Saturday, November 16, 2013

American Family Fitness Richmond Half-Marathon Race Recap

I've wanted to break two hours in a half-marathon since the 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach half.  At the end of that race, I came in at 2:08:14.  For every half marathon after, I set my time goal of under two hours but never quite managed to get myself over the line in that time.

But, you guys, I finally did it! I'm convinced it's because (1) I've been training, and (2) I went into the AFF Richmond Half-Marathon with the idea that I just wanted to have fun.

Contrary to what weather.com said, it rained for a good portion of the race.  The race started not far from the Virginia Capitol building and ran west toward the convention center, through a few residential neighborhoods, through a beautiful park, more neighborhoods, the VCU campus, and finished up near the riverfront.  There were a few points during the race when I wasn't impressed with the course.  West Broad Street and North Boulevard, for example, weren't the prettiest streets for running, but I did enjoy seeing a few neighborhoods.  The park was beautiful but the path was narrow (and hard to pass) and there wasn't much crowd support until we came out.

Aside from not being sure whether I was hot or cold (I wore a long sleeve shirt and shorts since it rained), I felt strong for most of the race.  I've also been having some trouble with my IT bands, but they didn't cause too much trouble until after the race. 
Previous PR: 2:04:31 2012 RnR USA
New PR: 1:57:25
Average Pace: 8:54

The race organizers put on a really great event, and I'm very excited about the swag.
The medal, tech tee, AND a finisher's blanket 
Medal detail
After this finish, I'm actually really excited to train for my next race: the 2014 Rock 'n' Roll USA marathon in March.  (Yup, the full 26.2....gulp.)  Maybe I'll train but then, on race day, convince myself that I don't care about my time -- with my luck, I'll end up qualifying for Boston.

That would be amazing!