Boston Half Marathon

I was super, uber excited to run this race. The year before, on Columbus Day weekend, Jon and I went for an 11 mile run. It was a super cool run. As we neared Fenway, we saw all of these people who had just finished a race. We stopped and found out which one--the Boston Half Marathon.

I decided to check it out---and well, stalked it until race registration opened. I did a pretty good job, I think, since I ended up with race number 103. :)

Mark and I always look forward to going to Boston on that weekend and spending time with Jon. It had the added bonus of a race that I was really, really looking forward to.

The weekend was great--we flew in on Friday night, enjoyed the Thirsty Scholar and crashed around 11:30. We slept in a little, got up, went for a run together, cleaned up and headed to one of my fave brunch spots in the city: The Nutty Squirrel (although it's real name is the Friendly Toast). We saved ourselves the hour long wait when we nabbed some spots at the bar and hunkered down for some awesome food!

Bellies full, we went on the prowl to explore Boston. We did a lot of walking around--not to anywhere in particular, but enjoying it all. We saw go kart racing near Government Center and had a coffee in the North End. We ended up near the Common and watching a late afternoon show of The Social Network. We were all excited to see the pats of Boston and John Hopkins that we frequent (go Thirsty Scholar!).

Dinner that night was with Curt back at the Tavern in Central Square. Shouldn't have had them, but the tater tots and the pan o' fries were AWESOME! What a great meal! We called it an early night to get up early the next morning for the run.

We were on the road by 7:30 to drop me off at the park...Mark and Jon took off to find parking for the car and to stake out their claim.

Here's where my adventure began.

It was a about a 10 minute quick walk from the drop off to the start. It was a brisk morning. I had about 30 minutes until the gun went off. I knew I wanted to use the port-o-potty before the start....so I found one near the start line...separate from the long lines, but it had a line. I waited for about 10-15 minutes and then someone came by and said that we all had to go to the other ones because they were about to start the wheelchair race and since this was so close to the start (and probably in the pics) we couldn't use it. That was awful! After a sprint across the field, I got in line...again.

When the gun for the race started, I had one person in front of me.....I was bummed, but realized that with the large runner field I would still be able to jump in and be ok. I quickly went and ran in....it was the fastest, late (even though I was on time) start ever for me!

It wasn't long at all, just before mile one that I saw Mark and Jon---cheering me on! :) It was cool!!!




The run was a beautiful one---through lots of parks and green space....it was in a part of Boston I hadn't been to before.

I enjoyed the run a lot....and was on record to have a PR, until I had a bathroom emergency at mile 11. I really thought about not stopping but thought the consequences of not stopping could be worse. I literally had a two minute bathroom stop. Had I not stopped, and had disaster not struck, it would have been a PR. As it was it was a pretty good time--I'm just glad it was under two hours.

Jon and Mark caught some great photos of me finishing in White Stadium.



After a little bit of back and forth through the crowd I found Mark. :) Jon was in the stands cheering Curt in....

I was very excited to take my picture at the post run picture spot with my jazzy new top--for finisher's only!

And then we nabbed an egg and cheese burrito from a food truck they had. Yummy!!!


We met back up with Jon, Curt and Trisha back toward the finish line....

and took a group shot. I love this photo!


Jon had the perfect idea for brunch--a new place...Mike's City Diner!

We had a little bit of a wait, but with food truck burrito in our bellies, we were good to go...

and the wait was so worth it!


YUM!

As if our weekend weren't full enough we went to the Oktoberfest in Harvard Square--another Columbus Weekend tradition. So fun!

And full of fun, colorful cupcakes! This vendor learned from last year when they sold out....this year, chock full of great, fun colored cupcakes!

Thanks for another awesome weekend Jon! :) We can't wait to visit next year! :)

Race number 18--CHECK!

