(copied from my blog review here: http://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2015/10/race-review-baa-half-marathon.html)

The logical thing to do a week after running a full marathon is to run a half marathon a week later, right? Well apparently I thought so, because on Sunday morning I ran the B.A.A. Half Marathon in Boston! I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking when I scheduled these two giant races a week apart from each other (#dummy) but once I register for a race I just gotta go for it. No bailing!

The B.A.A. Half (and basically every event sponsored by the B.A.A.) has a huge field of participants, so instead of having everyone attempt to find parking around Franklin Park where the race was taking place, they offered several different shuttles to the starting line. This meant I had to be up and out the door by 5:30AM so I could get to the shuttle by 6:30 and get to the starting line before the gun went off at 8AM. I arrived at the race site around 7:30, which was the perfect amount of time to pick up my race t-shirt, drop my bag off at the gear check, and meet up with Louie and Rachelle before heading to the starting line.

The participant field was roughly 7,000 people, so it took a solid 7-8 minutes between the starting horn going off and the time we were able to even start moving and cross the starting line. The first few miles were super congested and a stop for a bathroom break added 10 frustrating minutes to mile 3 due to how many people were in line - oof! I managed to semi-makeup for the loss of time, though, as miles 4, 5, and 6 were all sub-9 minutes (I usually try to hang around 10 minute splits)! The rest of the race was pretty par for me the course when it comes to running halves. My pace hung around 10:30/11 in the later miles, but as I got closer to the finish and the crowds increased a bit I got a little energy boost and tried to push myself a little harder!

The last mile took us through Franklin Park Zoo which was so awesome! You could see the zebras, wildebeests, ostriches, cows, and a bunch of exotic birds which was a nice little motivator to push you across the finish line. This being the week after a marathon, though, my legs were really feeling it and the finish line could not come soon enough. As I rounded the corner of the Franklin Park track to the last straight away toward the finish I put everything I had left in me toward crossing the finish as quickly as I could and came across the finish line at 2:24:36. I know that if this race was scheduled for a different weekend I could have definitely done better, but I'm happy with my performance overall. It wasn't my best, but it wasn't my worst either, and at the end of the day I got to cross the finish line at catch one of those world famous B.A.A. unicorns!

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2014/11/wolf-hollow-half-marathon.html)

Last weekend I ran the Wolf Hollow Half Marathon! This was a race I found randomly through Running in the USA when I was searching for a half to sign up for, and I invited a few people to join me (as I do with every race I register for). Surprisingly, 5 people decided to sign up and join so we had a pretty solid crew of people all running the same day - both of my parents, Louie and his girlfriend, and my student Cassie, who was running her first half! My parents and Louie and his girlfriend signed up for the 2-person relay, while Cassie and I both signed up for the full race.

The race was located in Nashua, NH and the course itself was beautiful! The majority of the course went through Mines Fall Park, and with a New Hampshire autumn in full swing, it made for a beautiful backdrop during the run. The course for the full race was two loops, which I thought I wasn't going to enjoy (the idea of having the same scenery during a long run is always hard for me to imagine I'd like) but it was actually really nice to know where I was on the course the second time around and imagine how much of the race I had left.

It was a super gorgeous day (unseasonably warm for late-November in NH!) and we all crossed the finish line and got awesome medals (definitely my favorite one so far this year!). We celebrated afterward with a lunch at Shorty's. Overall it was a great day, and a wonderful way to close out my long-distance race schedule for the year! (Now it's time to look into races for 2015... yikes!)

(copied from my blog review here: http://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2014/10/new-hampshire-marathon-finisher.html)

Training for this marathon went much differently than training for Hartford last year. I've been so busy with other things since I started grad school, which included the entirety of my training for this race, so my mind hasn't been focused on it like it was with Hartford. I was pretty nervous that the race wouldn't go as well as my previous marathon because I wasn't mentally focused, but it actually turned out pretty great!

