But hope springs eternal, and here we are. The Manchester Half was great. The day before the race Dan took the girls to the expo, and they completed a challenge where they earned a cinch sack, a t-shirt, a water bottle, and a medal. They were super cute, and I love how they are encouraged to be active at a young age.
The night before the race we went and had dinner with my cousin at her parents' house. The best part of the race was definitely being able to do it with both my cousins, though Caitlin claims she won't ever do another. Jen and I have plans to do one in North Carolina next.
Race day morning I picked Jen and Caitlin up. It was cold, but the real issue was the wind. I was stressed about what to wear, like I always am, so I ditched some clothes at the starting line that were donated to charity. I had been nervous about the hills, but I ended up loving the course. I loved seeing my family throughout the course. Anytime I started to get bored or started dragging a bit I thought about how I would see them in a mile or two.
With three miles left, I realized that I could make my ultimate goal of breaking 2:30. There was one last hill between mile 11 and 12, but after that it was a downhill finish. The only problem was the winds picked up coming down Hanover Street and it was a virtual wind tunnel. I felt like I was running in place. As I approached the finish line, I could see that I would be very close to the 2:30 mark. I crossed the first mat just as they announced that the first marathon finisher was coming in. Talk about humbling! He ran twice as far as I did in about the same time! I turned to applaud and cheer his finish, but then I heard Dan yell, "Julia, keep going!" I didn't realize there was a second mat, and my time was still running! Those few seconds cost me my sub 2:30 finish -- final time of 2:30:04, but if you ask Dan, he says I finished in under 2:30. I learned my lesson -- I'll always run until I'm sure I've crossed the official finish line.
Post race we went to the massage tent, and though there were heaters there, I was freezing. I was shivering and couldn't get warm until I had some soup after. We headed back to our houses for showers and rest and met up later at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant. My brother was there before us, and he called to tell us he thought some pretty important political people were showing up. We got there in time to see Hilary Clinton, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan as they were leaving. We even got some pictures. Clare got one with her favorite -- Chris Pappas.
I took the next week off from running. I actually felt pretty good and wanted to run, but I thought it would be best to recover fully. I expected to be unbelievably sore the next day as I had been after my first half, but I actually felt better than I do after a boot camp session with Tamara Solomon. All that strength training, hill running, and general butt-kicking definitely paid off. Thanks, Tamara!
I'm already thinking about what I will do differently for my next half. As soon as I finished I was thinking about how I could have run it faster, another sign I am, in fact, a runner. I am starting to see that I definitely underestimate myself. It turned out 2:30 was a more comfortable goal than I had imagined. I never felt I had to walk or that I couldn't maintain my pace. I took 27 minutes off my first half -- more than two minutes a mile faster this time. I would love to shave another ten off my next one.
So, this is my recommitment. I have been running, though I'd like to increase my mileage a bit. And I commit to blogging twice a month. I hope it will be more, but I know I can do that. The new year and its resolutions are right around the corner, but I commit to being a better me right now. I'm a better person when I run and when I write. Stay tuned.
