Salem 13.1 10/12/2024
Half marathon #57 is in the books! It was my second time running this particular race, but the course was changed due to a road closure, resulting in an extra 100 ft of elevation gain this year. Since I had only run this race once before, I didn’t have a solid memory of the course experience, but I definitely didn’t remember it feeling this hard last year! I think I felt every one of those extra 100 ft of elevation. BUT, I’m not going to complain about it, I am Run 4 the Hills after all! Besides, despite the fact that it felt much harder, I actually ran 2 minutes faster this year, so at least I know I have made progress in my training. Of course I can’t help but wonder how much faster I would have been if the course hadn’t changed… I’m curious to see which course we run next year! (And if it’s the same as this year, I need to do a few more hill sprint workouts beforehand for sure.)
I had the privilege of coaching 2 of my friends for this race, in addition to coaching myself. Lawrence & Katie have each faced their own challenges, but we all had a great day! We were shivering on the start line, but thankfully we warmed up fast once we started running.
It was a gorgeous day for a race, sunny and in the high 40s when we started. Much better than last year’s rainy start! The race started promptly at 8:00 AM and we were off! The hills started pretty much immediately, with an uphill start and then about 5.5 miles of winding through hilly neighborhoods. We then headed out of downtown for a few miles, but the hills didn’t end, although I think they might have gotten a bit gentler. The last 4 miles were back in town through the hilly neighborhoods, which made for a challenging final 5k, especially since the last half mile was a gradual incline!
The course was extremely well marked with arrows on the ground & arrows on yard signs, and there were also plenty of volunteers directing runners and stopping traffic. There was never a moment where I had to wonder which way to turn, or whether or not I was still on the course (that has happened to me several times in other races, and it is not fun!). There was a water/gatorade station every few miles, and at least one of them also had gus. I carried my own gels and handheld water bottle so I didn’t utilize any aid stations, but it seemed like they were well spaced out. Post race amenities included a free Chik-fil-a sandwich (I love having this option at the finish for a quick/easy and tasty protein/carb replenishment!), and a free beer ticket to use at Olde Salem Brewery. I’m not a huge beer drinker, but they had a peach ginger hard seltzer on tap that I thought was pretty tasty.
Professional photographers out on the course took some great photos that are free to download! This is another perk I really appreciate at races.
I left it all out on the course for sure! My lungs were not as strong as I had hoped they would be, and I struggled to breathe out there despite the use of a steroid inhaler and multiple doses of a rescue inhaler. I definitely feel like I ran the best race I possibly could though. I utilized all 4 of my gels to make sure that I was properly fueled so that the asthma would be my only limiting factor. I took advantage of flat sections to push harder so that I could "make up" some of the time I lost on the steeper hills. I have no doubts that I ran the best race I had in me, and I know my training has paid off since I was able to run faster than last year, on a harder course. I finished in 1:39:26, 4th place female, 23rd overall (307 total runners). I could see the 2nd and 3rd place females ahead of me for most of the 2nd half of the race, but I was unable to catch them. It was helpful to be able to see them though, to keep me pushing myself instead of giving in to the oxygen debt and giving up.
All three of us got age group awards. Katie achieved her goal of finishing under 2:00, and Lawrence not only achieved his goal of under 2:00, he smashed it out of the water with a 1:54, which was a 15 minute PR!
