E.Todd Murray Half Marathon

It’s no secret that I’m having major race motivation problems.  I get all excited when I sign up but then race morning rolls around and I want to bail.  Like every bone in my body is screaming at me to bail.   I signed up for the E. Todd Murray Half Marathon just a week ago and woke up yesterday morning wanting to run on the treadmill instead.  The husband convinced me to go so I grabbed my gear and stopped at DD for my pre-race iced coffee.

Yummy coconut!

I arrived at Brookdale Community College with about an hour to spare.  Parking was a breeze, packet pickup was even easier and runners were able to hang out in the college’s arena before the race.  Flushing toilets for the win!

Around 9am, the race took off with a quick 3, 2, 1, go!  The race was timed gun to chip and I think I crossed the start line about 20 seconds after the gun.

Mile 1: 9:30, Mile 2: 9:32, Mile 3: 10:35, Mile 4: 10:19

I started off great but my legs were already tired and my mind wasn’t in the game.  At Mile 3 my iPod stopped working and I walked to try and fix it.  I might have been freaking out a bit that I would have no music and was already suffering at mile 3.  Well, I didn’t have any music but it didn’t matter.  At Mile 4 both my shoes came untied and that would continue again two more times.  Ughhh…

Mile 5: 10:06, Mile 6: 10:27, Mile 7: 9:36, Mile 8: 10:40

The hills started around mile 4 and didn’t quit till mile 10.  Some of the hills were HUGE and I had to walk them.

Mile 9: 10:15, Mile 10: 11:19, Mile 11: 9:59, Mile 12: 10:12

More hills and more hills.  I actually signed up for this race knowing that it was hilly so I could get in some hill training before the NYC Half.  I definitely think I’ll be ready for the Central Park hills in two weeks.

Mile 13: 10:08, Mile .16: 1:18

Around Mile 11 the course takes you into a park and it was awesome.  After running on the side of busy roads, it was a welcome break to not have to worry about the cars.  The course was well-managed by police and park rangers but at one point some lady in her SUV almost clipped a runner in front of me.  The lady then pulled over, hung out for a bit in a lot and then took off flying by the runners while honking.  Nuts, I tell ya, NUTS!

I finished the race in 2:13:59 according to my Garmin.  Official race results haven’t been posted yet but I’m sure my watch was within seconds of the official clock.  Not my best race but not my worst.  I walked more than I would have liked but my head just wasn’t in the game.  It was a tough day for me mentally and the cold head wind didn’t help my spirits.

The E. Todd Murray Half Marathon provided runners with bananas, granola bars, water, gatorade and Biscoff jars at the finish line.  Best post race snack ever!  The hubs was pretty psyched when I got home too .

The weather was also COLD!  I don’t really like to run winter races and I remembered the reason why as I was driving home.  I get a chill that I can’t shake and end up heating the car to super toasty.  Well, toasty for a Jersey girl .

In the end I’m glad I ran the race.  I was hoping to see where my head and body were at for the NYC Half and now I kinda know.  I’m not as fast as I once was but my weight isn’t where it should be.  I’m still caring around an extra 10 lbs and I know that is affecting my performance.  My new goal for the NYC Half is a sub 2:10.  It would be nice to beat my 2008 time of 2:12:20 and my 2009 time of 2:08:45.