This race was on Sunday, July 14th. I signed up for this half over the winter and then planned a camping trip in the area with my family and my parents. My mom ended up taking me to the race so the boys could stay at the campground and swim/bike/play.
The race had a start time of 7:30 a.m. and we were about an hours drive from there, so we left around 5:45 just to ensure plenty of time to park, use the potty (yup, potty) and get to the start. We made really good time and arrived in the Old Port (a part of Portland, Maine) around 6:35. However, there was so much traffic because of all the racers trying to find parking and being redirected by staff that we ended up sitting in the car until 7:00. I started to get worried that I wasn't going to have time to get my packet and get in line before the race so my mom and I jumped out of the car while we were sitting in the road and decided on a place to meet. I stuffed a twenty in my iPod arm-band just in case I needed some cash, grabbed my visor and then ran to the gateway where packet pick-up was. Luckily there was a lot of staff and I didn't have to wait to grab my bib. They also had a bag drop-off so I wrote my bib # on a Ziploc stuffed my shirt and sticker and phone in the bag and handed it to the lady and then ran down to the start.
I did not have time to get in the ridiculous line to go to the bathroom so I just got ready to start. There weren't corrals, but they did have pace markers set up so you could get into the start line around other people of your same pace. I wasn't sure what I would be doing for a pace that day because it was ridiculously hot and humid. Temps were mid 90s with humidity around 70%. I normally run anywhere from 9:30 to 10:20 min miles when I do long runs, but I had never done a long run in these temps. This whether came out of nowhere! I lined up with the 10:30 pace group assuming I would be a little on the slow side.
Little did I know I paced much slower than that.
Starting the race:
I actually felt really good the entire race. There were a couple long steep hills around miles 1.5 to 4, but after that the race course was mainly flat and slightly downhill.
All the hip flexor strengthening I did throughout the spring and early summer definitely paid off. I didn't have one ache or pain the entire race.
My feet did great too. My first half marathon in 2009 I ended up with black toenails on my big toes (they didn't fall off though). This time the shoes I was wearing were a better fit and I didn't have any issues.
During my first half marathon I ended up with an awful back ache around mile 10 in my low back. My core was still fairly week from only having Elijah 14 months prior and not having done enough strengthening or prep for the race.
This time I was much stronger. However at mile 10 I still ended up walking because of the heat. I was so over heated despite drinking water AND Gatorade at every station. There were water stations every 1 to 1.5 miles.
2nd shot my mom got...
At one station - around mile 8 - I accidentally dumped a cup of Gatorade over my head. Ooops! lol
My finish time was 2 hours and 36 minutes. I was not happy with this time, but I was okay with it. It was still faster than my first half marathon time by a couple minutes. I figure because of the heat I went much slower. Maybe on a perfect condition day I would have been a little closer to 2:15 like I wanted.
Overall, the race was great. The course was beautiful - set along the ocean for most of the race. The staff was friendly and always cheering. The swag was great too.
After crossing the finishline you were handed your medal, a water bottle and lots of goodies.
Yasso Greek Frozen Yogurt was there with strawberry and vanilla pops.
Here's my swag:
My Finisher's Medal:
Love this medal
The Old Port is a beautiful place. If you ever want to travel to Maine, do it in the summer, and maybe come do this race. It was WICKED Fun!
Don't forget about the giveaway of Island Boost that ends Friday night!
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What race is your favorite medal from?
