda badly taking one since I was only doing a 5 miler, but hey, it's a free shirt. 

shirt design and bib

Race day:
All three races had an ungodly early 5:30 am start time to avoid the Hawaiian heat. To get there in time, I had a 3:20 am wake up time and was out the door by 4:30 am. I wasn't quite on Hawaiian time so it was not overly painful waking up at that time, but a lot of green tea was still consumed. 

There was parking at the Honolulu Zoo and by Diamonhead plus any street parking you could find. The zoo lot was a little after 5:00 am so we went up and down the streets looking for parking. Finally we found a spot kinda far away. I remember thinking 'well this will be my warm up.' Unfortunately I really had to pee before the race and not surprisingly there was a massive line at the bathrooms in Kapiolani Park. I learned while waiting in line that they do not put up porta potties because of the multiple bathrooms in the park. What the race organizers do not realize is that our building (and I assume others) only had 3 stalls. There were times the guy bathroom would be empty and females would start taking turns going in. 5:30 came and we saw the runners go by. Finally around 5:40 my bladder was drained and I was at the start line.

My race:
While I was not stressing about starting late, the people at the start line were trying to rush people through. I haphazardly threw my iphone into my armband and started my Nike Plus app. Unfortunately my Garmin was still on the Big Island. I left it in our rental car and seriously debated flying back to the Big Island to pick it up. It would have been cheaper than buying a new one! Luckily the people at Avis found it and would be shipping it back to my house in PA. 

The race apparently had about 2000 people sign up and 1700 runners on race day.  Since I was starting 10 minutes late, this meant very few people were around when I started out. 

beginning of the race

The first section of the race runs along the park. My legs immediately felt heavy. All the walking and hiking had taken its toll. I kept trying to focus on the race and my music and not think about how I felt like I was carrying bowling balls on my feet. 

blurry picture courtesy of my husband

Miles 2 and 3 were dominated by the climb up and around Diamondhead. These were also the best views of the race. You could look out over the ocean and see the sun shining down on the surfers. Wish I could have taken a picture of it, but my new armband very tightly seals my iphone in. Too hard to get in and out. Even though I slowed down considerably going uphill, I really started passing people. There were quite a number of walkers doing the 5 miler. I also started seeing people going the opposite direction. I assume these were all of the fast 5 mile racers. By 2 1/2 miles I kept looking for a turnaround point, but still nothing. It wasn't until mile 3 that the 5 milers started to turn around. There was no turn around sign or marker but I noticed a bunch of walkers turning onto another road. I decided to go with my gut and follow them and asked the policeman down the road if I was going the right way. Thankfully I was. Once I turned around it was all down hill and I got a second wind. Nike Plus said I went from a 12:00 minute pace going up to a 10:14 pace going down. The last stretch runs alongside the Kapiolani Park. 

I could see the finish line in the distance and it just motivated me to "sprint" as fast as my legs would take me. 

right in front of the finish line, I'm in the pink

After the race a guy I was running close to said I inspired him to go faster since I was "sprinting" down the hills. Heck I just let gravity do its thing! My official time was 1:00:05 with a 11:27 pace. My unofficial Nike Plus time was 59:58 at a 11:14 pace. 

Every racer got the same half marathon medal. Again I felt badly having a medal that said half marathon, but I wasn't about to turn one away. 

After the race I was also able to meet up with a fellow Instagram runner- @paleorunner808.

Before we left the park, my husband treated me to shaved ice. (PS: apparently in Honolulu shaved ice is a snow cone. Definitely not the case in others parts of Hawaii. Very disappointing.)

The course:
Hilly. Hot. I did not anticipate the long hill up about 1/4 of the way through the race. It felt like I was going uphill the whole race. But what goes up, must come down. The second half was much easier since it was downhill. 

(source: Tropical Triple Crown)

The half marathon, 15k, and 5 miler all start at the same place and finish at the same place. This means three turn around points on the course below.

(source: Tropical Triple Crown)

The 5 miler course split off right around mile 3 at Fort Ruger Park. This was not marked off at all. I only knew to turn because I saw some walkers make the turn. Not sure if the 15k had their turn around point marked off. Also, the course also seemed to be quite off 5 miles. My Nike Plus app had me at 5.34 miles. I did the course on Map My Run and it estimates 5.35 miles. Unfortunately this messes up my estimated pace. The math is not hard- 5 mile race at 1 hour and I have an 11:27 minute pace?

Final Thoughts:

I would do the course again mainly because I like smaller races that still give the impression of big races. There are definitely improvements to be made though. The course needs better signs and more refreshment stands along the way. It was hot and humid so water was necessary. One great aspect about the race was the yummy after race snacks- tons of fruit (watermelon, bananas, oranges) plus snacks (chips, oreos, energy bars). There was a huge tub of water you could refill your dixie cup with. 

Next up: Red Rose Run (still not signed up for, but planning to sign up)

Half way there!

Today marks my first race missed. I would have completed the Enchanted 10k this morning and started preparing for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. The Glass Slipper Challenge would have been a really good test for me and a first step towards mentally preparing for a marathon. I have been really positive throughout this experience, but missed race days might be my weakness. I will be avoiding Instagram (@ladylionrunner) for sure this weekend.

(Glass Slipper Challenge medals I would have earned- image from runDisney)

On a more positive note, tomorrow registration opens for the Marine Corps Marathon lottery. My goal for 2014 is to be able to complete this race. It might be a bit ambitious considering I'm sitting in a wheelchair right now, but I have more determination than ever!

Today also marks the end of three weeks. The doctor said 6 to 8 weeks so it potentially means I’m halfway to healing the bone! I started PT this week to help keep as much muscle as possible. I worked on range of motion exercises and stretching out the hip. I already feel a difference and it feels amazing. When laying down, I can slowly bring my leg up and bend my knee. I feel incredibly tight so any stretching or movement is really needed. The PT also said once the doctor gives the ok I can work on running in the pool. Looks like I’ll be in the market for an exercise bathing suit. I considered training for triathlons after all my races for 2014 so I will still be able to use the bathing suit after PT is over. Any recommendations on what type?