2249 123/352   103 F3539 Amy Trenkle   35 F Washington DC    44:44 1:29:24 1:59:33  2:03:05



Splits:



Mile 1  8:49.24

Mile 2  9:00.25

Mile 3  9:02.77

Mile 4  8:42.08

Mile 5  9:08.66

Mile 6  8:46.21

Mile 7  9:13.91

Mile 8  8:48.69

Mile 9  8:42.71

Mile 10  9:09.62

Mile 11 11:10.61

Mile 12  9:14. 14

Mile 13  8:51. 77

Mile .1  54.00

Final:  1:59.34

(without pit stop:  1:57.34)



Average:  8:32.48

How NOT to Run a Race--Clarendon 10K...errr 5K

How NOT to run a race...

1) Do not decide to try two new pairs of running shoes the week before a race---one of them being the Vibram 5 Finger shoes.

2) Do not expect greatness when the temps the week before averaged in the high 90s in late SEPTEMBER and you had solid runs that week in that heat (93 degrees at 7:30 for a 4.5 mile run is NOT fun!).

3) Do not choose a run on a Saturday when you've had an exhausting week leading up to the run. At least give yourself a day off in between...race on Sunday.

4) Do not show up in time for the 5K and then decide to run it instead of the 10K....as the gun goes off...without stretching first.

5) Do not let your husband enjoy his sprint down hill, without stretching, as you take off to catch up with the back of the pack.

6) Do not schedule three other things for the day back-to-back-to-back that require you sprint from one activity to another, making the race seem longer than it is and more like a triathlon event.

7) Not stop to say hi to former bosses on the sidelines and then sprint faster to make up for lost time--and expect to have fun for the remaining miles.

All of that said, we did have a good time.....the 5K was ok--I'm not a big fan of them...but the extra time between other events today is appreciated.

My legs are pretty sore from the lack of stretching, the new shoes, and the downhill sprint for the first two miles...but they'll be ok.

And it was great to see Sonia and Alan cheering for us. :)

We had a great coffee afterwards at Northside Social and a quick drive home on 66.

Number 17--while not what I thought it was going to be---is complete!

Runnin' Through the Park

I've run this race one other time and I think I've signed up for it twice before but

didn't run it---once because I ended up too exhausted and another time because it was
too darn hot.


I was pretty excited to run it this year because it had been a few years since I last
ran it.

I signed up after school started and was pretty excited about it.  The only downside
to the race is that it starts at 7 am and is in Rockville which means to get there in
time, one has to be in the car at 5:45 driving to the start.

This year Mark was out of town for the race, so I it was a little more stressful.  I
really appreciate his help in getting to the start and taking over driving/parking
the car and the little logistics.

This particular race is a point to point race which also meant that I had to get
back to the car at the end of the race.

So, I was a bit nervous...and having Mark gone the night before didn't help me sleep--
I woke up every hour and kept worrying that I would oversleep.  So at 4:30 am I was
out of bed, getting ready.

The weather was PERFECT!  It was cooler (in the mid 60s) and overcast, with the
prediction of rain.

On the way to the start, it started to downpour.  I parked the car and it was
raining steadily.  A few minutes before the start, the rain stopped.  It sprinkled
a few times but didn't start to rain again until I was on the subway and headed back
to the car.

The race was well organized, as always, and I think sold out.

It was a great race, but I forgot how hilly the first 8 miles are.  How did I not
remember those from before?

One fun thing about the race was that part of it was on the same course as the Al
Lewis 10 Miler I did in January---which had SNOW!  Totally different feel this time!

While I hoped to run the race in under 2 hours, I felt good about my time.  It was
the farthest I had run since the half marathon in NYC at the end of April.
It also has helped me to mentally prepare for the back to back half marathons coming
up in October!


Final time/place:

357  68/178   1438 Amy Trenkle           35 Washington DC    2:08:29 2:02:09  9:20

Splits:

Mile 1  9:02.31
Mile 2  8:47.25
Mile 3  9:28.96
Mile 4  9:10.08
Mile 5  9:03.75
Mile 6  9:13.77
Mile 7  9:06.17
Mile 8  9:43.59
Mile 9  9:08.27
Mile 10  9:28.35
Mile 11  9:55.52
Mile 12  9:35.77
Mile 13.1  10:25.86

Total:  2:02.09

Race #16 complete!


A celebration of iced coffee and Greek Yogurt from my friend Starbucks.