Louie and Nick originally planned on running this race with me like we did with Hartford, but with their busy schedules they didn't get around to registering in time, so I ran this one solo. My parents did come up and support me though, which was so awesome of them! I know waiting at the finish line of a race for nearly six hours isn't the most entertaining thing in the world, but luckily there's a lot of fun touristy things up in that area of New Hampshire, so they kept themselves busy.

The weather was predicted to be super rainy, and it definitely was a gloomy day, but luckily it was really just a cold, misty day, which is pretty ideal when you're running 26 miles. While I was running I overheard many of the other runners chatting about their own marathon experiences and aspirations. The Maine Marathon was actually the following day, and many of those that were currently running the NH Marathon with me were planning on also running the Maine Marathon the next day! (What?!) There was also one man running his 50th state for the 50 State Marathon Club which was very exciting. It's actually on my bucket list to join that club one day and complete that milestone of running a marathon in every state! The marathon field was relatively small (~300 people) so it was very cool to be a part of that race with such few runners.

The course itself was beautiful and quiet. It looped around Newfound Lake and through heavier wooded areas in central NH. Having the leaves changing colors provided for some beautiful scenery and lots to look at. There were water stops every 2 miles which was amazing, and there was one woman from Marathon Maniacs driving around the course and handing out snacks to all the runners - so awesome! Everything about this race was such an improvement from the experience that we went through in Hartford last year, and really encouraged me that I can still run at the pace that works best for me and be treated with the same support from the race staff as those that are faster than me.

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2014/08/25-before-25-accomplish-multi-distance.html)

Sunday I ran the YuKan Triple Threat Challenge in Rockport, MA with Louie and his girlfriend Rachelle! The Triple Threat is a race series that consists of a 1 mile, 5K (3.1 miles), and a half marathon (13.1 miles) totaling at 17.2 miles for the day. Not going to lie, I was extremely nervous to attempt this race. I haven't been going the long distances that I should be with my training this summer (the longest I went before this race was 9 miles) so the thought of completing 17.2 was pretty daunting. Brett was an amazing support though (I love when he comes to be support crew at my races!), and reminded me that I've run a full marathon less than a year ago, so I'd definitely be able to finish this challenge, no matter how painful it may be. ...and painful it was!

The 1 mile, 5K, and the first 9 miles of the half were fine, but those last 4.1 miles felt like death. My legs hurt, I was dehydrated, I had a headache, and I honestly thought I was going to be sick, but I made it across the finish line (with some breaks to stretch my legs and walk in between - not something I like to do during races for pride reasons, haha) and got my finisher's medal. I usually see medals as awesome souvenirs to remember my accomplishments by, and it's only once in a while that I actually feel that I earn the medal, but that day I worked my booty off and definitely earned it!

I would absolutely do this race again, with a bit more training under my belt. The area is beautiful (but pretty hilly, which may have been the source of a lot of pain), YuKan is a great company, and I always have a great time running with them, even if my legs feel like falling off at the end of the race!

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2014/06/helmets-up-warrior-dash-2014.html)

Louie, Nick, Danielle and I took on the Warrior Dash at good ol' Amesbury Sport Park a couple weekends ago. You'll remember that our experience from the same location at the Superhero Scramble was not very pleasant (I bruised my tailbone and got covered in poison ivy... ick), but this race was much more fun for all involved!

Brett made it out to come be our support crew. I always feel badly that he can't see us do the obstacles, but he's always a good sport and enjoys himself anyway! (And takes selfies with me! :D)

Judging by how the last race I ran at the Amesbury Sport Park was extremely painful, I was pretty nervous to run this one. However, it went much better than I had imagined it to! I managed to get over/through every obstacle on my own no sweat (though I'll admittedly never be comfortable being up in the air on a rickety wooden contraption). I was extra surprised that I managed to get up and over the signature obstacle course wall that I could not conquer without Brett's help last year. There were some boards that were definitely helpful, and it wasn't nearly as steep, but I was proud of myself nonetheless.

Unfortunately I got a pretty severe migraine after this race and felt terribly sick all the way home, but the race itself was so much fun and it's always good to share the experience with friends! Hope that I get to do a few more obstacle races before the weather starts cooling down again!