Annapolis 10 Miler and a Birthday Celebration!

This weekend marked not only the 35th anniversary of the Annapolis 10 Miler, but also my 35th birthday! I spent the weekend celebrating--with Mom, Dad. Mark and Soba and then by running and then with Mom, Dad, Mark and Soba again! I was majorly pampered this weekend! :)

It started on Saturday night, August 28, when we drove to Mom and Dad's after packet pick up. Packet pick up was at the Navy/Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, which was also the start of the race.


Mom and Dad fixed my requested pre-race meal: sliders for everyone else and a veggie burger for me, home made potato salad (German style), and corn on the cob. Mom tried a new and very yummy potato salad that was made from fingerling potatoes. It had a lot of garlic, some lemon, and parsley---YUMMY!

We also had hors d'oeuvres as usual (see below--me with bean dip!--to give me a little extra motoring power the next day!)....

I went to bed totally stuffed and excited for my race the next day. The entire family was passed out on the couch at 9:30 and went up to bed before 10! (Yes, Mom included!)

I drank a lot of water and I think I got up every hour until the race. I woke up a little nervous--it had been since mid June that I had run 10 miles and it had been since mid July that I had run a race....and to top it all off, it was supposed to be cooler but that doesn't mean much...so I was anxious to see how hot it was.

As it turned out...it was about 68 when we left for the race start---it felt magnificent! I had been so worried about the heat! The roads were clear and it was a quick drive down Ritchie Highway to the start....


We got there in plenty of time....it wasn't even fully light in the sky yet when we arrived. Mark and Soba took me---Mom and Dad stayed home and were supposed to sleep in, but had gotten up to wish me luck. The course was a difficult one for spectators to watch and after a lot of convincing Mom and Dad agreed that it might be for the best.

The start seemed slow considering the line itself never seemed that far away....it took almost five minutes to get to the start.



The race is capped at 5500 runners and it sells out in hours. It was another race that I had programmed in my iCal and had set the alarm to go off so that I would be sure to register when the race opened!

Below, you can see me waving to Mark as the race started and I finally crossed the start line!


Mark surprised me between Mile 3 and 4 by showing up on the course, at the top of a hill....it was a much welcomed surprise! :)



And there sat my Noodle, not even noticing that I went by!


Mark and Soba were at the finish line--and Mark caught this picture of me about to cross (you can see my legs at least!) I finished in 1:37.4....not a spectacular time, but I was really, really happy with it. It was near 80 when the race finished...still a very nice temperature but starting to get hot. They had ice cold hand towels for us at the finish line that cooled me down immensely quickly....felt so good! :) The race was a really nice one and I felt that I did a great job of pacing myself. I never felt terrible. I never felt that I was going too fast. I just felt great and enjoyed the run...which was a very nice way to celebrate my birthday a day early! :)

My splits were as follows:

Mile 1: 9:16
Mile 2: 9:30
Mile 3: 8:44
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 9:48
Mile 6: 10:14
Mile 7: 10:11
Mile 8: 9:36
Mile 9: 9:51
Mile 10: 10:22

It is also here that I should mention, while a beautiful course, it was far from flat---it was incredibly undulating!

Then...on to celebration part 3!


Mom made my birthday brunch...requested omlettes in a bag with hashbrowns as a side.


Lemon cupcakes for dessert with coolwhip instead of icing (although I was offered icing if I would prefer it) with flakes of coconut for on top!


A perfect summer treat! A nice rendition of a birthday cake Mom! Thanks! :)

Soba rested up--after all, he had had a very long, tiring morning watching everyone on the race course! :)


We had a wonderful weekend and I wouldn't have wanted to spend my 35th birthday any other way! :)

Oh and for those counting--15 races down, 5 to go! :)

My official race results are:

Amy Barba Trenkle #4929

Washington, DC

Age: 34 Gender: F

Distance	10M
Clock Time	1:37:40
Overall Place	2592 / 4581
Gender Place	925 / 2079
Division Place	169 / 4581
Age Grade	51.2%
Pace	9:47
5M Chip	47:15
10M Clock	1:44:36
Sext	2080
Divt	331